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MCC Daily Tribune

TCC Gratitude Series - Day 11: Celebrating our Chemistry and Geosciences Faculty

Happy Thursday!

We have received an incredible number of kudos this year, and I’ll be continuing to share them for more than 10 days to celebrate our amazing colleagues.

Today, I’d like to give a big shoutout to Amanda Colosimo and Ben Schermerhorn for leading a grading institute this week—on top of their already busy schedules. Your dedication is truly appreciated!

Our featured department today is Chemistry and Geosciences. Thank you for your continous support of the TCC!

Azwana Sadique (Receiving Three Nominations)

  • Prepares well students and is a very good professor. I love her teaching style. She’s very organized and cares for students’ success.
  • She is very approachable and willing to help her students in anyway possible to succeed. One of my favorite professors. I would most definitely take more courses with her!
  • She makes chemistry easy to understand and remember. Great Professor

Michael Boester (Receiving Three Nominations)

  • Professor Boester is undeniably exceptional. He consistently goes above and beyond for his students, providing unwavering encouragement and instilling confidence in their learning journey. His dedication and commitment to their success are unparalleled—he tirelessly strives to ensure that every student not only excels in his course but also thrives in knowledge and self-assurance. His passion for teaching leaves a profound impact, and his steadfast support is invaluable to all who have the privilege of being in his class.
  • Professor Boester is an incredible teacher and lecturer. I've taken almost all of the classes he teaches, and he brings the same passion to every course, from Physical Geography to Geography of Genocide. He encourages participation in class and is eager to hear both right and wrong answers because he sees both as an opportunity for learning. He is also involved in students' extracurricular activities through the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project (HGHRP). Professor Boester has has a big hand in my own studies of the Holocaust and genocide and how to approach these topics through a human geographer's lens.
  • Professor Boester has been a wonderful teacher this semester. I have no background knowledge in geography, but taking his Human Geography class has been a great experience. He took us on a lovely field trip to Mount Hope Cemetery, and his excitement for the topics he teaches makes me feel very involved. I look forward to working with Professor Boester again next semester. Thank you very much!!

Kaycie Maylk (Receiving Two Nominations)

  • Dr. M has been such a supportive professor. She is always willing to slow down, take extra time when someone isn't understanding something and answer any questions we have. She always shows up to class with a smile and goes above and beyond to make sure each student has what they need to be successful. Thank you Dr. M for such a great semester!
  • I love that she is a new teacher, has adapted really well in teaching us students and making sure we understand, she will meet with you outside her hours to help you.  She will answer any question or teach it another way to make sure you understand.

Jonathon Little (Receiving Two Nominations)

  • Thank you for your guidance, patience and the way you showed up for me, so approachable. You've been such a grounding presence throughout my journey, and I appreciate the time, efforts and school resources you pour into your students. All the learning opportunities I've been part of that go beyond the classes have been very transformative experiences. Thanks to you my dreams feel more attainable than ever. Thank you for your dedication. I'm incredibly grateful for all you do!
  • Professor Little always makes himself available for questions and advice. He keeps us in the loop about internships, job opportunities, scholarships, and other relevant resources. He's also personable and genuine, and cares for his students and their success. He keeps an eye out for students who have a knack for cartography and geospatial analysis. His encouragement and positive feedback when I took Digital Earth several semesters ago is why I enrolled in the GIST program and am finishing up the program with the Capstone course in Geospatial Tech this semester. I couldn't/wouldn't have done it without him!

Lydia Tien (Receiving Two Nominations)

  • Lydia was such a welcoming professor to be greeted by at class everyday. I took Chemistry 2 with her which is definitely a challenging class but she always found a way to present the material in a very palatable manner and was very helpful in getting through the semester. Aside from how she carries out her classes, she is a great person who was always there to give advice on other classes and college overall. Lydia made an important impression on me about my experience at MCC and I will never forget her :)
  • Professor Lydia Tien is an outstanding chemistry professor who truly makes a difference. She is not only incredibly smart and knowledgeable, but also kind, supportive, and respectful toward her students. She genuinely cares about helping her students succeed, but she is also wise and fair in recognizing who is putting in the effort and who is not. She creates a healthy and professional learning environment by setting clear boundaries while still being approachable. Her dedication, clarity, and passion for teaching have made a big impact on me, and I deeply appreciate everything she does.

Ryan Clemens

Prof Clemens is a very patient educator. He has no problem repeatedly going over material more than once to make sure students understand it. He is very easy to get ahold of if there is ever an issue. With being extremely flexible, along with passion for what he does, he is an exemplary reflection of what people like to see in their teacher.

Kara Tierney (Leading the campus wide faculty mentorship program)

She is a great professor very patient and understanding and very helpful

Gabe Armatas (Receiving Two Nominations)

  • He had a great sense of humor, teaching and overall makes learning enjoyable.
  • Professor Armatas greatly supported my best friend and my learning struggles. We both had a tough time with the material, but he took the time to meet with us several times a week until we got it all down. He made sure we understood everything and were ready for our tests, allowing us to catch up at our own pace. We're so grateful for his help!

Jason Anderson 

Dr. Anderson is a passionate and driven professor who makes organic chemistry a lot less daunting. His kind and never makes you feel bad for asking questions. Over all a very good teacher.

Melis Kural
Teaching & Creativity Center
05/29/2025