Campus Happenings
Annual Awards Ceremony Recognizes Excellence
RALEIGH, N.C. (April 27, 2017) - Wake Tech Community College recognized students, faculty, staff, and community partners at its annual Excellence Awards – held tonight in the Student Services Building on Southern Wake (Main) Campus. Executive Vice President Dr. Gayle Greene gave awards to 16 faculty and staff members for their service and dedication, as well as other special awards for outstanding contributions to the college. She also gave awards to four local companies and individuals who have supported Wake Tech in special ways.
The Excellence Awards are sponsored annually by the Wake Tech Foundation, which receives and administers private sector funds for college programs.
Excellence in Leadership Awards were given to two staff members:
- Scarlett Edwards, Academic Advising and Student Success
- Kai Wang, Strategic Innovations
One staff member received the Excellence in Executive Leadership Award:
- Monica Gemperlein, Workforce Continuing Education
Excellence in Service Awards were given to five staff members:
- Laura Bethea, Career and Employment Resources
- Amanda Brown, Instructional Support
- Emily Holliday, eLearning Support and Instructional Design
- David Johnson, Academic Advising and Student Success
- Joey Stephenson, Facility Operations
Eight faculty members received the Excellence in Teaching Award:
- Kimberly Breivogel, Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
- Alison Consol, Computer Technologies
- Julie Eldridge, Applied Engineering and Technologies
- Amy Jones, Workforce Continuing Education
- Sidney Morris Jr., Health Sciences
- Thomas Rankin, Business and Public Services Technologies
- Amanda Sinodis, Academic Success and Transition Resources
- Mary “Beth” Tsai, Mathematics, Sciences, and Engineering
Each winner received a plaque and a cash award.
Two winners were given special awards: Alison Consol was named Wake Tech’s Instructor of the Year, and Kai Wang was named Staff Member of the Year. They will represent Wake Tech at the statewide NCCCS Excellence Competition.
Wake Tech student Durga Sivamani was named the 2017 Student of Academic Excellence.
Wake Tech honored four community partners:
Martin Marietta was named Corporate Benefactor of the Year. Martin Marietta has been a steadfast supporter of Wake Tech for more than 20 years. The company’s gifts have provided a range of opportunities – with the most visible being the Outdoor Geology Labs at the Northern and Main campuses, which feature 26 multi-ton boulders personally selected from quarry sites across North Carolina. Martin Marietta’s most recent investment of $150,000 is helping prepare the next generation of Heavy Equipment Operations students by providing simulators, survey equipment, faculty professional development, and student scholarships.
The Individual Spirit of Giving award was given to the Cary-Kildaire Rotary Club, whose members have been supporting student scholarships for 23 years. The scholarships, valued at $2,400 each, are awarded each year to two high-achieving students from the Cary/Apex area. The Cary-Kildaire Rotary Club also holds fundraising events throughout the year. The club has contributed nearly $90,000 and helped more than 50 students complete their education at Wake Tech.
Jacquelyn Adcock was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Adcock started in Wake Tech’s Criminal Justice program when she was still a student at Fuquay-Varina High School. Thanks to that early start and long hours, Adcock completed her associate’s degree in Criminal Justice Technology in just one year while interning at the Wake County Sheriff’s Office. Adcock went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in Criminology from UNC-Wilmington. In 2016, she graduated at the top in her class from NC Central University’s School of Law. She now serves as an Assistant District Attorney in Wake County.
The Volunteer of the Year Award was given to Mike Petersen. He has worked tirelessly for more than nine years as a volunteer tutor in the Individualized Learning Center on Southern Wake (Main) Campus. During the last school year, he donated an impressive 745 hours! Last fall, Mike’s passion and relentless efforts to help students earned him the United States President’s Lifetime Achievement Award. This is the most prestigious national recognition given to a volunteer. It recognizes more than 4,000 hours of service.
An additional special award was given at the dinner:
Carrie Bartek, Alison Consol, Bryan Ryan, and Kai Wang received the 2017 Applied Benchmarking Project of the Year for EPIC, the college’s Quality Enhancement Plan to reduce online learning barriers and support student learning, persistence, and success in online courses.
