There are not enough plaques or pictures to truly represent a career which has been extraordinary.  You can review some of my certificates and letters below but these may not directly show the history.  I do believe the Teaching Excellence Award certifies me as an exceptional faculty member and employee at SLCC.  I was nominated by a student.  It demonstrates my commitment to students, service to the college, my colleagues, and my desire to keep up-to-date with professional development. I am determined to give every student I work with the background experiences and practices to open the doors to higher education.  It begins with breaking down barriers and assisting them in discovery.  They need to define their identity, review their values, and set goals.

 

One accomplishment which sticks out in the front of many is the creation and establishment of the Salt Lake Community College Reading Center. Knowing almost half of our students arrive at SLCC  not having the literacy skills needed to succeed in a college level course created my desire to establish the Center.  I had a concentration in my graduate specialties to become a certified literacy specialist.  My research validated the need to have young readers be on level by third grade.  Taking this information and making it applicable to adults was my mission. I provided the strategies to compensate for the lack of literacy skills. It has been troubling to see so many adult students who cannot comprehend college level texts or even approach the verbal and written instructions given in class.  Based on research, I knew I had to get adult students to read and read even more.

 

The Reading Center offered students the opportunities to read beyond the classroom.  We had software programs whose purpose was to engage adult learners to read in multiple disciplines.  I worked with Biology faculty (Dr. Beaguley and Dr. Tanner) to make RDG 990 a prerequisite for science classes.  It was confirmed on the facts.  Students who took reading courses did better in other courses.

 

I am a person who doesn't want to stay in her comfort zone. To do so creates boredom.  Just recently, I realized the term boredom has nothing to do with lack of activities. It is caused when you do not have enough in life to serve  a purpose which stimulates you.  I have a passion to assist student to pursue meeting their goals and aspirations.

 

 

I orientated adjunct and mentored them over all these years.  When I no longer could get a full load of course sections in LE/RDG (back then 15 hours) a math colleague said, "Judy I know you could teach developmental math. You have the background in education and enough math credits to certify you to teach it."  "Your devotion to helping students succeed will make this an easy transition."  I took on the challenge with the help of math faculty mentors.  It was there in the math classroom I was able to observe the light go on in a student's mind. They wiped away their past experiences in math and realized they a were now at  stage in life to want to learn it.  I also affirm, I taught them to love math.  

 

I want the reader to see throughout this ePortfolio the way I have devoted my life to make a difference in lives of students.  I am able to deliver materials with updated information at the forefront of technology, and professional training.  My mission in my caree is to always look for ways to make students have access and success in their endeavors.

 

You will see through the student evaluations, peer recognitions, and student letters/emails how I make a difference in people and their lives. Though there may not be a trophy or an official piece of paper on the mantel, recognition for me is I knowing I  get up every day, work my hardest, and try to have a positive influence in a person's life.

 

Below are a few verifications: