Instructor Named ‘Outstanding’ Educator

We’re so proud of Nancy DeLisle-Brown, MA, one of our Languages instructors, who was just named the 2015 Outstanding Adult Educator by the Georgia Adult Education Association.

Nancy received her award during the GAEA annual conference March 9 in Augusta, Georgia. She was thrilled, to say the least. (See the video!)

“This award comes as a wonderful honor for me,” Nancy said. “I feel so blessed to be a part of the College of Continuing and Professional Education and to have a role in making a difference in the lives of our students. I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the faculty and staff, to my colleagues, the students, and to everyone who made this award possible. Thank you to all for this high honor and for the tremendous joy it has given me as an educator!”

Nancy first joined us in 2007. She teaches English as a Second Language classes for both our regular adult learners and international educators here for the TIE program.

Her students really do love learning from her.

She consistently gets the best reviews from them during student evaluations, said Lyn Cohen, Languages program manager.

“Nancy truly deserves this award,” said Lyn, who helped prepare her nomination. “She’s the definition of an outstanding educator. She cares about her students. She puts in extra time creating lessons that are fun and memorable. You can tell it when you see how engaged the students are in her classroom.”

Nancy also teaches in our OLLI program, designed for students 50 and older. She holds a master’s degree in Spanish from Salamanca University in Spain.

“Nancy is a fantastic Spanish teacher for our OLLI students,” said Meg Webber, program manager. “Many of our students return to her Spanish courses over and over because they learn so much working with her. She loves what she does and it shows. She makes learning a new language fun.”

Our presence at this year’s GAEA conference extended from the awards ceremony to the presentations, where two staff members were selected to lead sessions for their fellow education professionals. Lis Hames, Registration manager, shared registration insight from a continuing education perspective in “Registration Best Practices & Non-traditional Financial Aid.” Cheryl Rodewig, social media specialist, gave advice for using social networks effectively in “Your Social Media Survival Guide: Staying Professional in a Connected World.”

Read more on our blog about our other state and national awards.