Dallas Morning News named Laura Bush its Texan of the Year for 2018, stating:

Looking across the Lone Star State and surveying the world at large, there is one person who stands out for her quiet ability to unify people behind a common vision, to focus public attention on what’s critical for our society, and to produce change without concern for who gets credit. In a divided world, her graceful style has helped our country move forward on critical issues and enabled her to leave a lasting mark not only in the past year but over a lifetime of work. Her name is Laura W. Bush, and she is the 2018 Texan of the Year.

Among the reasons DMN provides are her civic leadership, her involvement in building institutions and implementing initiatives to improve lives, her focus on education and literacy, her desire to protect and expand the rights of women around the world, and her unwavering belief in doing what she believes is right and moral.

Bush was once called the “nation’s teacher and librarian,” and the editorial mentions that Bush once told an audience of Teach for America teachers to remember to “treat each student with dignity and respect — because they deserve it.” What a beautiful thought and an always timely reminder.

Read the full editorial here.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent those of any other individual or entity. Follow Sarah on Twitter: @sarahmquinlan.