Montco Community College Honors Outstanding Students

Press release from the Montgomery County Community College:

Patti McEnery, Ed.D., Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs - Liberal Arts Division

May 3, 2023

The Liberal Arts Division at Montgomery County Community College held its second annual
Excellence in Liberal Arts Awards (ELAA) before a packed crowd of faculty, students,
and family in the Parkhouse Hall Atrium on the Blue Bell Campus. Faculty nominate
and select students for the awards in each of the 18 disciplines in the Liberal Arts
Division based on academic excellence.

“The ELAAs have quickly become a premier event for the Liberal Arts division. Not
only is a wonderful way for us to honor students for their academic excellence, but
it also offers us the opportunity to shine a light on the academic disciplines that
make the Liberal Arts division such a creative and vibrant learning community," said
Dr. Patricia McEnery, Assistant Academic Dean for Liberal Arts.

This year’s honorees include:

For faculty who attended the ceremony, the ELAAs highlighted not only student achievement
but reaffirmed the importance of the liberal arts in preparing students for both professional
success and success in life.

“For me, the Excellence in Liberal Arts Awards serve as an affirmation of how Liberal
Arts classes inspire and shape our students,” explained Dr. Tom Powers, Assistant
Professor of English. He continued, “Equally, they remind all of us that any of our
students – at any moment – can create work that is worthy of celebration.”

In addition to the students receiving a certificate, each recipient received a medal
inscribed with their name and ELAA discipline. Preceding the awarding of the ELAAs,
Dr. Timothy J. Brown, Dean of Liberal Arts, gave a motivational speech entitled, “Turn
Your Disappointment into Your Destiny.” The speech highlighted how famous individuals
were able to overcome disappointment to achieve success by believing in themselves.

In summarizing his experience at the ELAAs, Dr. Garvey Lundy, Associate Professor
of Sociology, shared, “As the semester comes to its final days, when both teachers
and students are running on empty, I was privileged to participate, and, more profoundly,
honored to see one of my students receive an award for her work in Sociology. The
ceremony, the awardees, along with the lyrical speech by Dean Brown, reaffirmed my
commitment as a teacher and somehow said to me – “job well done; keep up the good
work.” It was exactly what I needed.”

This press release was produced by the Montgomery County Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.