In a Texas Tech University Student Housing recognition ceremony held earlier this month, Eila Machado, an instructor with Tech's Department of Animal and Food Sciences, and Amy Boren-Alpizar, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications, were honored with two of 10 Professing Excellence awards presented this year.

Program officials explained that Professing Excellence is a formal ceremony in which Tech students are given the opportunity to nominate faculty members and present awards to those who've demonstrated exceptional educational skills.

Awards are given to outstanding faculty who go above and beyond, both inside and outside the classroom, to impact their students' learning and academic success.

"Even though it is her first year teaching here, she's already made an impact on students," said Ashley Bennett-Bryan, a senior animal science major from Amarillo who nominated Machado.

Machado has a strong background in dairy cattle health and husbandry, in addition to her professional experience as a New York-based large animal veterinarian. A part-time lecturer who teaches dairy production, she joined the department last fall.

Boren, who also serves as a rural community development specialist in Texas Tech's International Center for Food Industry Excellence, was nominated by Justin Daniel, a sophomore interdisciplinary agriculture major from Denton.

Boren holds a bachelor's degree in French and Spanish from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Her master's degree in leadership education and doctorate in human sciences are from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research interests focus on the contributions of rural youth and women to community development in Latin America. She has worked extensively in leadership development across Latin America.

Previous Professing Excellence honorees from CASNR include Warren Conway, the Bricker Endowed Chair in Wildlife Management Department in the Department of Natural Resources Management (2017), and Scott Burris, Professor and Associate Department Chair in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications (2013)

CONTACT: William Brown, Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or william.f.brown@ttu.edu

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