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MCC Daily Tribune

TCC: Last round of our gratitude series, An assortment of appreciations

Today is the final day to share TCC’s semiannual kudos across the college and we have some fantastic kudos to highlight on this last day. I would like to recognize kudos from students to the downtown faculty. I am thrilled to share Bruce Link has received 10 kudos! I also want to give a huge shoutout to our TCC’s Nancy Soregi, faculty leads Amy Burtner and Erin Strobl, the steering committee, and TCC’s incredible facilitators. Your hard work and dedication are truly inspiring!

Kudos From Students to Faculty:

Peter Francione (Law and Criminal Justice, Downtown Faculty)

  • Teaches a very interesting class ensures adequate learning.
  • I learned a lot in his class and his sense of humor made every lesson incredibly fun and memorable.

Bruce Link (Information and Computer Technology), Receiving 10 Nominations!!!

  • Professor Link is an outstanding professor who genuinely cares about his students' success. He is always available to provide extra help and consistently seeks feedback from his students, not just to listen, but to actively implement their suggestions to improve the class experience.
  • Professor Link is a phenomenal instructor, he's extremely knowledgeable and able to explain complex topics in an easily digestible and direct manner. I appreciate that he's willing to help students whenever he's available, even if it's not during the allocated time. It's clear he's spent a lot of time and effort putting together the reference and lecture materials for the class. Out of all the classes I've taken so far, both of Professor Link's have been my favorite.
  • During my time as a student at Monroe Community College, I have had the pleasure of taking each of the three different courses taught by Professor Link. These courses cover highly complex, technical concepts, and are generally taken by students majoring in Computer Science and adjacent fields, as well as Engineering students who may lack a conventional Computer Science background. Given the depth of the material, Professor Link has taken a few standout measures in order to make each course more accessible. Firstly, he utilizes a unique, flipped classroom teaching style in order to ensure that class time is efficiently spent on covering difficult new concepts, answering questions, and troubleshooting issues. He has always been kind, understanding, and patient with his students and their issues, and will take the time necessary to ensure their understanding of a difficult concept. This is particularly valuable to the aforementioned Engineering students, who may not have the requisite Computer Science knowledge, particularly programming, necessary for some of the course material. Second, he uses consistent, extremely organized Brightspace pages in order to make available the dozens of resources that are needed throughout the course. These have proven invaluable to me during my time in his classes, and the amount of effort put into designing and organizing them, relative to the course structure, is self-evident. Lastly, he uses a flexible but fair grading system which rewards mastery of a concept rather than just memorization. He does this by first observing each student's demonstration of a laboratory assignment, and then checking with the student for understanding. While I would be hard pressed to pick favorites amongst all of the Computer Science teachers here, Professor Link is easily a top contender.
  • I'd like to give a huge shoutout to Bruce for all the help he's given me in learning embedded systems. His willingness to go above and beyond, whether answering questions or offering guidance, has been invaluable. Bruce, your dedication and support have made a big difference in my progress, and I can't thank you enough!
  • "Professor Bruce Link is an exceptional professor whose dedication and passion for teaching make him a remarkable educator. Currently teaching CSC202, he creates an engaging and supportive learning environment that truly benefits his students, including those like me who are non-matriculated at MCC. Professor Link takes his class and assignments seriously while being incredibly understanding and helpful during lectures and lab sessions. He emphasizes hands-on lab work, designing fun and informative activities that significantly enhance our understanding of the material. His approachable nature encourages students to ask questions and seek help, ensuring no one feels lost. His lenient grading style is complemented by thorough feedback, which has profoundly impacted my learning experience. Professor Link's commitment to student success is evident; he makes himself readily available for extra help and understands when life presents challenges. His lectures cover essential topics and prepare us well for lab work, making attendance crucial.
  • Overall, Professor Link is one of the most helpful professors at MCC, always going above and beyond to ensure that his students grasp the material and thrive in their studies."
  • Professor Bruce Link is an outstanding educator who truly cares about his students' success in CSC202 and beyond. His passion for teaching radiates through every class, where he creates an engaging, supportive, and fun environment that inspires me to learn deeply and confidently. The labs and projects he designs have real-world relevance, allowing us to apply our knowledge meaningfully. Professor Link is always ready to help, answering every question with patience and insight, and he ensures that we are never alone in our learning journey. Although I am only taking this class at MCC, I feel incredibly fortunate to have him as my professor. I believe he genuinely deserves this recognition for his remarkable dedication to his students.
  • I've had Professor Link for two semesters now and he is truly an outstanding professor. Professor Link goes out of his way to make students' learning experiences as good as it possibly can be. He creates an upbeat, welcoming environment in his classroom, making learning much easier and much more enjoyable. He encourages collaboration, challenges us to make connections across material, and teaches us how to present what we've learned with others. To me, these are skills we'll be able to take far beyond the classroom. Not only that, but he puts in immense effort to be available for any questions his students have, no matter the time of day. He keeps his classroom open and if he has the chance to help you, he will. It's evident that he's not only extremely passionate about the course material, but he also has a passion for teaching and helping students understand what he's teaching on a deeper level.
  • I think Professor Link, is an excellent teacher I've had him in the Spring semester 2024, the Fall semester 2024, and the upcoming Spring 2025 semester. He's always clarified any questions I had on lectures, and labs, was always available for office hours whenever I needed one-on-one meets with him to get help with assignments. He had the lab doors open early for his students so that we can have extra time to work on lab assignments. Most importantly, Professor Link has a trait that's rare in a college professor, he actually cares that his students learn, that they're taking something away from his classes, because in the real world, they're aren't any shortcuts, and he's preparing us for a career in the ICT field.
  • Very attentive and easy to talk to. He's very knowledgeable in his field which made lectures/labs easier. Cool guy!

Last Round of Kudos:

Nancy Soregi (Teaching and Creativity Center)

  • You make everything run smoothly.I truly appreciate your extensive knowledge, especially regarding logistics and coordination for the TCC programs. Your positive attitude, wisdom and creativity are truly admirable. Your deep care for the MCC community and the Teaching and Creativity Center is evident. The coordination and logistics behind the TCC programs are substantial, and please know that Nancy ensures everything goes seamlessly, and most importantly, that we always have good food for the TCC programs.

Amy Burtner & Erin Strobl (TCC, Faculty Leads)

  • I would express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the TCC faculty leads, Amy Burtner and Erin Strobl. The Teaching and Creativity Center offers many programs and resources that foster teamwork and collaborative thinking. I am very grateful to Amy and Erin for their invaluable support and input. I appreciate your commitment to the Teaching and Creativity Center.

Natasha Chen & April Daniels (First-Year Faculty Series)

  • I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Natasha and April for co-facilitating the first-year faculty series this semester. This semester has been full of new excitement in my personal life, and knowing that Natasha and April were there to support our first-year faculty has been incredibly reassuring. They have stepped up and created a wonderful community of learning. Our new faculty truly enjoys the new faculty development programs and the valuable teaching tips you both share. Thank you so much for everything you have done.

Ben Schermerhorn (Second-Year Faculty Series)

  • Ben co-facilitated the Second Year Faculty Series with me, despite to his busy schedule. I truly appreciate his positive attitude and willingness to help whenever needed. I cannot emphasize this enough-the Second-Year faculty genuinely appreciate learning new techniques and practices from him.

I would like to extend my appreciation to the TCC steering committee members, MCC’s college-wide mentorship faculty lead, Kara Tierney, and the adjunct professional development team, Mark Sample and Chris Wendtland. Thank you for everything you are doing for the Teaching and Creativity Center.

I feel very special and received some very encouraging kudos from my colleagues this semester. I promise I did not write kudos myself! I truly enjoy being part of the Teaching and Creativity Center and learning from you all. Please take care of yourselves and stay tuned for exciting spring semester programs and workshops. If you haven’t had a chance yet, please RSVP for the Winter Teaching Institute.

  • Melis is relentless in her efforts to engage faculty and staff in professional development across the College. It is rare that two days go by without her reaching out to participate in workshops that will change the way you think about your students and your practice. Thank you for all you do, Melis!
  • Melis has done a fantastic job in her first year as the TCC's Coordinator! She bring wonderful energy to the MCC Campus.  Melis is kind, compassionate and motivated to make MCC a better place for students and employees.  She is a joy to work with and we are so lucky to have her as a leader in the TCC!  I am grateful for the opportunity to work with such an awesome colleague!  I look forward to watching her grow the TCC in the future.
  • Kudos to Dr. Melis Kural for her first year leading the TCC. She has been instrumental in helping the College fulfill its mission of providing equitable, inclusive, and accessible classroom experiences for our students through organizing professional learning for faculty and professional staff. In the short time she has been here, she has integrated seamlessly into MCC culture and is truly an asset in creating a sense of community and purpose on campus.

Melis Kural
Teaching & Creativity Center
12/18/2024