ISSUE
January
January
Final Registration for Spring
Semester
Men’s Basketball vs.
Sandhills CC, 3 p.m.; Home
7
/ / / /
Technical Institute
Chronicle
in this issue
Former NFL Star Speaks to Students P. 2
Welding Upgrades P. 3
CCC&TI Christmas Luncheon Photos P. 4
Upcoming Civic Center Events P. 7
Curriculum Classes Begin
8
Recovery Meeting, 12 p.m.;
E320
9
Watauga TRIO Deli, 12 p.m.;
Student Lounge
Chester Receives 2012
Great Teacher Award
Caldwell Community College and Technical came open at CCC&TI. ! applied, got the job and
Institute has named DeAnna Chester its 2012 here I am' explained Chester.
Men’s Basketball vs.
Davidson CC, 7 p.m.; Away
12
Men’s Basketball vs. Central
Carolina CC, 3 p.m.; Home
13
Men’s Basketball vs.
Limestone College JV, 3
p.m.; Away
15
SGA General Assembly, 12
p.m.: Caldwell Campus Room
B-118, Watauga Campus
Highway Room
Recovery Meeting, 12 p.m.;
E-320
Great Teacher Award Winner.
The Great Teacher Award, an honor given an¬
nually to an instructor at CCC&TI, was named
for the National Great Teachers Seminar, which
is held in Hawaii. CCC&TI uses the award as a
way to recognize excellent service among the
college’s faculty. Each year, nominations are
made by faculty members, current or former
students for the award. The previous year’s Great
Teacher chairs a committee that selects a new
winner.
This year's recipient, DeAnna Chester, is origi¬
nally from Caldwell County and is the daughter of
Neil Hawn of Hudson and Doris McFarlin of Mor-
ganton. Chester graduated summa cum laude
from Pfeiffer College with a bachelor’s degree
in English writing. She later earned her master’s
degree in communication from UNC-Greensboro.
According to Chester, it was that experience as
a graduate student that led her to teaching. After
18 years in the business industry, including 10
years in the newspaper business as a reporter
for a local paper, she began graduate school
in 2001 and rediscovered a love for learning.
"When I went back to graduate school in 2001 ,
I did not expect to begin a new career in a new
field. I expected to continue my work in public
relations and community resource on a corporate
level. However, once I got back in the classroom
as a student, my love for learning was re-lit, and
as providence would have it, a teaching position
Chester serves as Communications Instructor
on the college's Watauga Campus and says that
teaching is a rewarding profession because of
her students. "Students, by far, are the best part
of teaching. I know it sounds hokey, but to teach
every day with enthusiasm and conviction, you
have to believe people can do what they think
they cannot do. I like being part of helping them
discover that,” said Chester.
When asked who inspires her in her teaching
career, Chester again gives credit and recogni¬
tion to her students. “I see myself in a lot of my
first-generation college students, and so I have
not only a professional, but a personal investment
in seeing them succeed. I love my students. They
inspire me.” Chester also says that the generos¬
ity of others has had a deep impact on her life
and her career. "When I graduated high school, I
would not have been able to attend college had
it not been for the generosity of others who were
idealistic enough to believe education mattered -
to individuals and to a community,” said Chester.
“I received a Coffey Foundation scholarship, an
honors scholarship from my school, a Pell Grant
and money from a Methodist foundation. People
who had never met me, and in some cases,
died before I was born, made it possible for me
to have a better life. Because of that gift, I have
always felt an obligation to give back to the com¬
munity, to pay it forward so to speak. Teaching is
a way for me to do that and still make a living.”