Three North Island College employees, who epitomize the best in community college education, have been selected to receive prestigious National Institute for Staff and Organization Development’s (NISOD) Excellence Awards.
Instructors Kerri Lowey and Derek Hanebury, and Student Services’ Lori Boray will be honoured at NISOD’s International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, held in Austin, Tex., at the end of May.
More than 1,800 professionals from over 400 community colleges and other institutions of higher learning worldwide will gather at the International Conference from May 26 to 29, to learn about new strategies and tools currently available to support learning and teaching excellence.
NISOD, whose mission is serving, engaging and inspiring higher education faculty, staff and administrators, has been hosting an annual ceremony to recognize Excellence Award recipients since 1989.
“The Excellence Awards are an annual recognition of what is good about community colleges," says NIC president Dr. Jan Lindsay. "Celebrating those individuals who have contributed to student success and our college’s mission is something we look forward to each year.
"Excellence is a quality or talent which surpasses ordinary standards and North Island College is extremely proud of this year’s NIC recipients — Kerri, Derek and Lori — whose teaching and leadership literally redefines excellence.”
• Lowey, an instructor in human services, demonstrates excellence as both an instructor and leader and has been involved in establishing partnerships and connections with other departments and programs both within the college and with other institutions and the community.
She has taken the lead in revising the curriculum for the social services program, creating stronger transfer options for human service and social service students with the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University, offering education assistant courses to existing School District 71 employees to assist with certification, and involving students in community-based research.
• Derek Hanebury, an English instructor, has taught with North Island College for 25 years.
He was originally hired to teach university-level English on the Knowledge Network and since then he has taught a broad range of English and creative writing courses. He fell into teaching purely by happenstance, but once in the classroom, loved the magic that occurs when students become engaged with literature or their own creative processes.
“In my classes we swap a lot of stories. Nothing is sacred, and everything is sacred. My students challenge me to listen, and I challenge them to connect what we’re learning to the long story their life is writing. At term’s end, I thank them for being my teachers.”
• Boray, a registration assistant, has been a student service professional for over 21 years.
She has worked in many areas of Student Services, including Student Records and Registration, and is the primary trainer for the college’s student record system.
She is 100 per cent dedicated to excellence in student service and provides exemplary customer service. She goes the extra distance to ensure that students receive the correct information and her knowledge of college programming is immense.
Lori greets returning students by their first name as she welcomes them to Student Services which is deeply appreciated, as evidenced by the many students who wait a few extra minutes just to be served by Lori.
For more information about North Island College or its programs, visit www.nic.bc.ca.
— North Island College