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MCC Daily Tribune

TCC Gratitude Series - Day 10: Celebrating our Visual and Performing Arts Faculty

Today, I’d like to give a special shout-out to our Visual and Performing Arts Department. Thank you so much for your creativity, dedication, and all the amazing work you do. Stay tuned - more kudos coming your way tomorrow!

Jim Downer (Receiving Three Nominations)

  • Jim is so generous to offer helpful resources to adjuncts - thank you for all the advice, resources, and availability you've offered this semester!
  • Thank you, Professor, for an excellent Intro to Graphic Design class. I absolutely enjoyed the design experience I had chance to learned under your supervision. I had lots of fun and appreciate your approach towards the students, allowing them to learn from each other. It has been also fun time. I also appreciate your wit and sense of humor! Thank you for being awesome!
  • Thank you, Professor, for an excellent Intro to Graphic Design class. I absolutely enjoyed the design experience I had chance to learned under your supervision. I had lots of fun and appreciate your approach towards the students, allowing them to learn from each other. It has been also fun time. I also appreciate your wit and sense of humor! Thank you for being awesome!

Nitza Rodriguez (Receiving Two Nominations)

  • Professor Nitza teaches Crisis & Communication. She is very kind, has a sense of humor and keeps the class interesting. She creates activities that get each student involved, and even if the student is quiet/shy, Nitza's experiential teaching gets them equally involved without them being uncomfortable. Additionally, she knows everyone's names and makes sure everyone feels seen and like a person beyond just a student. Not all professors are personable, or even learn names. She is conscious of the emotions of each student/the vibe each day, and adjusts her energy while teaching based on that. Her class is well organized and she makes all material interesting to learn.
  • Nitza Rodriguez is an exceptional professor, a remarkable woman, and an admirable human being. She took on the challenge of teaching a class more than halfway through the Spring 2024 semester. Initially, I was a bit standoffish because I was grieving the loss of our previous professor. However, Nitza was empathetic, open-minded, and incredibly brave.

    In the short time I had her as a professor, I learned so much. I cannot thank her enough for encouraging me and believing in my potential to help others, especially those in crisis. Good communication is a skill that many people take for granted, yet not everyone possesses the ability to communicate effectively. Nitza helped me see my worth and taught me that I am part of a larger picture, beyond what I see in front of me.

    Thank you so much for helping me peel back my defensive layers.

Jason Flack (Department Chair)

Jason throughout my time here in MCC has become a great professor to learn under if we need help he's willing to give it, he pushes us to put the effort we need to so we can be successful, he's able to keep us at attention and on task and keeping us interested in the topic. the way he presents himself and how he interacts with us is also why he's one of the professors I respect the most.

Franzie Weldgen

Franzie is always such an encouraging professor, and I love all of his classes so much. In art studio classes, he takes the time to listen to each student's ideas and gets as excited about the projects as we do. I'm his art history class, he teaches with genuine love for the artists we learn about and valid criticism of how art has been studied in the past. I feel like I grow as a person in each class I have with him, and I'm glad to be able to take more classes with him next semester. Thank you very much!!

Kate Sweeney and Crieghton Lowe

I’d like to take a moment to shine a spotlight on the unsung heroes of MCC’s Theatre: Kate Sweeney and Crieghton Lowe. Theatre Coordinator, Kate, and Technical Assistant, Crieghton, each work tirelessly behind the scenes, ensuring that community performances, college events, and VaPA’s own theatrical productions run smoothly and come to life. From scheduling, to lighting design, audio/visual needs, set and prop building, and a myriad of other tasks, theatre technicians are the backbone of every production, performance, and event, and Kate and Crieghton consistently go above and beyond to ensure that every event, whether it’s held in the Theatre, the Black Box, on location at the Fringe Festival, or other spaces on campus is successful. Thank you for your countless hours in rehearsals, troubleshooting equipment, building sets and props, maintaining the theatre spaces, and perfecting every detail. Thank you for your passion, your professionalism, your collaborative work ethic, and your unwavering commitment to the craft of technical theatre. You are essential to not only the theatrical productions we produce each year, but also to the countless other events that come your way.

Ilene Benz

Professor Benz has been incredibly supportive and understanding towards my academic and personal journey. She has continuously helped me by coaching me through assignments in public speaking, made sure that I was okay during personal matters, and she has given me great advice for my educational plans for the future.

Athesia Benjamin

I work full time and have a busy life as well as medical issues that can get in the way of schoolwork. Prof. Benjamin, when I asked for extensions and gave my reasons, was graceful and let me retake quizzes I had missed and didn't dock points for the late assignments. When I reached out to her about someone posting hateful comments on the discussion board she listened and took down the comments. She listens to students concerns and does her best to meet them halfway and I was happy to have her as a teacher even though we never met in person. The coursework I thought was fun and interesting to learn about even if I struggled a little with it.

Rachel Wittels

I admire your patience and I appreciate your communication skills. How you are ok with possibly embarrassing yourself in order to best demonstrate. Just passing students along grades or ignoring them doesn’t help.  Your non judgmental/approachable personality makes it easy for us to be honest with you. It also motivates us to strive to do our best!

I also admire your fairness. I don’t see you favoriting anyone of us. You give and take credits according to your word. Your yes means yes, your nos mean know.
You don’t act like a haughty drone.
It’s been a pleasure learning and growing under your direction!  Thank you so much for being kind. 

Melis Kural
Teaching & Creativity Center
05/28/2025