By Ramona Shelton
Motlow Buzz Managing Editor
We created our Celebration event with the idea of showcasing the successes of our
students outside of the classroom. Motlow Smyrna has a whole host of students
who lead the charge in manning our clubs, acting as ambassadors and tutors, and
are invited to our honor societies.
However, it would be remiss to celebrate
the achievements of our students without also honoring those who go more than
that extra mile to create an environment of student success: our amazing
faculty and staff members.
At this year’s Celebration 2019, we had a
lot to celebrate in terms of faculty and staff success this school year. Each
year, Motlow State Community College gives the Faculty Excellence Award and
Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award. Nominees are submitted by the college community
and a committee made up of Motlow State Foundation members, previous awardees,
and our illustrious President of Motlow State, Dr. Michael Torrence, sorted
through all the nominees to determine the list of finalists and ultimately the
winners of both awards. This year, Motlow Smyrna definitely represented the
idea of teaching excellence. The following Motlow Smyrna faculty members were
finalists for the Faculty Excellence Award: Dr. Phyllis Adams, Professor Kate Benson, Professor Andrea Green, Professor
Tamara Jones, and Professor Charles
Whiting
In addition to these amazing Faculty
Excellence finalists, the 2019 Adjunct Faculty
Excellence Award went to our own Professor
Peter Dowd. This was a big step up for him because he won our award here at
last year’s Celebration 2018 event.
This year, TBR (the Tennessee Board of
Regents) added the SOAR Awards
(Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition) to honor what they called “The
Volunteer State’s best and brightest.” And Motlow Smyrna showed our best and
brightest in that as well as our own Tennessee Promise guru, Jonathan Graham, was one of the top
three finalists.
The hardest task given to the members of
the Celebration 2019 Team was to choose the winners of our own faculty and
staff awards. This was not because excellence was in short supply at Motlow
Smyrna but rather from the fact that excellence abounds here! How do we choose the best of the best because each of
the faculty and staff nominees represented nothing short of outstanding? But oh
such a wonderful problem to have! Because of all of these amazing nominees, the
word “success” definitely describes Motlow Smyrna.
The 2019 Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award went to Margaret McKinley, an adjunct in our Education department.
According to one of the nominations for her, “Margaret McKinley absolutely goes
above and beyond in her work for Motlow College. Margaret visits with early
childhood provider groups to tell them about to tell them about the Early
Childhood Education programs at MSCC. She works individually with students who
are struggling in their coursework. She assists with extra-curricular events
and activities. Margaret McKinley is definitely worthy of this award.”
Our other nominees for the Outstanding
Adjunct Award were Ben Jobe and Liala Syler. According to Ben’s
nomination submission, “Ben is an invaluable member of the adjunct media, also
teaching at other campuses across Middle Tennessee. He is the author of the
book, Common Threads, which tells the
story of his family, including his slave-owning ancestors and the family ties
to an African-American coach who shares the Jobe name.” Liala’s nominator said
this about her, “Liala has been someone who has gone above and beyond in
everything she does at Motlow. In addition to the things that she has to do for her classes, she is always
that smiling face in Student Success, guiding students down the right pathways.
It is also nothing unusual for her to not only encourage but to also bring her
students to things that are outside of the classroom. For example, she and her
students have been major participants in the last two Trivia Nights held by the
History Club. This helps with student engagement and involvement.”
The Faculty
and Staff Sparkplug Awards were designed to acknowledge the accomplishments of
our new, first year faculty and staff members. This year’s Staff Sparkplug
Award winner was our very own smiling face in the front office, Sarah Mankin. According to one of the
submissions nominating her, “Sarah very quickly became a valuable member of the
Smyrna family! When you walk into the front office, she is always quick to help
or answer questions. This is a high stress/high volume position and she always
seems to have a smile on her face. Whenever I have gone into the front office
for any reason, I have noticed that she makes every person feel important- when
it is your turn to be helped, you are all that matters. That sort of personal
connection is invaluable when you are on the front lines! We are very lucky to
have Sarah as a part of the Motlow Smyrna team!”
It was definitely hard to choose a winner
in this category because the other finalist for our Staff Sparkplug Award is also someone who has made an impact in his
first year here, Officer Randy Morris.
Randy’s nomination said this about him, “Randy always carries a positive
attitude with him wherever he goes. He makes a positive impact of faculty,
staff, and students alike. He not only keeps our campus safe, but he also
interacts with and encourages our students. I believe that he is a great asset
to our institution.”
A first-year faculty member walking into
the door at the Smyrna Campus learns very quickly that there is a whole lot
more than simply showing up for classes. Our faculty members are involved in
essentially every nuance of student success and this year’s Faculty Sparkplug Award winner has
definitely gone out of his way to help students reach that success level. This
year’s Faculty Sparkplug Award went to Tom
Cruz. “In Professor Cruz’s first year at Motlow, he has started an ESL
program, taught Dual Enrollment classes, and has been an active participant in
advising. Professor Cruz saw a need at Motlow for students who do not speak
English and specifically created a curriculum to meet these student’s needs. As
his officemate, I can say that he always comes to work with an appreciative
attitude and presents his best self to his students. I believe that Professor
Cruz is a perfect fit for the Spark Plug award!”
Runner up for this award is another new
faculty shining star who has made an impact in his first year -- Nathan Fisher. “Nathan has jumped in
feet first in many areas. He is not only a fabulous instructor, he is now the
Diversity Club advisor too. Nathan is also working on a transfer path program
with MTSU in fermentation science. He has applied to teach as a summer abroad
physical science instructor in Korea. And… yes there is more, he has obtained a
summer undergraduate research opportunity at Vanderbilt for Motlow Chemistry
students. Definitely a go getter!!”
Outstanding is definitely a way to
describe all the nominees for the 2019 Outstanding
Staff Award, but it is safe to say that this year’s winning duo play a huge
role in making sure everyone else’s projects and events shine. This year’s
Outstanding Staff Award winners were Motlow Smyrna’s favorite all around Mr.
Fix-Its: Stan Temple and George Ciprich.
We received so many nominations for the
both of them that is was hard to narrow down one blurb for this article, but
this description shows exactly how caring and dedicated they both are: “George
and Stan should be recognized for all the hard work they do for Motlow. They
are more than maintenance mechanics; they are an invaluable part of the Smyrna
family. They are a ubiquitous presence on campus, ready to assist students, staff,
and faculty. For example, for the past three years, several staff members have
been sharing offices. Tight quarters might make for difficult work
environments, but George and Stan have helped make the office arrangements more
comfortable. They’ve rearranged desks and added or removed bookshelves and
filing cabinets. Moreover, the Smyrna campus is perpetually well-maintained.
The grounds—from the parking lot to the pristinely mowed lawns—showcase a care
and diligence that faculty and staff have come to associate with George and
Stan. Personally, I enjoy passing these two in the hallway as they are always
congenial, and they always ask if I need assistance. In fact, they have gone
above and beyond for me. I suffer from migraines (which are triggered by fluorescent
lights); when George and Stan found out about my sensitivity to light, they
disconnected the bulb above my desk. Smyrna is blessed to have such caring and
kind gentlemen working for Motlow. I can think of no two staff members more
deserving of this award!”
The rest of the staff nominees are no less
worthy of recognition. These include the calming face of Student Success, Heidi Parker. “Heidi is the first face
that students see in one of the busiest areas of this entire college. And that
face is always wearing a smile! Thanks to Heidi, the folks who come into
Student Success are guided to the help they need. I’m sure this is often a
thankless job because with the volume of students who come in looking for help,
it has to be easily overwhelming. Without Heidi as that gatekeeper, student,
faculty, and staff frustrations would likely skyrocket and her calming
influence and guidance is much appreciated.”
Another nominee and one of the most in
demand people at this campus is our own SOARing guy, Jonathan Graham. “Since the creation of the position in 2015,
Jonathan Graham has gone above and beyond to provide service, awareness, and
advocacy for Motlow’s Tennessee Promise student population. Just in taking on
the role, Jonathan addressed and overcame the challenges of consistently
pushing important communications and deadline reminders to this population of
students. He successfully created reports and mechanisms for tracking this
population, and measuring their success at Motlow. His methodologies have
created opportunities for him to identify ways to improve communication and
interaction with this population. I have personally witnessed him help dozens
of students navigate the Promise process, work through decisions about dropping
or remaining enrolled in classes for Promise eligibility, and assisting
students with appeals to keep their Promise scholarship. I have watched these
interactions grow into “success relationships” – as many of these students have
returned to thank him for the help, and update him on what they are
accomplishing in their classes – as well as seek additional advice and support.
It is truly his spirit and the energy that he brings to the roll that have made
him so successful in the position, and a true resource for students.
In addition to his work with the Tennessee
Promise Program, Mr. Graham has also been instrumental in orchestrating the
setup and implementation of the Mongoose Cadence texting services across
Motlow. This additional method of communication has proved itself incredibly
useful in keep students informed of deadlines, and in managing one-on-one
conversations for Student Success and connecting with students who may have
been placed on early alert.
Jonathan’s work ethic and success already
caused him to be nominated for and selected as the Middle Tennessee Finalist
for the 2019 TBR S.O.A.R. awards. I can think of no better member of the Smyrna
family to receive this recognition at the 2019 Celebration than Jonathan
Graham.
Our final staff award nominee is someone
who is quite often behind the scenes but has a huge impact on the success we
share in Smyrna (plus she’s the one who gets us the food trucks!!!) -- Michelle Griffith. “Michelle always
goes above and beyond when helping others. When we had our tnAchieves Mentor
Breakfast, our caterer mixed up the date and we were about to be without food
for the breakfast. Michelle immediately ran to Panera to pick up coffee and
bagels to save the day. She is always there to help with an incredibly positive
attitude. She never asks whether or not it’s “her” job, but rather “how can I
be of service.”
Finally, student success centers on the
classroom and spreads out from there. Our Outstanding
Faculty Award winner and finalist both embody every facet of making success
happen and the both deserve all the celebrating we can give them. The 2019
Outstanding Faculty Award went to Professor
Heather Koller.
“It’s difficult to put her largess into
words, but suffice to say -- “Heather Koller” is synonymous with “Motlow
Smyrna.” New and seasoned faculty members know that if they want an answer,
Heather is the one to ask. She is as renowned for her magnanimity toward her
fellow faculty members as she is for her excellence in teaching. She organizes
the Faculty Brown Bag Lunch series, the end of the semester(s) picnics and
lunches, and the various professional development series throughout the
semester. Junior faculty should personally thank Heather for her “Tenure
Workshops,” as they helped several nervous faculty members better understand
the complex nature of the labyrinth that is tenure and promotion! While helping
faculty, Heather simultaneously maintains leadership roles on countless
committees and actively engages with her colleagues in myriad ways. It’s rare
that a week passes when a Heather Koller treat isn’t waiting in faculty
mailboxes! Moreover, I can personally attest to her teaching abilities as I was
a student of Heather’s back in 2009. She was as engaging, funny, and wonderful
as a teacher as she is as a colleague and a friend. Heather Koller deserves the
2019 Outstanding Faculty Award.”
Andrea
Green, our finalist for the Outstanding Faculty Award, is no less worthy. “Students
always have wonderful things to say about Andrea Green and her class. A student
that I work closely with took and failed her course, but he still wants her as
an instructor when he takes this course again this year. This speaks to her
fairness, but also to her ability to make good connections with students. She
is a tnAchieves mentor and always reaches out to find out ways to best serve
her TN Promise students. She has a very positive attitude and is well liked by
her peers.”
With Celebration 2019 in the books, it is
time to start planning ahead for Celebration 2020! If you would like to help or
have questions about the event, please contact Ramona Shelton at rshelton@mscc.edu
.
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