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MCC Daily Tribune

TCC Gratitude Series - Day 6: Celebrating MCC's Downtown Faculty and Staff

Today, I’d like to share kudos from our students to the dedicated faculty and staff at the downtown campus. It’s wonderful to share the kudos — from students to faculty and staff, and from faculty and staff to one another. This semester, the Teaching and Creativity Center successfully coordinated several professional development programs at the downtown campus. I’m especially grateful for the warm welcome and encouragement I received throughout these events.

From Colleagues to Colleagues

Lena Shiao (School of Community Engagement and Development)

Lena, you’ve always made yourself available for my questions no matter how many times I asked (and I know I asked a lot!). I’m not going to say I’ll miss you, because hard candy shells with soft centers always find their way back to each other. Wishing you the happiest retirement, you’ve earned every minute of it!

Kimberly DeLardge (DC, Students Engagement)

I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to Kimberly Delardge. This semester, the Teaching and Creativity Center hosted several programs at the downtown campus, and Kimberly played a key role in making them a success.

Kimberly, thank you for your support and encouragement in helping me build meaningful connections. More importantly, thank you for always making me feel welcome at the downtown campus. I truly appreciate everything you do for our students, as well as for the MCC Downtown faculty and staff.

Kelly A. Nagle (Law and Criminal Justice)

We are thrilled to celebrate our colleague Kelly as she marks her tenth year as a faculty member in the Law/Criminal Justice Department. Over the past decade, Kelly has been nothing short of amazing and inspirational to both students and colleagues alike.

Her unwavering dedication to enhancing the quality of student lives is evident in every aspect of her teaching. As a leader within the department and one of the driving forces behind the Criminal Justice Club, Kelly’s work consistently reflects her deep commitment to student success and engagement.

Kelly embodies our college's core values: Community, Inclusiveness, Integrity, Excellence, Empowerment, and Stewardship. These values are not just words to her; they are lived out in her daily interactions, thoughtful mentorship, and consistent efforts to uphold the highest standards within our department.

Her presence permeates every corner of our program, and her impact on students is immeasurable. We are grateful for her service, her passion, and the incredible example she sets for all of us.
Congratulations, Kelly, and thank you for ten outstanding years!

Ann Kuhn (Economic & Workforce Development and Career Technical Education)

Ann's work assisting with the intake and processing intake of potential students to receive grant support is essential to helping WFD fund non-credit students to advance their careers. Ann goes above and beyond to support WFD and the WFD students, making a direct impact on student lives.

From Students to MCC Downtown Faculty and Staff

Nicole Meyers (DC, Student Engagement)

Nicole is great I feel like she does it all from connecting with students, making sure they are okay make sure they are getting help with whatever they need! She is the most nonjudgmental person here at MCC takes care of her students tell them right from wrong! She runs Dwight at our downtown campus build communities treats us like we belong! Not to many do that she is amazing and deserves all good things

Dr. Toya Manon (Education and Human Services)

She is an intelligent person who cares about people's feelings and respects boundaries, she has a way of being chill and bringing up subjects that are important to know and understand of becoming a teacher.

Dina Giovanelli (AHPSS, Receiving Three Nominations)

  • She’s such a supportive person, she’s been there since I’ve been going through my challenges and hasn’t given up on me yet, her love is so unconditional and so is her support she’s been nothing but THERE, and that’s what matters most.
  • Dina Giovanelli is one of the professors who has stayed in my mind since I took a break from Monroe Community College. I left MCC due to personal issues, including childcare and relationship challenges, as well as battling postpartum depression, which I was unaware I was experiencing at the time. 

    Before leaving, I had the pleasure of taking both Intro to Sociology and Urban Sociology. These classes were incredibly inspiring, and Dina created such an accepting atmosphere. While we may share moments of similar thinking, each of us is unique in our learning styles. Dina made me feel that my thoughts were important, that my way of learning was valid, and she even appreciated my use of multi-colored fine-tip pens to fit chapters of notes onto a single sheet of graph paper.

    I felt seen, heard, and valued, and Dina has remained in my thoughts as I decided to return and finish what I started. I realized I needed to experience a bit more life to fully appreciate this degree. Thank you, Dina, truly.
  • Dina is truly unique. She is kind, accepting, patient, intelligent, and dynamic. She teaches with passion and does a wonderful job presenting controversial subjects in a way that is nonbiased and respectful. She makes learning excited and she is extremely dedicated to protecting vulnerable demographics.

Jennifer Vigneri (Law and Criminal Justice)

Professor Vigneri consistently goes above and beyond for her students. Her care and dedication are prevalent every single day. She is encouraging and kind to her students and always shows compassion and understanding for anyone struggling. Without her support and guidance, I don’t know where I would be today. She has truly formed my college experience into something I can be proud of and thankful for.

Matt Della Porta (Psychology)

Professor Della Porta doesn’t lecture, he allows and encourages every class to be a conversation. A conversation about what we’re learning, and how our unique life experiences apply.

Mary Mulligan (English and Philosophy)

As a 37-year-old returning student and single mother, I was beyond overwhelmed. Ms. Mulligan has been a beacon of light. She has been so incredibly kind and patient. I look forward to coming to her class. I have grown so much from the thoughtfully curated assignments I've completed. Ms. Mulligan took the time to build a community in the classroom. My colleagues have become in school friends and people I have come to rely on for school support. I am so grateful for Ms. Mulligan.

Melis Kural
Teaching & Creativity Center
05/21/2025