Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is honoring nine faculty members with 2008 Excellence in Teaching Awards.
Cathy Cook, an English and communications instructor, has received the Outstanding Excellence in Teaching Award.
Cook has taught at RCCC for almost four years and has more than 17 years of teaching experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Pfeiffer University, a master’s degree from Duke University and a doctor of ministry degree from Drew University. She recently completed work on a master’s degree in communication studies at UNC Charlotte.
Last year, Cook received the Mary E. Jarrard Award for a graduate research paper she presented at Carolinas Communication Association annual convention. She also is RCCC’s nominee for the 2008 North Carolina Community College SystemńR.J. Reynolds Excellence in Teaching Award.
Three faculty members received Excellence in Teaching Awards with special distinction. They are:
– Brandon Hoffner, welding technology ń for support to the mission of the college.
– Kathy Knight, networking technology ń for use of technology in instruction.
– Sherylle Smith, history ń for active learning practices.
Other RCCC Excellence in Teaching Award winners are Sandy Daniel, office systems technology; Leanne Dixon, mathematics; Noah Henley, biology/life sciences; Amelia Likin, reading; and Robin Satterwhite, history and the humanities.
AT&T teacher finalists
Two local teachers were among the finalists for the 2008-09 AT&T North Carolina Teacher of the Year award.
They are Janice Raper, Hurley Elementary School, and Bernard Waugh, Kannapolis Intermediate School.
Creative writing award
Cristina Wilson, a sophomore at Davidson College, has been awarded the Vereen Bell Memorial Award in Creative Writing.
Wilson, daughter of Mike and Sonia Wilson of Salisbury, is a 2006 graduate of West Rowan High School. She plans to major in the field of gender and media studies with the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies.
She also received the R. Windley Hall Award for First-Year Writing.
She is a John O. Reynolds, Woodson, James Franklin Hurley and Davidson Honor scholar, captain of the Davidson Dance Team, choreographer and performer with the Dance Ensemble and member of Warner Hall Eating House.
She plans to study abroad with New York University in Madrid this fall.
Falcon Club director
Heather Mathis was recently named director of the Falcon Club at Pfeiffer University.
As director, Mathis will provide leadership to increase financial support for the university through annual unrestricted, restricted and capital improvement support of athletics. She will also be responsible for identifying prospects and donors, will develop action plans and will coordinate with coaches to create solicitation appeals. She will also plan and coordinate two annual golf tournaments.
A Maryville, Tenn., native, she most recently worked as a governance intern for the NCAA in Indianapolis, Ind., where she organized and managed the Division II 2008 Convention Education Sessions, assisted with the D-III grant and initiative funding and worked on several NCAA strategic initiatives.
As a former college athlete, she brings athletics experience to the post. She has served as a men’s compliance intern for the University of Tennessee and as a representative for D-III National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and D-III Management Council. She has also worked in constituent services for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander.
Real estate awards
Lois Branning, real estate program head and instructor at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, received two prestigious awards at the N.C. Real Estate Commission-sponsored Real Estate Educators Annual Conference held recently in Raleigh.
One was the N.C. Real Estate Educators Association 2008 Educator of the Year award. It honors Branning for her knowledge of the real estate field and professionalism and the consistent success of the RCCC real estate program.
The other was the Billie J. Mercer Excellence in Education Award. Branning’s name will be engraved on the Mercer Award Cup, which is displayed in the commission’s lobby in Raleigh.
Branning has been a member of the N.C. Real Estate Educators Association since 1995, serving on its board of directors twice and as president in 2006. She has been a full-time instructor and real estate program head at RCCC since 2000.
RCCC real estate students have achieved extraordinary success, including a 100-percent passing rate on the North Carolina real estate licensing examination during the period of July 1, 2007 to March 30, 2008.
Branning also received RCCC’s Outstanding Employee of the Year Award in 1999 and 2003.
UNCG Phi Beta Kappa
Yana Alexandrovna Romanova of Salisbury has been inducted into the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter.
Romanova, a music performance/history major, is the daughter of Ted Fuller and Alla Romanova of Salisbury.
Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most honored of all college honorary societies.
GQ Star students
Granite Quarry Elementary School recently recognized the following students as April Star Students:
Prekindergarten: Hailey Gainey, Elijah Morgan and Hayleigh Vaughn.
Kindergarten: Laaesha Harvey, Alejandro Murillo, Brandon Buck, Erika Lloyd, Felisaty Morgan, Graison McCorkle, Jack Bloom and Ashley Freeman.
First grade: Taylor Mitchell, Hailey Fesperman, Kaceyann Robbins, Daniel Smith, Ernie Webb, Destiny Cunningham, Luis Pineda, Siqi Jia, Joe Robb and Lila Thomas.
Second grade: Malik Cauthen, Amor Wagner, Matthew Mathis, Deviyion Barnhardt, Irving Garduno, Emma Shank and Noah Wiles.
Third grade: Elyssa Houston, Tyler Keaton-El, Makayla Eastman, Alex Alvarez, Haley Simmons, Nathan Cisney, Spencer Byrd, Freddie Parker and Desmond Gray.
Fourth grade: Donnie Hill, Kayla Greene, Tiana Patterson-Pollard, Christina Strobel, Emily Toth and Bill Leach.
Fifth grade: Arisa McDonald, Matthew Hardman, Colton Craven, Jazmon Watkins, Franklin Gillespie, Citlali Nunez, Danté Gaston and Sydney Feriante.
Play therapy training
The second annual conference of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Center for Play Therapy Training will be held June 23-27.
The conference will provide educational and clinical experiences for elementary school counselors, mental health counselors, social workers and psychologists who work with children between the ages of 2 and 10 years.
Play therapy is a structured, theoretically based approach to therapy that builds on the normal communication style of children. Through play therapy, therapists help children express what is troubling them when they do not have the verbal language to express their thoughts and feelings. In play therapy, toys are like the child’s words and play is the child’s language.
This year’s featured presenters and their topics are:
– Dr. Garry Landreth, University of North Texas, Healing the Hurting Child: The Necessary Dimensions of Child Centered Play Therapy.
– Elaine Wittmann, There is a Sand Box in the Playroom! Using Sand Play in Play Therapy.
– Dr. Phyllis Post, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Intensive Supervision in Play Therapy.
For more information or to register, visit http://education.uncc.edu/oeo/pt, contact Post at ppost@uncc.edu or Julia Dagenhart at jpdagenh@uncc.edu or call 704-687-8998.
Rockwell Roadrunners
Rockwell Elementary School recently recognized the following students as Rockwell Roadrunners for April based on the character trait of honesty:
Kindergarten: Camden Peters, Landen Bennett, Jennifer Owen, Austin Jackson, Dave Guo, Mahailey Moss, German Castillo, Paige Jackson.
First grade: Dylan Johnson, Jonah Ridenhour, Dylan Furr, Vitaliano Castillo, Jordan Loflin, Keegen Sease, Delaney Burleson, Dalton Lefler, Emma Linker, Anna Moneymaker, Lauren Bennett, Molly Hartman.
Second grade: Megan Fraley, Cortney Miller, Jordan Ward, Sean Incardona, Rachel Morton, Haley Loflin, Michael Oddie, Roger Malone, Alyssa Wolcott.
Third grade: Austin Seamon, Chandler Eury, Garrett Hildreth, Tate Houpe, Kira Cortorreal, T.J. Kesler, Tyler Murphy, Josh Dilts, Jacob Lopez, Sierra Layne.
Fourth grade: Jordan Jones, Daniel Muncy, Amber Alexander, Dustin Humphrey, Tayla Atkins, Katie Agner, Natalie Phelps, Mariah Peters.
Fifth grade: Malea Yee, Tim Besmer, Michaela Greene, Brandon Fortin, Bailey Loper, Simon Soles, Kaleigh Troutman, Brandy Kegeris, Ashton Allman.
Wabash award
Jackson Price of Salisbury was recognized at the annual Wabash College Student Awards and Honors Program.
Price received the Benjamin A. Rogge Memorial Award and David W. Peck Medal, was named a George Lewes Mackintosh Fellow and noted for distinction on his senior comprehensive examinations.
Price, a senior, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald G. Price of Salisbury.
The Rogge Award is awarded to the academically outstanding member of the senior class who best articulates the free-market philosophy and ideals of Ben Rogge, professor of economics, emeritus of Wabash College.
The Peck Medal is awarded each year to a senior to recognize “promise or eminence in the law.”
Income from the Mackintosh Memorial Fund provides scholarships for six graduating seniors who will be going on the graduate or professional schools.