By Ramona Shelton
Motlow
Buzz Manging Editor
SMYRNA -- As we near the end of not
just the Spring semester but also the 2017-2018 school year, it seems as though
time actually speeds up. Between the scramble to finish everything in all of
our classes, we all have to keep our eyes on the prize -- graduation. In the
overwhelming face of this hustle and bustle, it is always nice to take a few
minutes to stop and celebrate all the achievements of the past school year, and
we did just that here in Smyrna on April 13 with Celebration 2018.
This is the second year we have done
this event, and it has definitely grown since our first time. Smyrna’s
Celebration was designed to spotlight our students who go above and beyond the
classroom in terms of their dedication to being successful. However, this year
we highlighted the fact that you cannot have student success without the hard
work of the faculty and staff. The event recognized our outstanding students as
well as outstanding faculty and staff members.
As Celebration dignitary and retiring
Smyrna Town Manager Harry Gill Jr. noted, “I have worked much of my career in
the education field and people often forget the hard work of those behind the
scenes. It really does take a village.”
Here at Motlow State Community
College’s Smyrna Center, we don’t just have a village… we have an army of folks
made up of students, faculty, and staff who fight hard for each other with that
idea of success as the ultimate goal.
Students who excelled above and beyond
the classroom by doing such things as being club officers, serving in the SGA,
acting as Student Ambassadors, and being inducted into honor societies, or
receiving college-wide student awards were invited to be showcased at
Celebration 2018. In front of a large group of their family members, faculty
and staff, and local dignitaries, the following students received certificates
of recognition:
*
George Romano -- 2018 Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Inductee
*
Miciah Caruthers -- 2018 Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Inductee
*
Madison Caruthers -- 2018 Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Inductee
*
Mary Kate Brown -- 2018 Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Inductee and 2018 Student
Ambassador
*
Ashleigh Saylors -- 2018 Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Inductee
*
Joshua McGee -- 2018 Student Ambassador and 2017-2018 Dean’s List recipient
*
Jazzmin Mitchell -- 2018 Phi Theta Kappa Tennessee Regional Secretary and 2017
--2018 Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society member
*
Ava Anderson -- 2018 Phi Theta Kappa Vice President, 2017-2018 Phi Theta Kappa
Honor Society member, and Writing Center Tutor
*
Emma Sagor -- 2018 Harvest Queen, Honor Student, 2017-2018 Phi Theta Kappa
Honor Society member, Writing Center tutor, and contributing writer for The Motlow Buzz
*
Taylor Bowling -- Charter Member of the History Club
*
Je’Juan Henderson -- 2018 Outstanding Humanities Student Award Winner
*
Ally Elliott -- President of the Criminal Justice Club, Charter Member of the
Criminal Justice Club, and Charter Member of the History Club
*
Anthony Czelusniak -- 2018 Outstanding Humanities Student Award Winner, Motlow Buzz Student News Editor, and Motlow Buzz major article contributor
In addition to honoring the students,
Celebration 2018 also honored the hard work of the faculty and staff for their
outstanding contributions to student success. If Motlow Smyrna is filled with
an army charging towards student success, the faculty and staff award winners
most definitely are the ones leading the charge! The following people were
honored as our Celebration 2018 award winners:
* Professor John Hart -- Outstanding
Faculty Award
* Professor Kate Benson -- Outstanding
Faculty Sparkplug (First Year) Award
* Professor Peter Dowd -- Outstanding
Adjunct Faculty Award
* Estelle Davis and Michelle McEwen-
Outstanding Staff Award (as a team)
* Casey Chandler -- Outstanding Staff
Sparkplug (First Year) Award
Faculty
and staff were asked to not only nominate deserving individuals but to also
explain why their nominees deserved to win these awards. The Celebration team
received several nominations with a ton of tear-producing descriptions of the
hard work of the nominees, and although only one person could win in each
category, every one of the nominees deserves recognition. Listed below are all
of the nominations including the descriptions submitted with the nominations:
*
John Hart -- John has given a great deal of his time and energies to the growth
and well being of Smyrna Campus. Some examples of things he does that are above
and beyond include Honors Program Coordinator for Smyrna, schedules languages
classes in Smyrna and helps with staffing; regularly trains faculty in D2L;
teaches overloads; and helps with Promotion-Tenure Workshops.
*
John Hart (second nomination) -- John has taken on faculty
leadership roles in government, mentoring and his department. He has recently
agreed to serve as Motlow Smyrna Honor's coordinator. He is a dedicated teacher
and faculty leader who has constantly worked to make Motlow a better place.
* Regina Norwood -- I want to be like
Regina when I grow up. The students love her! She has an amazing ability to
connect with the students. Regina loves teaching. She is very patient but firm
with her expectations and students respond to her. Every time I see her, she
has a smile on her face. A few semesters back I helped Regina figure out how to
use the basics of D2L. She has continued to learn new aspects of the system and
can now utilize it ways that I can’t. Regina is working with the Motlow Market
to help build food boxes for students in need. She is bothered by the thought
of our students going hungry and is working to make a difference.
*
Kate Benson -- Kate has proved to be a crucial addition to the Smyrna Team in
her since joining us in Fall 2017. She jumped right in by joining the Fall
Festival committee, and committed great time and energy into helping committee
members successfully carry out this event, which celebrates our students. In
her short time here, Kate has also founded a Psi Beta, Community College
National Honor Society in Psychology, chapter at Smyrna Campus, and serves as a
Faculty Advising Specialist in the Student Success Center. On top of these activities (and preparing new
courses), she also attends Smyrna Team meetings, is actively involved in other
events on campus, and is collaborative, positive and energetic in her
interactions with both students and colleagues.
*
Beth Martin- Beth has shown a great attitude. She has taken on a difficulty
schedule and a double overload in order to help Motlow Smyrna. She contributed
to the Fall Festival with a co-curricular activity.
* Beth
Martin (second nomination) -- Beth's enthusiastic
dedication to her students and discipline has been obvious since I met her. She
is very good natured and brings a great sense of fun to Motlow.
* David Vaughn -- David has hit the
ground running this year. He started the year with three different class and
lab preps and took it in stride. David is eager to learn new teaching methods.
When his students struggle with concepts he works on a new approach to
teaching. He is not afraid to ask questions and seek advice on how to reach his
students. He takes the time to work with students to help them succeed. David
is involved outside of the classroom as well. He assisted with the Bone Marrow
Donor drive held this spring and is an active participant at department
meetings. He wants to be more involved on campus and eager to take advantage of
new opportunities.
*
Peter Dowd -- Peter has surprised me in his role as an adjunct. He is adept at
conveying information to the students in a way they can relate to. He truly
enjoys teaching. Peter listens to his students and tries to help them with
issues outside of the classroom. He takes pride in finding ways to make
difficult concepts easier. Peter is involved at Motlow outside of teaching too.
He has volunteered at orientation and registration events. He helps with SGA
events and is serving as a TNPromise mentor. Peter is involved in the community
as well. He coaches youth baseball in Nolensville and works with the Williamson
County after school program too.
*
Estelle Davis and Michelle McEwen (as a team) (second nomination) -- Motlow’s
own Lucy and Ethel are more than just the two that sit in the first office at
the front. They do a lot more than most people realize. There is a ton of
paperwork that has to be done just to keep classes scheduled, let alone keep
the campus running and they are brilliant at making this happen. In addition,
they play a huge role in making sure that all the events we have here on campus
run smoothly. We are in triple digits when it comes to campus events and this
is much more than “is there a room available?” These two coordinate a ton of
stuff from what furniture needs to be moved where to who is going to get the
food for the event? They deserve a big award for everything they do.
*
Michelle Griffith -- Michelle is just awesome! Among her many duties as
Cheryl’s right hand, she is responsible for the various food trucks that come
to campus. She is so personable and always has a smile on her face. She helps
makes the Smyrna campus a welcoming place for students. Michelle helps me with
SGA events and remembers the little details that I miss.
*
Casey Chandler -- Casey is honestly one of the hardest workers and friendliest
people I have ever met. He is absolutely amazing at his job. Any time I have
ever had to call him because there was a computer problem or a bulb out in a
projector in a classroom, he hasn’t hesitated to rush to get the problem fixed.
You never see him without a smile on his face.
*
Casey Chandler (second nomination) -- In addition to his traditional work
duties, Casey is always ready to help with all the projects we have going on
here on campus. I know that he was a part of the winning team from the Trivia
Night contest last semester and that he has gotten involved with other things.
*
Lucky Maze -- Lucky works in the front office. Lucky interacts with students
daily and is always friendly and personable. He greets students with a smile
and tackles all the jobs Carol and Malik give him. He delivers mail and courier
items like a pro. They are always in the correct mailbox! As a graduate of
Motlow, I think it speak volumes that he wanted to come back and work here. He is
likes the culture of the Smyrna campus and is a team player.
Finally,
no event like this could be pulled off without an outstanding team who gave
their blood, sweat and tears to make Celebration 2018 a success. This year’s Celebration
team was made up of Tamara Jones, Charles Whiting, Stacy Dowd, Paige
Hendrickson, Gary Winton, Nick Bush, Mary Jo Johnson, Andrea Green, Biff
Kittii, and Regina Norwood and the FYE crew, along with support from George
Ciprich, Stan Temple, Casey Chandler, Peter Dowd, and Heather Koller.
With
Celebration 2018 in the bag, it’s time to look forward to not only this year’s
graduation ceremony but also next year’s Celebration 2019 event!
