2006 AALL Awards

AALL Annual Awards Description and Criteria 

Gary Eyre Lifetime Achievement Award - Judy Boyd

Judy Boyd entered the field of Adult Education in 1989 and retired on June 30, 2006, after seventeen extremely successful years in the classroom.  Her career included five years as an ABE/ASE instructor at Waubonsee Community College in Aurora, Illinois and twelve years in the same capacity at Rio Salado College.  

During her career Judy successfully assisted countless students in their pursuit of a GED diploma.  She was a non-stop advocate for her students, particularly those with learning challenges.  And she was also very generous with her fellow teachers, never hesitating to share her knowledge with them.  
As a professional colleague, Judy is viewed as an outstanding, charismatic leader in the adult education field.  She has demonstrated her leadership both in and out of the classroom.  Judy has most effectively provided leadership in the classroom by guiding her adult learners toward their established academic goals.  The students have complete faith in her recommendations as she urges them on, helps build their confidence levels, and rejoices with them in what may be their very first academic success.  In fact during Judy’s twelve years of employment with Rio Salado College, she helped at least a thousand students receive their GED diplomas.  

Outside the classroom, Judy stimulates teamwork by modeling enthusiasm, energy, and determination to accomplish program goals.  She leads by example and by giving of herself for the benefit of others.  Rio Salado College’s ABE Program has a very large GED Graduation every year and due to its size it requires many volunteers.  Year after year we could count on Judy being there to help out.  Truth be told, she was a bit like a mother hen, wanting to make sure that her many graduates in attendance were properly taken care of.  But this was just an indication of the pride she had for her students and their accomplishments.  She often asked to sit at the graduates’ check-in table, so she could give each of them a personal welcome.  When that task was all done you would find her wandering downstairs to the robing room where she would give a congratulatory hug to as many of them as she could find while making sure that their cap and gown looked just right on them.

Another yearly event for Rio Salado College’s ABE Program is our National Adult Education Honor Society Induction.  It is a much smaller event but one filled with just as much excitement for teachers like Judy. We knew that every year Judy would submit two or three of her students as nominees.  Some might think we would get tired of seeing her send us her students, but actually we wished we had more Judys.  But Judy wasn’t satisfied just giving us student nominations.  More than once she served on the induction planning committee, and even helped by delivering the teachers’ keynote speech.

Twice a year Rio Salado College’s ABE Program holds a teacher in-service with a normal crowd of 120 or more teachers gathering on a Saturday morning to engage in professional learning.  With a group that large we always need to provide a good many breakout sessions.  Once again Judy would step forward and offer to plan and present a session.  Who will ever forget when the first Harry Potter book came out Judy’s in-service session titled, “Hogwart’s Magical School of Writing”, complete with props from the storyline.  I think it is fair to say that Judy was a bit of a magical person herself.

Judy came to Rio Salado College in 1994 with a Masters Degree in Adult Learning.   For the next twelve years, she put that formal education to use in the ABE/ASE classroom by helping thousands of students achieve their goals.  Her humble attitude and extensive adult education background included many fresh ideas about adult curriculum and instruction. As a new employee, she quietly motivated other teachers at the learning center to grow in the field of adult education.  For several years she asked for computers for her classroom, even if only a few.  When she finally got five computers she wasted no time introducing students to this other learning strategy.  This evolved to the point whereby many students in her class were spending fifty per cent of their self-directed study time on computers.   That’s an example of how Judy explored student learning preferences.  

Judy was a tireless advocate for her students, especially those many students in her classroom that had special needs. She became very knowledgeable about student accommodations.  Very early on Judy adopted a screening tool that she used with each and every student that came to her classroom.  And you can be sure that the Accommodations Tool Kit that Judy had in her classroom gathered no dust.  Her help for these students did not stop in the classroom.  Judy personally contacted GED examiners on their behalf to help them fill out GED Testing accommodations forms. 

It is easy to see how professional Judy was, but if you want a true indication of an instructor’s professional excellence ask the students.  Here are a few comments some of Judy’s students shared with us.  “Judy is one of the best teachers I have ever had.” “I can understand the work I complete in class every day.” “Judy is always there for you.”  “I’ve never had a teacher like this before.  I think I’ll be getting my GED soon.”  And finally, a very informative comment was, “Judy is an excellent instructor and should receive a substantial raise for what she puts up with.”  A typical student evaluation of Judy looked like this.  Out of a group of seventeen students all seventeen rated Judy as being “excellent”, “well organized” “can comfortably speak to her” and “we are learning the things we need to learn.”  Enough said!
Not really, for here is a comment that Judy included on a self-evaluation form.  That year she had helped thirty-five of her students get their GED diplomas.  With a record like that, many teachers would rest on their laurels, but not Judy.  On her self-evaluation form she wrote that she wanted to improve, “student retention and educational gains.”  Once a professional, always a professional!

Judy has contributed significantly to the field of lifelong learning.  Judy realizes how terrific it is when one of her students obtains a GED diploma, but she knows that this achievement is not the end but the beginning of something more valuable for the student, higher education.  Rio Salado College has two great programs that help ABE Program students move to the next level of education in community college classes.  Both the Transition Program and the new Adult ACE Program provide advising, financial aide, and the necessary handholding to get GED students beyond the obstacles to a college education that they see in their path.  Judy fully embraced the value of both of these programs and never missed an opportunity to arrange classroom visits by both programs’ advisors.  She constantly nudged her students mentally, helping them come to the realization that they could go to college and succeed there just as they had succeeded in Judy’s GED classroom.  Judy became such a strong recruiter of students for the Transition Program that she was the first instructor to be given the “Friends of the Transition Program” Award.  And a year ago when the Adult ACE Program began, who made sure that some of her students were enrolled in it, who else but Judy!

Through her initiatives, Judy has generated action for increased teacher training in areas like L.D. screening tools and student accommodations.  She has used her influence to stimulate program teamwork and group efforts to improve curriculum and professional learning and she has been a staunch supporter of student recognition opportunities.  

Finally, Judy has the highest level of commitment.  In 2004 she promised she would personally develop a scholarship fund for GED testers who lacked money for the test and, true to her word; she dutifully developed this fund in 2006.  This generous fund will support many new students during the next several years as they transition into higher education and jobs.  Judy’s contributions will resonate with generations to come.

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Lifelong Learning Advocate Award - Edie Lantz-Leppert

Edie Lantz-Leppert’s impact to the concept of learning as a lifelong process began in 1992 when she joined Pima Community College Adult Education, then known as Pima County Adult Education, as a volunteer at the Liberty Adult Learning Center. She started by observing and helping in ESOL classes. She saw the need for a more advanced ESOL class for students who were not quite ready for GED classes but were beyond Level Three.  At that time, pre Adult Education Standards, Level Four didn’t exist, so she established a class with a reading and writing focus that would lead the GED-bound students to a smoother transition from ESOL to GED.  Her class became an instant success, and as a result, the concept of Level Four ESOL classes became an integral part of the overall program.  

Edie has helped students transition from ESOL classes to ABE/GED classes and from GED to Pima Community College . She has helped students, in and out of her classes, develop an interest and love for learning.  She has taught her students using a hand-on approach.  Her students have extracted DNA from flowers, written letters to and met with best selling authors, and developed a love for reading both inside and outside the classroom.

She has created and implemented new classes to meet the specific needs of the community.  She has piloted and participated in several projects at the local, state and national levels that have helped established guidelines, new instructional methods and have met the needs of various populations. 
Edie chaired the planning committee for the 2005 AALL Awards Conference in Tucson .  The conference was a huge success with over 190 participants in attendance.  The Conference included national and international speakers and presenters including Steven Brookfield.  This was the first AALL Conference where students played crucial roles both as participants and presenters.  Since the Tucson Conference, AALL has increased its student scholarships, and students have participated in every AALL conference.

Her most recent impact has happened since she returned to the classroom as a graduate student at the University of Arizona .  As a result of her participation in the College of Education ’s Language, Reading and Culture Program, she founded and facilitates a staff reading group for colleagues in PCAE.  Her purpose for creating the Reading Group was to share her new found knowledge with her colleagues.  She wanted to help other instructors think about the concept of reading and the implications for teaching reading.  The first reading group met in 2004 and continues to this date.  Instructors from across the curriculum meet to read and discuss the concepts and strategies of teaching our students to develop reading skills, techniques, and a love for reading.  

Edie has  mentored and helped trained numerous new and experienced instructors in such concepts as the Student-Centered, Participatory Approach, Silent Way Techniques, GED Fast Track, teaching reading, using computers in the ESOL classroom, and teaching creative writing to ABE students.  She has presented and/or co-presented at numerous local and state conferences to included workshops focusing on reading research and resources, theater games and creative writing, and using computers in the ESOL classroom.  She has participated on several committees at the local and state level helping write performance standards, plan and carry out conferences and professional development activities.  

She represented PCAE at the GED 2002 and Beyond Institute, where she learned about the new changes in the GED exam.  She worked with other representatives to compile and disseminate information to ABE/GED instructors and presented at in-house training events.  She helped prepare materials, sample questions and lesson ideas, and modeled science lessons for use in the classrooms.

Since 2004, numerous instructors have participated in PCAE Staff Reading Group and have implemented what they’ve learned into their classes.  Their enthusiasm over the results has been contagious.  As a result, a reading practicum was created and implemented for the 2005-2006 fiscal year.  Teachers observed, co-taught, and taught different reading classes.  They researched reading strategies and created a resource binder for others to use. Students who have attended these classes have developed an interest and love for reading.

Currently, she is participating in a three-year program with the Department of Education’s Professional Development Leadership Academy (PDLA).  She’s learning how to create learning communities among her colleagues to help increase student achievement.  She is facilitating the PDLA Team of nine members from Pima Community College Adult Education.  The team attends several trainings throughout the year and has regular meetings in-between trainings.  As a result, she has helped facilitate interest sessions and has conducted one-on-one with colleagues throughout PCAE in an effort to identify instructors and staff with a passion for professional development and student achievement.  This effort has resulted in the re-organization of PCAE’s Professional Development Team.  Edie is also a board member of the Arizona Association for Lifelong Learning (AALL).  She is serving her second year and is the AALL Co-Historian.  

Edie has been very busy since 1992.  After working as a volunteer, she was hired as a part time instructor and then a full time instructor.  She has been teaching all level of ESOL and ABE/GED since 1993.  She worked as a Bridging Advisor helping students transition from GED/ESOL to Pima College from 1999-2001.  She participated on the State Standards Committee helping the State write its original ESOL Performance Standards.  She served on the State Assessment Committee helping research and evaluation possible assessment tools for use statewide. She participated in the GED 2002 Institute, to learn about the new GED Test. She participated in Project ADEAL, the distance education pilot program for the State. She taught one of the first GED online classes in Arizona . She served on the What Works Literacy Project from 1998-2000.  This was a national project to implement and measure the effectives of appropriate testing procedures. She was responsible for gathering and analyzing assessment data on literacy students.  

Currently Edie is serving as the Acting Advanced Program Coordinator for the El Pueblo Liberty Adult Learning Center. She is responsible for hiring and training of part-time instructors.  She is also responsible for evaluating approximately seventeen full-time and part-time instructors.  She manages the supply and petty cash budgets.  Edie has help create and maintain an online working calendar that allows all staff and instructors keep track of key activities such as BEST and TABE post testing, ESOL registrations, GED Orientations, to name a few, throughout the year.  Additionally she has helped establish a computerized share file for all staff and instructors.  The share file allows everyone access to lesson plans, handouts, monthlies, sign-ins, web links, among other things.  Both the working calendar and the share file allow everyone to share information and stay abreast of what’s happening both at the Learning Center and PCAE.

Edie has demonstrated her professional excellence through her flexibility, her initiative, and her willingness to share with others.  She has assumed numerous roles since 1992, and each one has been very diverse and challenging. Much of the extra responsibilities she has assumed over the years involve hours beyond her normal working day, including weekends. In addition to her dedication and unselfishness to the adult education community, Edie has also found the time to get married, have a daughter, and is currently expecting another baby.  Edie has been a role model for new and upcoming instructors and has inspired a love for teaching and learning among those around her.

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Award of Excellence - Peter Hershberger (R-26)

Over the last four years Arizona’s Representative Peter Hershberger (R-26) has been one of Arizona’s most courageous legislators, taking difficult and lonely positions based on his principles that have made him unpopular with many of his other-minded colleagues.  In 2005 in a very rare legislative maneuver, he was stripped of a committee chairmanship for his views.  The legislative leadership later reinstated him.

One of the views Mr. Hershberger holds and one that he has defended vigorously is that adult education and family literacy are fundamentally important parts of Arizona ’s public education efforts.  In 2003, when the majority in the legislature recommended defunding both adult education and family literacy, Representative Hershberger held ground and worked with Governor Janet Napolitano and others to save both programs.  He has been a vigilant and successful defender of both ever since.

Representative Hershberger knows adult education and meets with and counsels adult education students who visit the legislature to help them understand the legislative processes that have such potential to influence their educational future for good and ill.  Nominations for awards often include some exaggeration, but in Representative Hershberger’s case, it is not a stretch to conjecture that there would be no family literacy or adult education programs in Arizona as we know them today if it hadn’t been for the intervention and legislative advocacy and acumen of Peter Hershberger.  We enthusiastically encourage AALL to recognize this principled and determined legislator and citizen as the recipient of the Gary Tang ExcellenceAward.

In addition to chairing the Human Services Committee at the legislature, Pete founded and became Co-chair of the Children’s Caucus, a position he still holds. The caucus successfully supported children’s issues and programs in the tough budget cutting process resulting in the ’04 Budget and continues to protect and advocate for children’s issues including education.
Pete worked for the Arizona Department of Corrections with juveniles from 1972 to 1977 and was co-founder and co-owner of New Columbus, Inc. from 1977-99, working with delinquent and abused children and their families.  He has been certified by the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners as a Certified Professional Counselor since 1991 and he is currently an Administrator for Open Inn, Inc., a non-profit service organization in Tucson working with youth and their families since 1974. 

In 1998, Governor Hull appointed Pete to serve as the Pima County representative on the State Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona, which provides governance and oversight for the state’s Community College system. He served three years prior to his election to the legislature. He was a member of the Board’s legislative committee and gained extensive and valuable knowledge of our state’s Community College system in workforce development and training our citizens to gain better paying jobs. 

In addition to serving as Chairman of the Human Services committee, Representative Hershberger is also a member of the Federal Mandates and Property Rights Committee. Representative Hershberger also remains as Co-Chairman of the Children’s Caucus. Additionally, he is Co-Chair of the Adoption and Foster Care System, Co-Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Child Protective Services and Related Child Welfare Issues and Co-Chair of the Child Support Enforcement Subcommittee.  Pete Hershberger has established himself as hard working, respected citizen and member of the Arizona House of Representatives.  Representative Hershberger has advocated for education, children’s rights, business rights and opening the legislative process to public scrutiny and participation.  He is the only person in the history of the Legislature to follow both of his parents into the same legislative seat.

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AALL Educator of the Year - Adele Youmans

Adele Youmans is a committed AALL member with more than 18 years of professional excellence in teaching Adult Education.  Her resume speaks to her Master’s Degree in TESOL, her summa cum laude graduating status, and her William C. Bentley Memorial Award. 

But we want to talk about her educational leadership, professional excellence, and contributions to lifelong learning.  Adele has infused all of these aspects with passion, dedication and contagious energy.

Enjoying respect and a supportive collegial environment, Adele is an educational leader who works with her teaching community in the trenches.  She creates new classes as she strives to meet students where they are academically. She writes curricula for these classes and, with open arms, shares all of this information with her colleagues.  As Adele leads the way for creative, participatory classes which are based on student outcomes, she opens her classes to colleagues, students and others for observation.  The University of Arizona regularly sends students to observe Adele because she represents the best and the brightest of Adult Education.  Adele embodies honesty, openness, and putting student achievement above personal gain as she presents to colleagues, models methodology and inspires students. Simply stated, she is a virtuoso. Her educational leadership can’t be denied.

Students love Adele and come to visit her long after they complete their studies and move on with their lives.  Because of that, she gets to see what all teachers want to see – the impact she made on students’ lives. Adele’s zeal for self-learning has given her the foundation to inspire, teach and support adult learners.  These traits of character and spirit are mandatory in the Educator of the Year. 
Coupled with her dedication and passion, Adele’s creativity knows no boundaries.  Together with her colleague Susan Lundquist, Adele created the Splendid Web, an online curriculum bank for adult education ESOL teachers based on the Arizona Department of Education’s ESOL standards. The Splendid Web has been presented to Arizona teachers in several conferences, to Literacy Volunteers, and to teachers in other states. Adele was a member of the Arizona Adult Education Standards team 2003/04 which revised the Standards for the State of Arizona . Adele is now taking on ESOL online class enhancement for adult learners.

To hone her ESOL skills and to maintain participatory perspective, Adele takes annual leave to teach in other countries. In 1997 she taught high school students in Mexico .  2004 took her to China where she taught English to graduate students and 2006 saw her teaching English to high school students in Guatemala . With each new teaching experience, Adele gains more enthusiasm and insight into adult learners and their paths. From presentations to colleagues, educational committee memberships, designing curricula and web-based programs based on standards to teaching in foreign countries, Adele keeps honing her skills which keep her at the superb level of professionalism she enjoys today.
Adele told us once that as she gets older she can slid or she can choose to begin the rest of her life.  This nomination is a testament to Adele’s ‘beginning of life’ every day.

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AALL Support Staff of the Year - Irma Ojeda

Irma Ojeda is a dedicated, hard-working, efficient, intelligent, and fun-loving colleague who repeatedly goes beyond the call of duty in service to adult education.  Her innovations in every aspect of clerical and data collection work are used throughout the program, and her enthusiastic participation and leadership in professional development make her a life-long learner in every way.

Irma has worked with Pima College Adult Education (PCAE) since 1991.  In the fifteen years since she began as a part-time clerical aide at PCAE’s El Rio Learning Center, Irma has helped thousands and thousands of students get their GEDs, learn English, pass their U.S. Citizenship exam, and prepare for better lives and better opportunities.  In 1992, she became a full-time secretary/receptionist at El Rio, answering students’ questions, assessing students’ skills, entering and deciphering data, and helping students adjust to life in this country.  El Rio serves over 2,000 students each year, and for the 11 years she worked at El Rio, Irma made sure each of those 20,000 students was given the best service and care possible. During those years, Irma also became a leader among her colleagues by planning and leading several professional development events, spearheading and sharing innovative data collection techniques, and offering emotional support during difficult personal times.

In 2002, Irma applied and was selected for the position of Support Specialist for the Dean of Adult Basic Education, Greg Hart.  Although Irma missed her interaction with students at the learning center, she recognized the importance of her new role: supporting the larger supervision of over 200 employees and the entire 10,000+ student program.  Irma, of course, was fully up to the challenge.  Her judgment in making decisions, the speed with which she performs her daily responsibilities, her patience and problem-solving abilities are exceptional.  She is upbeat, organized, diligent, creative, and continually looks for every opportunity to support her colleagues at PCAE and to expand her capabilities through a variety of professional development opportunities. 

Irma is also the welcoming hand to most of PCAE’s new employees.  Many teachers may not know who the director of the program is, but they all know who Irma is.  Her warmth and kindness toward these new faces gives them a great boost, and we all benefit from the strong start that Irma offers them.  The same care that she gave to new students at El Rio Learning Center for so many years, she now gives to every new employee at PCAE.

This past year, Irma has once again demonstrated her leadership.  She volunteered for an important college-wide committee to review professional development plans for every non-exempt employee in the College. The committee work took considerable time each week and required great depth of consideration. This new responsibility brought Irma in contact with staff members in the larger college community and her contributions to the committee resulted in hundreds of employees receiving raises based on merit.  Her participation also gave adult education staff members the opportunity to access information directly and gave adult education a voice at the college table.  Irma has been invited to continue on this college committee again this year. 

In addition, Irma has agreed to co-facilitate PCAE’s new Professional Learning Team made up of 20 colleagues.  At the initial meeting of the newly-structured group, staff members were encouraged to go beyond their usual comfort zones and accept roles that would challenge them.  When it came time to determine who the facilitators would be, Irma raised her hand--“They said to take a risk, and so I thought, yes, I can do that—I can facilitate the team.”  This action is emblematic of Irma’s enthusiastic participation in all aspects of PCAE’s program over the years.

Along with all of her contributions to the staff of PCAE, Irma has recently renewed her commitment to getting her Bachelor’s degree. She has begun taking college classes again and is passing those courses with all A’s. Irma is beloved by her colleagues. When this award was announced, Irma was the natural choice. Her skill, dedication, longevity, and leadership in adult education are truly extraordinary and most deserving of this award. 

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Rookie of the Year - Rickey Jackson

Rickey Jackson is in his third year in Adult Education.  He effectively teaches a complete range of courses from Pre-literacy through college developmental in all subjects: reading, writing, math, science, social studies, vocabulary, and study skills. He brings valuable experience from teaching in a variety of educational settings and as an administrator.  In his first two years Rickey has served on many state, college, and departmental committees and task force groups.  Within the first year Rickey was already making necessary revisions to the social studies curriculum due to textbooks going out of print and aligning course materials with required outcomes and standards.  Just this summer he revised the ABE III reading course to better meet student needs and to incorporate a novel.
Rickey has taken the lead in the College’s literacy and ABE level reading courses, along with all the adult education social studies courses.  He has revised courses as needed and located appropriate course materials.   He teaches the Effective Tutoring course as a stand alone and on the internet to help train tutors for our program.  He served on the ADE Standards task force providing input for revisions to the standards.  Rickey also serves as a mentor for the adjunct faculty at his campus and at Hopi Center , which has as much or more enrollment in our division as some campuses.   In fact, this fall, to strengthen his rapport with the staff and students at Hopi Center , he is teaching a class there once a week.  This year he has also added the mentoring and coordination at Pinon.  Hopi Center and Pinon are respectively 85 and 110 miles from Rickey’s home / campus!  He works with 5-10 adjunct faculty and two Learning Assistants at these locations to help coordinate schedules, data collection, and effective teaching for our students.  Rickey also served on the AECAP Professional Development Pilot Project.  Last year we collected and analyzed data and made recommendations to improve gains in our program and specifically ABE students.  Rickey is currently working to revise and combine faculty and staff division manuals into one and put it into a digital format for ease of access and future updates. 

Prior to entering Adult Education fall 2004, Rickey taught in a variety of K12 classrooms and served as the administrator of an alternative school.  At NPC, Rickey works with students and staff from a variety of backgrounds.  Students and staff appreciate and respect his teaching style, the encouragement he consistently offers, and his high expectations.  Seeing the need, Rickey went out into the community and made contacts with local agencies such as Headstart , LaFamilia, and NAU’s area EOC representative to find students and help locate additional services for students.  He has also volunteered time at the local high school to offer a study skills class to students in the NAVIT program.  Like all fulltime instructors for The Learning Cornerstone at NPC, Rickey supervises the Student Writing Center at his campus along with a Learning Assistant and College Work Study Students.
           
 In addition, Rickey serves on the Internet Guidance Committee for the College.  He is active in the Winslow Campus Council, volunteering to organize the NPC float for the Winslow Christmas parade and manning an NPC informational table at local events to spread the word.  Rickey is a trained facilitator for the Instructional Skills Program and has co-facilitated several workshops over the last two years for NPC fulltime and adjunct faculty.  This helps our ABE project build relationships with the College faculty at large.

Rickey is always professional, but approachable.  He listens well and is supportive of staff and students.  He has high expectations, but is willing to provide the assistance to help students reach them.   Rickey is open to professional development opportunities.  He has attended the last two spring/summer AALL conferences in Flagstaff and Winslow.  He has made the three-year commitment to serve on the Professional Development Leadership Academy team for NPC beginning this fall. 
Rickey’s curriculum, mentoring, and professional development work mentioned above all demonstrates professional excellence.  He is an excellent teacher and colleague.  His ability to work well with a variety of people and help students succeed in reaching their goals is a great benefit to the college and program. 

AALL Volunteer of the Year Award - Mary "Mimi" Murphy

PCAE's El Pueblo-Liberty Learning Center (EPLC) was only two months old in December, 1999 when Mary "Mimi" Murphy first began to grace us with her presence.  Since then, as much as this center has become a part of the community it was designed to serve, so has Mimi become a part of the learning community that is EPLC.

Retired for several years, Mimi had become a professional volunteer, donating her considerable energies to a hospital and child welfare agency.  But neither could satisfy her love for reading and literacy work. As a volunteer, with EPLC's literacy lab, Mimi works with dozens of students every year, all of whom are reading below a 5th grade reading level and with most below a third grade level. Like many volunteers, she has no formal literacy training and yet she is called upon to work with those who are most in need of special attention.  Her students regularly deal with a variety of learning disabilities, difficulties and self esteem issues among other barriers to learning.  Yet her patience, empathy, passion, warmth, respect for the students' life experiences, and for lack of a better word, kindness, make her an effective and beloved figure to not only her students but to her supervising instructor and fellow volunteers, whom she also helps to train. 

At 72 years young, Mimi put in over 200 volunteer hours this past fiscal year.  In spite of these impressive numbers however, she reminds us that the heart of the educational experience is in the quality and not quantity.  A volunteer who challenges and inspires, Mimi Murphy is an educator in the truest and best sense of the word.

 - Jim Lipson Advanced Program Coordinator - Volunteers  Pueblo Liberty

Recipients

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