The winners of the Outstanding Professor Awards were:

Todd Heibel
Geography/Geology

Honestly, who can help but smile when they see Todd around campus? He has been a constant source of optimism and joy throughout a very difficult time for our campus. Todd’s positive remarks in Zoom chats over the last two academic years helped keep spirits up when we needed it the most. Todd is a leader who puts others before himself. He serves as the “Chair of Chairs,” a title that represents his desire to serve his colleagues. He is a kind and generous leader who genuinely cares about our students, his colleagues, and this campus.

Todd’s campus service is beyond compare. He’s served on the Program Review Committee for several years. This committee is a tremendous amount of work. He’s been an important voice in the changes made to Program Review, with the goal of making the process more meaningful for our departments. He also serves his department as co-chair. He has been working with colleagues to examine how to integrate DEIA work into his courses. Todd always seeks to uplift the voices of others. Todd also serves as part of the Behavior Intervention Team. He offers student-centered advice and ideas to ensure that students have the best options possible. Todd is also a member of the Asian Pacific Islander Association. He always lifts the stories of others and validates their experiences.

As a colleague, nobody compares to Todd. Running into him across campus will put a smile on anyone’s face. Seeing Todd’s Zoom photo with his cute dog lets us know that positive thoughts will soon be entering the chat. Working alongside Todd, we know that we will heard, seen, and cared for. Todd is a fantastic colleague.

Jamie Herrera
Co-Chair, Counseling

Jamie Herrera has worked tirelessly for all faculty this past year as the lead negotiator for our union. She is proof that you don’t need to have a loud bark to still have bite. Jamie works far beyond her weekly hours to make sure that faculty are fairly represented – for both full-time and parttime faculty. She is a strong advocate for the faculty voice, and she does all of it with little or no thanks. Many people do not know what goes into being a lead negotiator: Long hours, frustrating interactions, never-ending emails from people who didn’t like your decisions. Knowing all of this, Jamie stepped into the role because the faculty body needed her leadership. She also acts as the Vice President for the union. Jamie helped plan all the wonderful events this semester. Her goal was to bring faculty back together, to give us space to get to know each other again. This is something our faculty body desperately needs.

Aside from her role as lead negotiator, Jamie is the co-chair of the Counseling Department. Under her leadership, the Counseling department addressed massive changes like the pandemic, AB 705 and Guided Pathways. Jamie and her co-chair worked hard to make sure counselors had up-todate information and they did not miss a step. Jamie helped move all counseling services online so that students would still have access to the support they needed. She helped write SDEV classes to support new students and help them transition to college. She worked to make videos with other departments so that students could have a better understanding of what classes have to offer and so they could make well-informed decisions about their classes.

Not all good work on campus is visible. Much of it is done behind the scenes. However, if hard work like Jamie’s stopped, we would see the effects right away. She has been integral to the entire campus’ operations for several years.

The winner of the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award was:

Nhan Zuick
Mathematics

Nhan Zuick is an example of a dedicated and hard-working faculty member at San Bernardino Valley College. Nhan was an honors student at SBVC and currently teaches in the Math Department. Nhan is an active member of the SBVC campus community and she truly is an outstanding faculty member. Nhan worked very hard to be where she is today. She moved from Vietnam to the United States in 2002, and she started taking classes at SBVC in 2004. She graduated from SBVC with honors, then transferred to CSU San Bernardino. When she finished her Master’s Program, she returned to SBVC to teach. Nhan was featured in President Thayer’s December 2021 Board of Trustees report. Her story and accomplishments were celebrated.

She works hard to support our students because she knows what it was like to be in their shoes. She want to make sure students are supported in her math classes, but also in their other classes. Her experiences as a returning adult student and English language learner allows her to relate to many of her students. Nhan’s contributions go far beyond the classroom and her dedication to her students. This year, Nhan served the adjunct community as a senator. She faithfully attends meetings, votes, and is a voice for her colleagues. Nhan has also been very active in the Asian Pacific Islander Association. She supports the work of the association and has been a great advocate for her API colleagues.

The winners of the Classified Employees of the Year Award were:

Kristopher Shafer
Painter, Maintenance & Operations

Kris was the campus painter and a dear friend of many of us. He worked at SBVC for almost 20 years. Kris would paint anything and everything on the campus, from the red curbs outside to the walls in employees offices. He would cover up the unwanted graffiti and make our campus beautiful again. Kris was kind and friendly person that always would give a helping hand to assist his coworkers in the Maintenance Dept. Kris would always participate in campus activities such as the Classified Softball Game and Classified Professionals Week. Kris was known for playing his harmonica at the yearly Classified Celebration Luncheons.

Dora Penn
Teacher, Child Development

Dora Penn, affectionately known at the Child Development Center as Ms. Dora, has worked for the SBVC CDC for 22+ years. She has dedicated much of her life to loving, nurturing, and educating young children. Our program serves multigenerational families. It is because of staff like Dora, that families know and trust that their children are safe and keep coming back. I have seen her beam with pride when a former student comes to say hi to her. Families specifically visit Ms. Dora when they graduate high school, to thank her. The love Ms. Dora has for her students does not stop when they leave our program. It’s lifelong.

She managed a career while being a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a grandmother. Ms. Dora welcomed me with open arms when I began working at the CDC six years ago. It was very easy to build a friendship with her, despite our age and generational differences.

She is loyal, dependable, trustworthy, and kind. She goes above and beyond her duties and responsibilities and does anything and everything you ask of her. I’ve never heard her complain, say no, or that she can’t. She has passed down wisdom to so many of us; providing us guidance, technique, and strategy, but most importantly…love. She’s such a selfless woman, always putting other’s before herself. I don’t think she realizes how big of an impact she has made on the many lives that have entered this program. As she’s ready to retire, she’s leaving incredibly large shoes to fill.

The winner of the Excellence Award was:

Ernest Guillen
Library Technical Assistant/Chair/President, Library/ALD/LFSAA

Where would our campus be without Ernest? He provides leadership as president of LFSAA. He ensures the campus has access to a diverse set of speakers, presenters, and events through Arts, Lectures and Diversity. He is a great resource in his role in the library. Ernest goes above and beyond- he attends district committees like the HR DEIA Committee and Chancellor's Council, where he advocates for diversity and equity for the entire campus. His vision and purpose is clear, and he is making SBVC and SBCCD a better place.

The winner of the Innovator of the Year Award was:

Jamie Herrera
Faculty Co-chair of Counseling, Counseling

It is a privilege to write this letter nominating Jamie Herrera for Innovator of the Year. She currently holds positions as Co-chair of the Counseling Department, Counselor, & Vice President & Lead negotiator of SBCCTA. Throughout Ms. Herrera’s tenure at SBVC she has displayed true value, not only as an exceptional Counselor, but a proactive leader and innovator in all SBVC campus roles, committees, & projects she involves herself in. She has created a General Counseling Outreach committee that has reached out to the whole campus to create quick videos on programs, services, & departments to be available to all of our students. Has met with the co-chair of the math department, initiating brochures of math courses w/ examples to our students. Established a working relationship w/ Crafton Hills, where she is currently planning the first ever counselor retreat w/ both colleges. This year our co-chair assignment will be coming to an end & for the first time, Ms. Herrera is pushing forward w/ having all counselors across the SBVC campus vote, not just General Counseling counselors. She is an advocate for ensuring that we all work together. Which is why collaboration is always at the forefront of her mind, & she makes active efforts to have the Counseling Department work with SBVC instructional programs and departments. Her willingness to take risks, think “outside of the box”, & embrace change is why I highly recommend that Ms. Herrera be recognized as Innovator of the Year.

The winner of the Outstanding Service Award was:

Todd Heibel
Faculty, Geology Department Chair, Geography

Anyone who has had the privilege of attending a meeting along with Todd Heibel has witnessed his extraordinary ability to lift the spirits of all who are present. Todd has brought a level of levity, support and cheer into all of the spaces he has occupied over the years. Within the virtual space, he has been recognized for his contributions to chat conversations in a way that is unmatched.. He finds a way to uplift the voice of those present, demonstrate empathy when challenges are expressed and relate in a way that builds connection among peers. Todd's chat presence is an act of service. Todd also serves as the chair of the Geology Department, as an Academic Senate Senator, on the Executive Committee of Academic Senate, and as the faculty chair of the Department Chair Meetings. The world, and our campus, is a better place as a result of the service provided by Todd Heibel. He has a spirit of humility and is likely to minimize his own work and service. Let's honor Todd by recognize his service to the campus, our students, faculty, and staff.

The winner of the Manager of the Year Award was:

Rick Hrdlicka
Director, CTS

Goes above and beyond to support our staff and faculty with computer issues. Supports our students with making sure labs are updated with the latest technology. Always willing to help with technology issues.

The winner of the Honored Retiree Award was:

Edward "Ed" J. Szumski
Founder of Spotlighting at SBVC

We will never forget retired SBVC electronics professor Edward “Ed” Szumski, who passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 18, 2021 at the age of 72, after a sudden but brief battle with cancer.

Ed earned an associate’s degree in electronics communications technology at SBVC and then earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at California State University, San Bernardino. He taught electricity and electronics at SBVC as an adjunct from 1981-1985 and as full-time faculty from 1985-2013. At SBVC’s annual Spotlighting Our Success Awards celebrations, he received the Outstanding Service Award five times: 1996, 2001, 2005, 2012, and 2013. He also received the Honored Retiree Award twice: 2014 and 2015; and Outstanding Professor of the Year in 1989.

Ed was instrumental to developing and organizing SBVC’s annual Spotlighting celebration, which has become firmly established as a campus tradition since 1984. During his time with SBVC, he made it his mission to ensure that his colleagues were recognized for excellence in their work, and did everything he could to contribute to an atmosphere of mutual encouragement and support among fellow employees on campus. Ed’s famous quote when helping to organize events and recognitions for his colleagues was, “No one is ruined by excessive praise.”

For 19 years, Ed organized the “Retiree/Member Appreciation Day” luncheons and for 17 years provided or asked the SBVC culinary program to bake birthday cakes to celebrate “Everybody’s Birthday.” For 17 years, he organized the recognition of the SBVC secretaries during “Administrative Professionals Week” in April of each year. For 21 years, he wrote the majority of the FAN Mail, the newsletter of the SBVC Faculty Association with announcements of news and personnel celebrating birthdays during the month. For 22 years, he sent birthday cards to personnel on campus, the district office, Crafton Hills College, and to the many retirees and others from his time on campus who were celebrating birthdays. For 4 years, he organized 11 “Meet and Greet” New Employee Breakfasts.

Ed was very active on campus both during his academic career and after retirement, serving as President of the SBVC Academic Senate, the SBVC Faculty Association and the SBVC Alumni Association. He most recently served on the SBVC Foundation Board as the SBVC Alumni Association representative.

He is survived by his wife, Bonnie, who he met while studying at SBVC; his son, Eddie; daughter, Rebecca; brothers Stephen and George; and sisters Denise and Diane, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Ed Szumski is dearly missed by many of his SBVC friends and former colleagues, and will forever be remembered for his incalculable contributions to SBVC’s campus.

The winner of the Arts & Humanities Achievement Award was:

Margaret Worsley
Co-Chair, Music

Maggie has been instrumental in all her roles on campus this year. Not only has she served as DE lead, faculty co-chair, and full-time professor, but she has also guest directed a high school band and started an event that brought hundreds of young musicians to campus. She has personally helped me with paperwork we have to complete as chairs, Canvas issues, and she has been an asset to the division overall. Her smile is contagious and she continues to remain positive which deserves recognition. Maggie makes our division a powerhouse on campus and she is absolutely amazing. I mean come on...she wrote a song about 10+1!!!! VOTE FOR MAGGIE!!!!

The winner of the Counseling & Matriculation Achievement Award was:

Andrea Hecht
Co-Chair, Counselor, General Counseling

Andrea Hecht is incredible counselor and co-chair of the counseling department. She truly is an asset to the SBVC Counseling department. As the co-chair of the counseling department, she has created the SBVC counseling resources canvas shell for counselors to reference and she updates it as need be to make sure all counselors are aware of changes as they come down the pipeline. Ms. Hecht has also created the Counseling Virtual Hub for students at SBVC to reference. The Counseling Virtual Hub students have a virtual one-stopshop. Students can be directed to the campus resource they seek. Furthermore, this shell allows students to become knowledgeable of the resources available to them. As a counselor, Ms. Hecht goes above and beyond for her students. She makes sure the students are aware of all available resources available to them successfully achieve their academic goals. She has taught our SDEV 102 and SDEV 103 courses and become a mentor to our students. In fact, she makes herself accessible to students by making sure she responds and prioritizes their emails. In this way, she builds and cultivates long term relationships with her students.

The winner of the Math, Business & Computer Information Technology Achievement Award was:

Stephanie Lewis
Dean, Mathematics, Business, and Computer Information Technology

Dean Lewis has demonstrated a drive that inspires the entire department to improve, innovate, and focus on the future of the learners. From bringing the NASA program to the department to the exceptional amount of support for new ideas, Dean Lewis has fostered the development of an environment that encourages everyone to work harder for the ultimate goal.

The winner of the Student Equity & Success Achievement Award was:

Carmen Rodriguez,
Dean of Student Equity & Success

Carmen is the hardest working professional on this campus and is the epitome of student equity and success. She is always available at a moment’s notice to support the managers, classified staff, faculty and staff. She never runs away from a conflict and is always willing to jump in and problem solve in a safe, nonthreatening way. She supports our students like no other!