New SHHS Hall of Honor inductees Dr. Rhonda Goodman, Dr. Steven Hamilton and Trey Speegle.
Two acclaimed members of the medical community and a celebrated New York City pop artist – all South Houston High School graduates from the 1970s -- have been selected for induction in the school’s Alumni Hall of Honor.
Chosen for induction are Dr. Rhonda Goodman, Class of 1971, a nursing professor at Florida Atlantic University noted for her promotion of humanitarian causes in Africa and Central America; Dr. Steven Hamilton, Class of 1972, a former illustrator now regarded as a leader in the field of plastic surgery; and Trey Speegle, Class of 1978, a former associate of Andy Warhol whose artwork can be seen in shops and galleries across the country.
The three new inductees will be honored at South Houston homecoming events scheduled for Oct. 4.
A reception will be held as part of the school’s open house festivities starting at noon. The three will be formally inducted in homecoming ceremonies before the kickoff of the South Houston-Pasadena game at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The induction ceremony will start at 6:30 p.m.
The selection of Dr. Goodman, Dr. Hamilton and Speegle brings to 69 the number of South Houston graduates chosen for the Hall of Honor since the program was launched in 2010. Eight of the inductees are enshrined under “The Fallen,” members of the military who were killed in action or first-responders who died in the line of duty.
A 30-foot-wide plaque display at South Houston honors Hall of Honor members. On Oct. 1, in a ceremony at the school, a companion display will be unveiled honoring distinguished teachers and staff members who served at South Houston. Twenty former teachers have been selected for the inaugural group of inductees.
Dr. Goodman, now in her fourth year as an assistant professor of nursing at Florida Atlantic, was recently named the university’s distinguished teacher of the year for 2013. Also among her more recent honors were nurse of the year and nurse educator of the year awards from the Palm Healthcare Foundation for 2013.
She has been honored in various capacities over the years by the National Board for Certification of School Nurses, “Nursing Spectrum” magazine and The New York Times, which in 2004 chose her for an “Excellence in Nursing” award. She is a past president of the Florida Association of School Nurses.
Dr. Goodman is the founder and president of the Center for Community Wellness at Katete/St. Mary’s, Inc., established to promote educational and health-care access for children in Uganda.
She recently traveled with 18 nurse practitioner students to Guatemala to establish primary-care facilities for more 1,300 indigenous Mayans and cervical cancer screening for hundreds of Guatemalan women.
A graduate of Houston Baptist University, Dr. Goodman earned her doctorate from Florida Atlantic in 2008. She resides in Boca Raton, Fla.
Dr. Hamilton practices in the Medical Center and serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine. An award-winning illustrator for the South Houston student newspaper, he applied his love of artistic design to an accomplished medical career as a plastic surgeon.
After graduating from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Houston, he trained with internationally recognized surgeons who pioneered procedures to achieve cosmetic improvements that minimized visible signs of surgery. He ranks as a leader in the field of surgical and non-surgical enhancements for men and women.
Dr. Hamilton’s work has been cited and sourced by “Best Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.” He was voted by Houston plastic surgeons as one of the top doctors in his field and earned a listing in “Top Doctors of the U.S.” And he has held a steady spot on Texas Monthly’s list of “Super Doctors.”
Dr. Hamilton is frequently asked to lecture nationally and internationally to surgeons around the world.
Speegle enjoyed heightened acclaim four years ago when he was commissioned by fashion designer Stella McCartney, the daughter of rock icon Paul McCartney, to paint the backdrop for her Paris fashion show. That same year Anthropologie stores produced a collection of gift and housewares featuring his designs.
His artwork, which has been exhibited extensively in the U.S. and in London, is available in Jonathan Adler shops across the country and through his representative, Benrimon Contemporary in New York. This fall Speegle will debut prints and other new items through the design website Fab.com. He currently has a solo exhibit, “Make Your Mark,” at the Boyd Satellite Gallery in New Orleans.
As a South Houston student, Speegle earned awards for his artwork in the student newspaper and yearbook. After graduation, he went to work for Houston City magazine before departing for New York. By the time he was 25, he had worked for Vogue, House & Garden and Vanity Fair magazines.
Speegle met Andy Warhol in the early 1980s and designed a memorial poster for Warhol after his sudden death in 1987. The poster design was used for a template of Warhol’s gravestone.
Speegle later inherited an intensive paint-by-number collection owned by a close friend, Michael O’Donoghue, the first head writer for “Saturday Night Live.” Speegle adopted paint-by-number as his own signature pop-art style. He later convinced directors at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., to present a paint-by-number retrospective based extensively on his collection.
Speegle now has more than 3,000 paint-by-number pieces stores at his weekend home, a converted barn in the Catskill Mountains.