Outstanding graduate selected at Western

Western Wyoming Community College has announced the Outstanding Graduate and Innovative Educator of the Year awards for 2019-2020.

Western’s Outstanding Graduate is selected by a committee that includes administrators, professionals, faculty, and staff. The nomination criteria and scoring rubric is based on campus involvement, leadership roles, positive impact on other students, and the nominee’s ability to positively represent Western in the future.

For the 2019-2020 school year, the committee selected Justin Hardman as the Outstanding Graduate.

Hardman was President of the Be Legit Club and heavily involved in theatre and music throughout his time at Western. He has always been known for reaching out to other students and encouraging them to participate in clubs and activities, and for going out of his way to ensure all students at Western felt supported and welcomed.

Last summer, Hardman served in a leadership role as Music Director in the BOCES youth production of The Wizard of Oz. Through that role, he positively impacted the lives of youth in our community by sharing his love and enthusiasm for the performing arts. Hardman continually contributed to the culture of diversity and inclusivity at Western.

The Faculty of the Year Award recipient is selected by an Award Selection Taskforce, which received 46 nominations from both faculty and students in 2020.

This award recognizes an exemplary educator who demonstrates a commitment to education by bringing innovative learning experiences to Western students.

The award winner embeds innovation in their instructional practice to create a more collaborative, student-centered, and active learning experience, thereby demonstrating connectedness with students and their learning.

“He is constantly coming up with creative ideas to make math entertaining and more understandable. He sings songs about formulas to help us memorize them, he draws cartoons to show us examples. He has great instruction methods and would be a great choice for this award,” stated a student nomination form.

Nominations such as that are the reason Jason Barnett, Instructor of Mathematics at Western earned the Faculty of the Year Award.