Waubonsee Community College has announced its 2024 Outstanding Adjunct Faculty member, Debra Gardner, Adjunct Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Gardner, of Batavia, has served Waubonsee since 2013.
"My greatest achievement is to know that I've inspired someone or helped them along the way," said Gardner. "This award supports that, and I am honored to be recognized among so many talented and dedicated faculty at Waubonsee."
In high school, Gardner struggled in science class and said her instructor stood out because he was kind to her, which made her want to try harder. "It's easy for students to feel unseen and unimportant if they are not doing so well, but this teacher went out of his way to make me feel supported, and that made the difference," said Gardner. "It was a complete turnaround for me from there," a defining moment that has informed Gardner's teaching philosophy at Waubonsee.
Gardner believes that by revealing some of her challenges in higher education and life, she can build trust and open communication with her students. She tells students that it took changing her major three times before "everything fell into place." Most students are surprised to learn that she holds three degrees in law enforcement and psychology and that she was a licensed therapist before she started teaching. When an opportunity opened to begin teaching at Waubonsee, Gardner says she knew it was the right fit. Since then, Gardner has advocated to her students that "not knowing what you want to do is okay" and "taking a few detours in life eventually leads you to the place you need to be when you have a good support system."
From the first day of class, Gardner creates an active learning environment to keep students engaged and deepen their learning by being genuine. One student called her an "amazing professor … very helpful and understanding." The student said she always "found it very easy to pick up on the material." With a persistent focus on ensuring student learning and instructional effectiveness, Gardner offers students an opportunity for post-assessment reflection to help students understand what is or is not working and ensures students reflect on and adapt their study habits.
Gardner also considers herself to be on her own learning journey at Waubonsee. She takes pride in knowing she has grown as a teacher, having "become increasingly more aware of the diversity of the student population at Waubonsee” and the need to be sensitive to the many needs of all kinds of different students.
In her nomination response, Gardner states that she continues to make every effort to improve as a teacher and to make a "contribution that guarantees that Waubonsee is providing an exceptional experience and learning institution for its students.” Engaged and eager to contribute, Gardner has served at Waubonsee as a substitute when needed and routinely attends Waubonsee's faculty development days. Gardner proudly served two years on the Faculty Excellence Team, contributing ideas for faculty development programming. She actively seeks professional development by enrolling in the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) classes offered at Waubonsee.
Gardner will be recognized and presented with the Outstanding Faculty Member Award at a college event in August. The college's Outstanding Faculty Member Selection Committee, comprised of previous award recipients and academic administrators, makes the final selection.
