MCC Daily Tribune

TCC Gratitude Series Fall 2025: Day 1

I still can’t believe this semester is almost over! It is always my greatest privilege and joy to share our annual TCC Gratitude Kudos with all of you. You inspire me every day with everything you do to support our students’ growth, learning, and success.

I also want to send a huge kudos to our students—they care so deeply about the MCC community! This semester, about 135 students sent me kudos for their professors and the MCC community. I’ll be sharing their words of appreciation over the next 10 days. You all rock! Wishing you a strong finish to the semester. I know this time can feel busy and overwhelming, but we’ve got this!

To kick off our Kudos series, I’d like to start with the Biology Department. One of TCC’s Faculty Leads, Erin Strobl, works tirelessly to coordinate the Winter Teaching Institute, scheduled for January 14, 2026—so stay tuned! Erin is a kind, passionate, and compassionate educator, serving as both a TCC Faculty Lead and a professor of Biology. Let’s continue the kudos with the entire Biology Department!

From Colleagues to Biology Department

James Murphy (Biology)

James is a great advocate and leader for the biology department. He has been the department chair for several years and continues to do an excellent job helping faculty, staff, and students.

Allyssa Johnson, Craig Hauschild and Gray Stevens (Biology)

Allyssa, Craig, and Gray keep our biology labs going behind the scenes at the Brighton Campus. The department was down a Technical Assistant this semester and all three of them have stepped up to divide up tasks to fill the role to keep our labs running smoothly this semester on top of their normal workload. Allyssa did a fantastic job setting up our Bio 156 lab in addition to our microbiology labs. Craig offered great help setting up Bio 155 labs in addition to the department's anatomy labs. Gray did an awesome job setting up Bio 116 and Bio 120 for us. Gray has also been a key component in keeping our campus greenhouse looking beautiful the last several years. All three have been wonderful assets to the biology department. Thank you for your hard work! We appreciate you!

Laura Penman (Biology)

Laura Penman recently completed Lumen’s Circle AI Professional Development program—an intensive eight-week course—on top of all the amazing work she already does! I’ve learned so much from Laura and truly admire her passion for biology, environmental studies and teaching.

From Students to Biology Professors

Julie Babulski (Biology) & Faculty Senate President, Receiving Four Nominations

Professor Babulski was always kind and considerate when I took her course for microbiology. While making the class extremely interactive and fun she was able to still focus on the seriousness of the course. She always ensured that students were able to ask questions and was there as a support network if you needed additional help. Her humor and love for microbiology made the semester fly by and I always appreciate running into her on campus. Even though I'm not taking a course of hers, she still stopped to chat and had a lovely demeanor!
Babulski is an exceptional teacher who brings enthusiasm and humor to every class, even at 9 pm on a Monday night. She is always available to her students, offering encouragement and praise when it's needed most. Thanks to her, biology is not only survivable, but also truly engaging and fascinating. Her dedication to our success makes her a remarkable educator, and we are grateful for everything she does. Thank you, Professor Babulski!
She is an absolutely wonderful professor who goes above and beyond to help her students learn. Even going as far as to teach students outside the realm of the course work if they are interested. She is kind, empathetic and compassionate. Encouraged me when I needed it most and helped me reach my goal to get into the nursing program. I have been lucky enough to have her for two of my classes now and would highly recommend her for anyone who has a passion for biology.
She’s an amazing professor, she teaches in a way that we all understand, I love her positivity.

Laurie Rocco (Biology), Receiving Two Nominations

This is my first semester back to school, and Dr. Rocco is an incredible professor. She has pushed my knowledge and assisted in my education. Her teaching style helps me to want to learn more and continue my education ,As an adult student who has been out of the college environment for 25+ years, transitioning back was a big, scary challenge. Balancing a full time job and a family, while learning to study all over again is a daunting task.
Dr. Rocco is teaching my AP1 class and honestly I probably wouldn’t be as successful as I have been with another professor. She’s offered me study tips and methods to learn and retain detailed information that has helped me become a better student. She’s always willing to answer questions via emails or in person, often staying late after class to discuss a question I have and clarify the material. Teachers are often unrecognized for the extra work they put in. She doesn’t just recite lectures, she relates it to real world examples and makes it interesting and fun. She’s a great professor and certainly deserves some kudos! Thanks Dr. Rocco!

Stephen Bauer (Biology), First-year Faculty, Receiving Two Nominations

Dr. Bauer is a remarkable human being. Not only am I learning about Microbiology; I truly look forward to attending class and lab. Dr. Bauer's care for us students is palpable. The first day of class and in a lecture hall of over 50 students; Dr. Bauer was quickly learning students’ names, and what programs of study they were in, and by the end of the first-class. Dr. Bauer was able to recite and identify many of these students by name. Dr. Bauer creates a warm, professional, caring, extremely knowledgeable environment that is surrounded by positivity, respect, and compassion. It is an honor to be able to have Dr. Bauer recognized and celebrated for his remarkable teaching and humanity. Dr. Bauer is a huge asset to Monroe Community College! I am grateful to have been able to learn from him this semester. He has made learning about Clinical Microbiology safe, fun, and understandable. Thank you, Dr. Bauer, for being you and all you do!
Stephen Bauer Biology Dr. Bauer consistently shows up for lecture and lab in many ways. He is always offering extra help, keeps the lecture engaging, and interacts well with his students. He gives real life examples and explains the material in a way that is easy to understand.

Erin Strobl (Biology)

Biology Professor Strobl is the embodiment of kindness and empathy. She truly cares for her students and creates an environment that is comfortable for learning, which is unfortunately a lost art among many college professors.

Charles Wuertzer (Biology)

Biology I’m just grateful that I was able to take the lab practicum when I was ready, I am currently taking three additional classes along with biology and the fact that I can take my practicum to get it out the way to focus on my other classes really helped me out a lot this semester. Also he was friendly about it, which I appreciate.

Mary Arnold (Biology)

Professor Mary Arnold's teaching and support made Bio class understandable and she did everything she could to help us succeed.

Christopher Wendtland (Biology), Adjunct Faculty Professional Development Committee member

Professor Wendtland has made my lab experience very positive. His energy and personality made the labs very fun and interactive, and his review guides for the tests were very clear and helpful for me to be successful on the tests. I highly appreciate him providing me with all of my accommodations needed for my tests this semester and for being excellent in communicating and being flexible with me.

Michael M. Anthony (Biology)

Professor Anthony always keeps his class engaged by making the topics relatable and/or funny. He is attentive to his students needs showing compassion and care at every moment.

Jennifer Hill (Biology)

Dr. Hill is the pinnacle of what a professor is meant to be, she is passionate and knowledgeable about her topic, always pleased to answer questions, and understanding about the fact that we have a life outside of school. She takes a difficult subject and gives us so many tools to succeed, I cannot imagine how one could teach the subject of anatomy any more effectively. As a nurse I have had to study anatomy many times, even though this is the highest level I've learned so far it has been the easiest time due to Dr. Hills amazing teaching. If she taught any more classes that counted towards my degree I would be taking them, I hope my future professors are as sincere and motivated as Dr. Hill.

Paul Emerick (Biology)

He works incredibly hard even when times are tough. His tools, review guides, feedback, personality, and encouragement have helped me be successful in navigating this challenging course. His work is very appreciated and not unnoticed.

Melis Kural
Teaching & Creativity Center
12/08/2025