The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) has honored two Cochise College faculty members for their outstanding commitment to student success.
Bryan Homrighausen, instructor of Student Success and department chair for Student Success Instruction, and Jessamyn Snider, Spanish instructor and Cultural Events coordinator at the Douglas Campus, have been selected as recipients of the NISOD Excellence Award. This prestigious award celebrates teaching and leadership excellence and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exemplary service to their students, department, college, and communities.
Homrighausen and Snider will attend the May NISOD conference and receive a special cast pewter medallion. As part of the recognition, they will also be included in a booklet and celebrated at the college and during the conference.
Homrighausen, who also serves as co-advisor for the Alpha Mu Zeta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, is passionate about helping first-generation and underprepared students connect with their campus community and plan for a successful future. “It is a humbling experience to be acknowledged for the same excellence award my role models earned,” Homrighausen said during an interview.
Born and raised in rural New Mexico, Snider feels honored to receive the award and enjoys serving students, the community, and Cochise College. She encourages her students to apply their
learning in a broader context beyond the classroom, helping them expand their learning and personal goals. “This approach motivates students to examine themselves more deeply,” Snider said.
Three Cochise College staff members will also attend the NISOD conference and share their expertise. Dr. Wendy Ashby, instructional designer, Amber Watson, librarian, and Abe Villarreal, campus dean, will present sessions and roundtable discussions on student success and faculty development topics.
Dr. Ashby’s breakout session, “Do Students Even Read the Syllabus? Why Yes, Virginia, They Do!” explores how a new-faculty mentorship and development program can provide meaningful training opportunities, professional development, technology support and peer-to-peer mentoring.
In her breakout session, “A Person-Centered Approach to Library Instruction,” librarian Amber Watson shares her “person-centered” approach to classroom instruction, which involves compassionate and responsive care to foster student success.
Finally, Dean Abe Villarreal’s roundtable discussion, “Voices of the Borderlands: Stories of Grit and Resilience of Student Success for Transborder Students,” focuses on the unique experiences of transborder students who attend college and navigate life on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Achieving success for these students involves discovering their identities as students belonging to two nations, cultures, and languages.
The NISOD award recipients and presenters are faculty and staff at the college who support and motivate their students. Cochise College is proud to have such dedicated faculty and staff.