A full house was on hand at the Peninsula Workforce Development Center on April 25 for Virginia Peninsula Community College’s annual employee awards ceremony.
David Batory was named the outstanding teaching faculty, while Dr. Mary Romero was named outstanding adjunct faculty. Sonja Vega (outstanding full-time staff), Michael Smith (outstanding part-time staff) and Mary Kanani (outstanding administrative faculty) also were honored. Jonalyn Gore was named the CSSA person of the year.
Beth Dickens received a special recognition award, and Sharon Cotman was recognized for her 40 years of service to the College.
Other winners were:
Gator Great Customer Service Award (for integrity, commitment and service): Latasha America, Veronica Dempsey, Michael Enz, Kia Newell and William Moore. Honorable mention: Kathy Shannon, LaRhonda Johnson Horton, Roslyn Upshur, Gerry Mathey, Janeen Fortune, Amy Anderson and Chris Moore.
Emerging leader: Seth Fisher.
Faculty Focus Awards: Adrianna Hardage (diversity awareness, inclusivity and multicultural enrichment), Jacqueline Blackwell (scholarly and creative engagement), Hannah Powers (teaching effectiveness), Amy Schmidt (student success), Ian Taylor (collegiality and teamwork), Lynsey LeMay (leadership), Michelle Dean (institutional responsibility), and. Olunfunke Olagunju (service).
Vanguard Awards (recognizes a full-time teaching faculty member who demonstrates excellence in one or more areas of faculty endeavor): Pete Berquist (teaching), Kim Zahn (scholarly and creative engagement), Amy Anderson (institutional responsibility), and Elena Kuchina (service).
Learning Environment Awards (student-nominated for full-time and adjunct Instructors who exhibit innovative teaching techniques, a supportive classroom culture, a responsiveness to learners’ needs, a safe and healthy learning environment, or student success support):
Bronze level (1-2 nominations): Claire Edmonds, Beth Beasley, Ann Evans, Anthony Fotinos, Desmond Osborne, Kim Zahn, Ji Hyon “Nina” Mun, Lynsey LeMay, Anthony Townes, Kevin Gardner, Starsha Blankenship, Dawn Hayden, Rachel Andrews, Elizabeth “Liz” Kelso, Hannah Powers, Dave Batory, Sergio Maria-Fagundez, Olufunke Olagunju, Latrice Martin, Amy Anderson, Serena Sears, Shaheem Abrahams, Kerri Duncan, Kelly Hines, Cait Layton, Leo Keneally, Jacqueline Spencer, Amanda Maule, Shiekema Queen, Kristi Escobar, Lucinda Spryn and S.H. Sathish Indika.
Silver level (3-4 nominations): Linda Dunn, Rebecca Jaderquist, Amy Schmidt, Pengfei Song, Susan Stainback and Natasha Woods.
Gold level (5-7 nominations): Crystal Clark and Shannon Swendsen.
Platinum Level (Instructor Supreme): Dr. Keisha Samuels.
One-year service awards: Isaiah Brown, Nicole Currier, Doreen Dougherty, Jenna Ellis, Monique Griffin, Janeen Jackson, Doretha Jones, Christina Pasko, Dionne Redding, Angela Robinson, Brianna Sage, Shannon Swendsen, Bradley Todd, Shayla Williams and Haddon Wright.
Three-year service awards: Latasha America, Gina Baird, Adrianna Hardage, DeShondra Lindsey-Johnson, Jessica Richert-Jones, Scott Stauble and Natasha Woods.
Five-year service awards: J.J. Bonavita, Steve Carpenter, Miisha Clemons, Jenni Jones, Elizabeth Kelso and Amy Schmidt.
10-year service awards: Tim Crittenden, Johnette Edwards, Jonalyn Gore, Sofoklis Hiotellis, LaRhonda Johnson Horton, Trisha Ok, Bobby Perkins, Pengfei Song, William “Ted” Tweel, William Ventura and Brandie Weaver.
15-year service awards: Shanda Barnes, Veronica Dempsey and Mary Kanani.
20-year service awards: Esther Alston, Natalie Bellamy and Kelly Hines.