2004

LeJeune Named EC .~cademic Instructor of the Year

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WEEK OF Grt \f

very fortunate to work with such a highly esteemed fac– ulty and staff. ··y just can't express how wonderful it is to work with my col– leagues in the science de– partment. Ron Davis is ab– solutely one of the best ad– ministrators I have ever wo rked with. He really keeps us all together. Ifwe have computer problems, he will walk down the hall and fix them. If we have questions about policy or procedure. Ron always has ans\vers. It doesn't matter what is happening. He re– ally keeps thmgs running smooth!)! ··And it's not just Ron. but the others as well. \\'e are trul) great friends and'' e just have a wonder– ful time together in Cross Hall." Prior to East Central, LeJeune taught science at Meridian High School where she was selected a STAR. teacher, received ' the Tandy award and was selected for Who ' s Who c:.11.. ~n. in the summers of 1991 and 1992, LeJeune was selected to participate in the NASA Summer Teacher Enrich– ment Program (STEP) at Marshall Space Flight Cen– ter in Hunts\'ille. Alabama. "\\' e worked a longside NASA en~rineers who were designing pa rts of the Space Station Freedom," said LeJeune. "They were desi~rning a system to re– cycle water on the space

··The students are great fun!" she said. ··Most ofmy students are very moti– vated. They want to do well... Working in a science depar.tment can often ~an exciting ·p.a-ce. ··we have countless animal stories in our buildin!!:· LeJeune said. "'-" ::.c n1e '>a, e dO- .xp;m-– ment O\ er the ~ears. Many ti mes they have escaped. usually while we were try– ing to clean their cages or feed them. "We've had to recap\ure hamsters. gerbils. and fl ying squirrels. just to name a few! One day there were two flying squirrels and four science teachers in the mix . The squi rrel s almost '' o n!.. said ' LeJeune. Other animals · that one ma) "ish to "isit tn Cro · Hall are lggy the l~.'uana and Julius the py– thon snak.e! LeJeune said being able to \\Ork at a com– munity college is great. "ECCC is such a wonder– ful place to be!" she said. "I love working with our great students. It is such a joy to be a part of the sci- PnrP fipn:~rlmPnt F\·Prv-

Sharon LeJeune, East Cen– tral Community College's "Academic Instructor of the Year" has always loved science. Being able to work with students and share her lov·e of science is why she became a teacher. For man) years. LeJeune '\– ter I fintshed my graduate degree, I started teachin~ adjunct at the University of West Alabama and I loved it (teaching). "My fanner college instructors. Dr. Ri– chard and Becky Holland were very infl uential in my decision to become a teac he r . My parents. Johnny and Valerie Roberson, and my brother. Mike, have also been wry influential individuals in my life." Using life experi– ences is just one of the ways LeJeune reaches her students. "I reference life experiences and try to make science concepts rel– evant to the students. I tell a lot of stories!"· she said. LeJeune said the best thing about teaching is working n ,;th c.htriPnt~ hut ir·e: C:l\rnP- ~eet~sa

station. They couldn ' t use !.RTHAGlN lAN ------- chlorine to ~urify the wa- : SHOBA DEMOCR ter because 1t would have AT--- --- broken down the metals on :VVTON RECORD the space station so they • - ------- had to use iodine. ~RI D IAN STAR See"LEJEUNE" page7 ARlON-LEDGE_R_______