No matter a student’s learning style, Lone Star College-CyFair’s Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award winners offer a variety of support to help students be successful in class and in life.
This year’s passionate, dedicated, inspiring award winners are Patricia Darvishi, Valentine Ngendahimana, Christine Nguyen and Edward Vargas. Recently recognized at the campus convocation, these deserving faculty will be honored again at the LSC system’s upcoming awards event.
“I always tell my students when you do a job you love, the rewards will always come. To me this is a sweet reward for doing what I love,” said Darvishi, who has taught EDUC 1300 - First Year Experience students nearly 10 years, with the last six at LSC-CyFair.
Believing every student can learn, she introduces them to the college’s support resources and teaches with a variety of styles set in a positive classroom environment.
“I work with them to develop strategies and skills, such as time management, to improve their lives and help them in college and beyond,” Darvishi said.
Ngendahimana has taught general biology and medical microbiology at LSC-CyFair since 2015 with an aim “to make learning interesting, rather than a chore, and to foster critical thinking.”
To do this, she connects concepts with real-life applications, so her students understand how the material affects their lives. She engages students in dialogue and incorporates tools, such as videos, simulations and interactive assignments, to account for differing learning styles.
“I teach to instill and nurture critical thinking, which will enable students to evaluate all the information available to them in this age of social media,” she said. “Furthermore, I am a lifelong learner and teaching enables me to share what I have learned.”
Raised by a first-generation immigrant single parent in a lower-income household, Nguyen has taught microeconomics and macroeconomics at LSC-CyFair since 2017 for several reasons.
“I believe economics is a vital yet misunderstood discipline. Not only does it show us how our world works, it fine-tunes our thinking skills to be more pragmatic and logical,” she said. “I teach because I want to provide an inclusive learning environment where students can freely discuss and brainstorm solutions, not only for the economy, but to shape their lives and world.”
Nguyen uses a mix between of structured lectures, real-world case studies and Socratic discussions to help students become critical thinkers and be inspired to learn more about the world.
“It is imperative that lessons are relevant to the student’s life,” said Vargas, who has taught at LSC-CyFair approximately eight years and currently teaches EDUC 1300 - First Year Experience. “In addition, instructors should utilize diverse methods of teaching, be enthusiastic about their subject matter, and establish a relationship with their students.”
Vargas said working with the young adults in his class keeps him young and wise. He wants to create memorable experiences for them and to enrich their lives, while enriching his own.
“For that one semester, I want to provide freshmen students with wisdom and be a shoulder as needed, while they acclimate to the college environment,” he said.
Registration is still available for Next Start 12-week and 8-week sessions beginning in February and March. For information, go to LoneStar.edu/registration.
