MCC Daily Tribune

TCC Gratitude Series, Day 2: Kudos to ESOL and Transitional Studies

Day 2 of TCC gratitude continues kudos with from students to faculty and staff. Today’s recognized academic department is ESOL and Transitional Studies: faculty and staff appreciate you.

Kudos from Faculty and Staff to ESOL and Transitional Studies

The entire ESOL and Transitional Studies Department

The ESOL/TRS Department has experienced a challenging semester with the announcement that the current plan for reorganization would see department disciplines integrated into other academic departments. The ongoing process has occupied a considerable part of the department's bandwidth. Despite this, the faculty of the ESOL/TRS Department continue to diligently serve their students. They remain involved in important initiatives across the College and continue to advocate for students. Their dedication to supporting student needs in order to uphold equity of access to education remains unwavering. It's inspiring to work among educators so dedicated to student success. Kudos to the faculty of the ESOL/TRS Department!

Eric Berg, (ESOL and Transitional Studies Department)

Eric is a new chair, and he came into the position at a challenging time for the department. He has handled many situations with a level-headed calmness that is much-appreciated. It is because of his dedication to students and tireless work that we are making progress on several initiatives.

Jim McCusker, (ESOL and Transitional Studies Department)

Professor McCusker's wealth of knowledge around teaching writing, his support for fellow colleagues and commitment to his students is beyond exceptional. Jim's humor and wit can brighten up anyone's day and is and added bonus to an all-around superb individual.

Kudos from Students to Faculty and Staff: Letters from D to G and stay tune for more kudos!!!

Dana Voldan Curry, (School of Social Sciences and Global Studies)

Dana makes scheduling appointments very easy and provides multiple way of carrying out the appointments. I have scheduled an appointment with her almost every semester for setting up classes. She has always been able to guide me in the right direction for my degree and she gave me recommendations for my electives and help to decide which will be most helpful in farthing my degree. I have enjoyed all the classes she has suggested as well as her personality. She's very patient, kind, and caring for everyone and their goals.

David Herbst, (Mathematics), Receiving 2 Nominations

Mr. Herbst taught my class to go back to the basics. We take everything one step at a time and it relieves the humiliation of getting a question wrong, that a lot of students feel. He doesn’t make us feel bad for not understanding, he just helps us through it. He takes the time to get to know us and is genuine in his efforts. Math class, because of his caring approach, is not scary or embarrassing to go to anymore. He just wants us to succeed, one step at a time.
Genuinely cares about his students and them understanding the material. He makes class a stress-free experience.

David McLuckie, (ESOL & Transitional Studies -Downtown Campus)

Mr. Mcluckie has been there to encourage me and remind me not to give up. He uses comforting words to help me stay focused and on track the assignments I feel are challenging for me. Having a professor that shows they care about your mental state is truly invaluable. He inspired me to keep pushing forward and even when things get tough.

David Pultorak, (Engineering and Physics)

Professor Pultorak puts personability back into teaching. He is patient in labs, understanding of circumstances, and most of all kind. Quick with a smile and a full of amusing idioms, Professor Pultorak is always willing to give you a hand up when the material is beating you down. Knowledgeable from his years in industry, he is exciting to talk to about the overwhelming number of avenues our perspective careers could take us. Fun Fact about Professor Pultorak, he and his friends stay connected by recreating and competing in various random games like battleship etc. on their computers. Thank you for being a down to earth, caring, and invigorating person/professor!

Dianne Chamberlain, (ESOL & Transitional Studies)

She helps me along with not be scared to write essay. She always tells me I got this. I would like to thank her for helping this new journey.

Dianne Clements, (ESOL & Transitional Studies)

This woman is remarkable in so many ways. I have never had a teacher who wants to see their students succeed more than she does. Despite the situations I have been through and shared with her, never once has she treated me less than-always equal too. If it were not for her helping to inspire me to believe more in my own self this semester, I truly do not believe I would have made it this far. If there is anyone who deserves this award it is her.

Donald Toyer, (ESOL & Transitional Studies)

Mr. Toyer is a wonderful professor, he makes learning math so easy! He explains it to us until we get it, and shows us different steps if were still confused. He makes coming to school so enjoyable and makes learning fun! thank you for giving me confidence in being successful!!

Donna Burke, (ESOL & Transitional Studies), Receiving 2 Nominations

Throughout the entirety of our COS 101 course, Professor Burke made every effort to help accommodate students, make them feel heard, and be an overall good person. As this was my first semester online, COS 101 made my transition into the flow of school easier and gave me goals that I keep in mind every day. Thank you thank you thank you
Phenomenal techniques to build our college standards is being taught by someone who believes and knows that getting a college degree is possible. She is very knowledgeable about the resources that are usually not shared by your average professor's. She helps you find that drive that is required to go on and be successful in obtaining your college degree. The tool her class provides are essential to my college career and I am thankful that she was the professor who brought me out of my fog and helped me refocus.

Ebony Brown, (Criminal Justice), Receiving 2 Nominations

Professor Brown is easily one of the best professors I’ve had. She makes class easy to follow by using her personal stories to make the material relevant.
Professor Brown is incredibly hard-working and always finds ways to show her love and support for all of her students. She not only teaches in her spare time while also being an RPD investigator, but she is also an extraordinary professor. She communicates with her students about their needs and struggles, attending to their classwork and giving helpful feedback. We all love and appreciate Professor brown's work for her students and the CRJ department.

Elena Dilai, (Mathematics), Receiving 2 Nominations

She is very helpful, she makes the class easier to understand and she is very patient exampling the problem in different and as many times as you need.
She is very helpful and kind. She is very Patient and takes the time to make sure you understand your work.

Elizabeth Voll, (Chemistry and Geoscience), Receiving 2 Nominations

She teaches like teaching kindergartners, which isn’t a bad thing, because for some people, the repetition and simplifying the daunting course of chemistry helps! She provides answers that are understandable, as in how did we get there. She’s very calm which I think lessens the pressure. She emails ahead the weekly schedule, and information about the quizzes the night before. I’d think she prepares us students pretty well for tests, if you’re willing to put in your part of the learning.
After struggling with chemistry in high school, Professor Voll has made it one of the easiest subjects to learn and retain. She makes sure all her students understand every lesson and isn't afraid of our million questions. You can tell she truly loves her job and cares for each one of her students. She has made the transition from high school to college a joyful and less stressful experience. So, thank you, we appreciate you more than you know.

Elizabeth Walker, (Mathematics)

Professor Walker has been quite an understanding and excellent professor. She has, on numerous occasions, been able to help me learn and understand topics and subjects that other teachers have struggled to help me with. She also has gone out of her way to make sure that I have a full understanding of these topics and has actively spent her own time helping me to when I don’t. She is a very kind professor and has given me the confidence that I will pass not only her class but all of my other classes as well.

Eraj Basnayake, (Mathematics)

Professor B's genuine concern for his students' success is clear in each and every one of his classes. He is patient and thorough, taking as much time as each student needs to ask questions, even if it means combing through a lengthy problem over, and over, and often adding a touch of humor to lighten the weight of college algebra. As an adult learner returning to school, I was beyond intimidated to be taking my first math class in over 10 years. Professor B's teaching has helped clear any of the nerves I had and I am now excelling in Math 104. He is deserving of a shoutout!

Eric Berg, (ESOL & Transitional Studies)

Mr. Berg was my professor last semester and the way he leads with kindness and patience is unparalleled to any other teacher. We were in a flex place class but I still always felt that he was happy to help us. He is a fantastic teacher and offers so many tools to help you through the class. He asked us at the beginning of the semester to rate our confidence with math on a scale of 1-10 and at the time I know I said something very low, because math is difficult for me. But after Mr. Berg’s constant efforts to come up with strategies that work for every student individually and his patience, I left his class with a much higher rating. Not because of how good I am in math, but how confident I am that I can always get through it, because the patience that he demonstrated with his students is now the patience that I show myself.

Erin Strobl, (Biology)

Professor Strobl has made the curriculum of her classes so intriguing and exciting that I am now on a pathway towards biology! I look forward to every single one of her classes. She is such a fun and bright person, and is so extremely intelligent. The concepts in class can sometimes be hard to grasp, but she teaches in a way that allows learning to be so easy and understandable. She’s patient, kind and funny, and she makes the class so welcoming. I am so lucky to have her as a professor.

Frankie Weldgen, (Visual and Performing Arts), Receiving 2 Nominations

He is a really kind and understanding professor. I never have once felt stressed to finish an assignment in his class, he explains the assignments really well and teaches about art very well and thoroughly.
He’s an incredible teacher that motivates his students to do their best and always has a positive attitude. I’ve never met someone who had him for a class that said they wouldn’t want to have him again. I technically don’t need to have another class with him but I want to take his comic class because I enjoy comics and I would love to have him as a teacher again.

Gabe Armatas, (Chemistry and Geoscience), Receiving 2 Nominations

Very down to earth and understanding. I'm struggling but keep going because he is encouraging also, I like how he teaches.
Professor Armatas was incredibly supportive and kind during our classes.

Gary Rainford, (English and Philosophy)

Gary has been an awesome professor to work with my first semester at MCC. I really appreciate the patience and encouragement he showed me while working on my first thesis statement. It is because of this patience and encouragement that I now feel confident in my writing skills.

Gordon Dutter, (Anthropology, History, Political Science, Sociology)

Makes each lesson very well informed and makes each PowerPoint presentation very well elaborative about each topic. I feel very well informed and feel like my questions were thoroughly answered and expanded upon.

Melis Kural
Teaching & Creativity Center
12/07/2023