As the 2019-20 school year comes to an end I reflect on the outstanding work of our CNCC faculty and want to take this opportunity to recognize their hard work and dedication. Faculty work with our students on a daily basis and their roles often go beyond that of just an instructor. Being a close knit community college, Colorado Northwestern instructors often serve as mentors, counselors, and emotional support for many of our students that are experiencing life on their own for the first time. Normally, commencement is a time when our faculty get to celebrate the accomplishments of and with our students. In turn we as a college get to recognize and honor our faculty. Unfortunately, due to current circumstances, we didn’t get share in the completion of the year at commencement like we normally would. But that doesn’t mean that we are any less grateful for the accomplishments of our dedicated instructional staff. In fact, we are more grateful this year than ever before. While we didn’t get to have the ceremony in-person, we would have liked, students were not deprived this honor because our faculty gave so much of themselves. Many of our faculty have continued to work into the summer months to help career and technical education students complete required labs they missed during the spring lockdown. Several faculty elected to forgo personal engagements and postpone summer plans to ensure completion of hands on courses and for that we can’t thank them enough.
If I had to describe the CNCC faculty in one word, it would be “resilient.” To be told halfway through the semester that you will have to close up shop, head home, and with no prior warning, finish teaching your class remotely, is a tall order for any educator. I’m proud to say CNCC faculty rose to the occasion. Yes there were concerns, sure there were frustrations, but never was there a complaint. Every overwhelmed instructor I spoke to had a singular response, “we will do whatever is required to meet the needs of our students”. Teaching using methods they were unfamiliar with, adapting to communicating with students remotely, dealing with technology failures, our faculty faced it all head on and through resiliency, they persevered.
This spring wasn’t easy to get through. I won’t sugarcoat the struggle we all endured to get to this point. Our faculty had to face immense obstacles often at the expense of their own time, health and emotions. But they did it. That is what makes what we have here in our little corner of northwest Colorado so special. It’s the care our faculty have for students, it’s the support we feel from our local communities, and it is the determination and resilience we all share to do the hard things in order to succeed.
Our students have graduated or have started their summer studies, and are gearing up for fall. I say this to our entire academic staff, thank you for enduring, thank you for persevering, thank you for being the wonderful people you are. I’ve been in education for over 20 years and I have never been more proud to be associated with any group of educators as I am with you.
To our communities, thank you for supporting our students and faculty in your businesses, on the field, and in the classroom. Your support, even if it is simply a smile or nod of your head means the world to all of us.
To our faculty, staff, students, and communities, enjoy your summer, stay safe, take stock of the things in life that really matter, and we look forward to seeing you all again on our campuses in August if not before!
By Keith Peterson | CNCC VP of instruction
Special to the HT
