Nominated by Domincik Casadonte

Dr. Pedrech coordinates chemistry undergraduate teaching labs for more than 2,000 students each semester. This is a very formidable task. On top of this, though, she teaches sections of general chemistry lecture. These duties have been particularly challenging during COVID, with some labs operating in hybrid fashion and others face-to-face. Dr. Pedrech is certainly an unsung hero in our department and a hidden gem.

Nominated by Dominick Casadonte

Ashley not only does research in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, she also is also the senior TA for the freshman teaching lab and the President of the Chemistry Graduate Student Organization, a group that provides lab coats and goggles to upper-division labs as well as helps to fund trips to research conferences for graduate students. In her job as head or Senior TA, Ashley helped to put all of the AV together to film all of the labs for students to use during the pandemic. She also works with our prep lab chemist to coordinate all of the students who help prepare solutions for use in the freshman laboratories. Ashley is wonderfully efficient and effective, and certainly deserves to be recognized for her efforts in supporting student success!

Nominated by Carmen Pereira-Muro

Dr. Kleinhans regularly teaches a large enrollment course on their own time and met with her virtually once a week, when they would be exchanging ideas about the readings and lectures. Holocaust, GERM 2312, and a graduate or undergraduate German class. Before the pandemic started, she was already one of the top teachers in CMLL. Even in her large enrollment class, typically taken by students not seeking the German degree, she had raving evaluations, with students commenting on how transformative that class had been. When the pandemic hit, Belinda did not want her teaching to lose any of its quality. She took an instructional module for online teaching, and learned overnight to create the most efficient synchronous and asynchronous approach to her teaching. She took the utmost care to make her Holocaust class a master piece of online design. The students would learn on their own time and meet with her virtually once a week to discuss the readings and lectures. It is not the numeric evaluations, the highest I have seen for an online, large enrollment class (4.8-5:00) what most impressed me about her teaching, but the students comments: "The best", "the most meaningful", "the most important class I have taken", "the best teacher I have ever encountered"...I could go on and on. Her German classes were nothing short of perfect, but I wanted to bring to your attention especially what she achieved with this class, which should be a centerpiece of TTU's teaching mission.

Nominated by Belinda Kleinhans & James F. Lee

Brendan Regan is an outstanding teacher who has, since he started at TTU in 2017, gone above and beyond in helping students succeed and making the courses in his field of expertise, Spanish Linguistics, relevant so that students are equipped to respond to challenges of the world today. His focus on skill training and topics that are relevant for students in their lives after academia shows his deep dedication to their success outside of the classroom as well as within.Some ways in how he helps students succeed include the workshop-style teaching which he integrates across his courses. Each workshop-class has a well-defined focus, specific purpose, and both knowledge and skills outcomes. The workshop-class is an innovation to teaching Linguistics in the department and Dr. Regan introduced his colleagues to it, therefore broadening the positive impact his teaching has.

Dr. Regan frames his teaching with certain principles. He: 1. connected previous knowledge with current learning; 2. informed students, repeatedly, of the goal of individual activities and their relationship to the ultimate goal of the lesson; 3. rewarded (praised) students' performance; 4. connected the lesson to the outside world (the research community); 5. built each activity on the previous one (step by step) until reaching the culminating activity that required the application of all previous activities; 6. demonstrated himself how to accomplish each activity prior to assigning the students to carry it out. Dr. Regan has completely embraced and promotes the idea that our students gain skills as well as knowledge; skills they can apply outside the specific context of the course they took. Life and work skills one puts in a resume. These are not simply a list put on a page of the syllabus. He has developed an activity for the last day of class during which students are given the knowledge and skills lists. They then have to reflect on their learning experience. Students cannot always articulate what they have learned; this activity helps them to do so.

Dr. Regan has also spearheaded change in the Spanish and Applied Linguistics curriculum. He is leading the development of Spanish Linguistics courses at the undergraduate level. He developed and has repeatedly taught SPAN 3308 Introduction to Spanish Language Studies (Spanish Linguistics). In Fall 2019 he earned an amazing 4.8/5.0 on student evaluations for meeting course objectives, teacher effectiveness and providing a valuable learning experience. He has had two more courses approved that he will teach, SPAN 4318 Spanish in the US, and SPAN 3318 Sounds of Spanish. Given that TTU is a Hispanic Serving Institution, the absence of the former course was a hole in our curriculum; the latter is a course that empowers especially Spanish heritage speakers who might feel self-conscious about an accent they might have and introduces them to the linguistic variety of Spanish spoken across the US that negates the idea of the one “correct” pronunciation and therefore empowers all speakers.

Nominated by Sara Guengerich

I would like to nominate my colleague, Dr. Britta Anderson, Assistant Professor of Spanish to be recognized as a “Hidden Gem”. Since her arrival to Texas Tech and her home department, CMLL, in 2019, she has gone above and beyond in all areas of her academic life. As a faculty member, she has participated actively in all teaching and professional development programs available to her, including numerous teaching workshops at the TLPDC, the Institute of Inclusive Excellence, and the Teaching Mentoring through Peer Observation (TEMPO) program. Teaching during the pandemic, all the skills she learned in these professional workshops translated into the improvement of her remote, hybrid and face-to-face courses and promoted students' engagement and well-being. For example, her online courses incorporated relevant tools to allow human-to-human interactions (i.e. FlipGrid) and music at the top of every class, with themes relevant to the day's content. Despite the limitations afforded by online teaching, Dr. Anderson made herself available to her students. She gave generously of her time to meeting her students one-on-one, regularly. Her concern and care for them meant a lot for many of her students dealing with mental health issues. Her hybrid and face-to-face courses are true favorites among language students as she implements creative assignment options such as podcasts, visual art interpretations and digital stories. At the graduate level, she performs at her best in her field of expertise, Latinx Cultures.

In addition, she is an outstanding mentor. A relevant example of the type of activities she organizes is the 1-day conference where her students present original research. In preparation for this event, she trains them to presenting individual papers, invites a leading scholar as the keynote speaker and designs activities to maximize time with the graduate students, including preparing a dinner at her home with her guest and the students to provide direct feedback and mentorship on their work. Truly, Dr. Anderson models the best a faculty member can give to her students. While her initiatives are welcomed and applauded in her small CMLL circle, her efforts should not go unnoticed at the university at large. Thus, I request you consider the many ways she makes the difference in the lives of Texas Tech students, and name her a “Hidden Gem” in our campus and community.

Nominated by Brock Williams

Carol is our course coordinator for Math 1330 and Math 1331, two of our largest enrollment undergraduate classes. When the pandemic struck, she developed complete online courses with video lectures, PowerPoint presentations, matching online homework, etc. Since then, she has continued to provide the GPTI's teaching 1330 and 1331 with materials and mentoring. This spring she is piloting the use of Learning Assistants in her 1331 section.

Nominated by Aditi Karmaker

Professor Hu is the most knowledgeable, cooperative, and hardworking professor I have the privilege to be a student of. Over the past two semesters, I have seen how responsible, caring and dedicated Professor Hu is in mentoring her fellow students. Her exceptionally planned teaching methods make the process of mastering complicated topics highly enjoyable for the students. One of the greatest qualities that Professor Hu possess is her ability to put herself in the shoes of her students. Transport lab and unit operations lab are courses designed to prepare chemical engineering students for their roles in industries upon their graduation. Although there are only four experiments that are performed throughout the semester, each of the experiments are complex. As a result, these experiments require a lot of reading materials. Professor Hu understands that if those supporting documents for each experiment are not properly arranged, students will have a hard time finding those materials. Keeping this in mind, she arranges those files very systematically by creating folders and sub-folders on blackboard. She also has description under each folder to let the students know the contents present in it, making it feasible for the students to find the materials they need. In addition to creating an organized blackboard, she also sets a theme for blackboard to make it more appealing to her students. Her ability to recognize that students prefer finding the course materials they need as quickly as possible is undeniably commendable.

Professor Hu tackled the challenges of the pandemic efficiently. In order to ensure that the chemical engineering students were not deprived of the learning outcomes of these two essential courses, Professor Hu, in no time, recorded and uploaded videos of all the experiments and lectures, demonstrating her ability to respond and find solutions to unavoidable circumstances quickly. Her zoom classes during the pandemic ran smoothly, reducing the number of distractions during her lectures. Even though classes are in-person for Fall 2021, based on positive reviews on student evaluation in the previous semesters, Professor Hu continues to upload concise yet detailed videos for the experiments, which tremendously aids her students to understand the process of the lab.

Another trait that makes Professor Hu eligible for this award is that she is an ideal Professor who is always there for her students. Professor Hu is equally helpful and responsive to any student query via email or in-person meetings. She always responds to emails very promptly no matter what time of the day it is. In spite of the fact that it can sometimes be quite challenging to communicate properly through emails, Professor Hu understands the questions of her students extremely well and answers those in informative, well-written emails to clear their doubts. For her office hours or meeting after class, she has the same approach to questions from students. She is one of the handful Professors who one could ask any basic questions to without any hesitations, and she would help her students out without being condescending, creating a positive learning environment, and building a positive relationship with her students.

Overall, Professor Hu is an outstanding professor, who understands her students' needs. She realizes that her students have more courses to take in the semester. As a result, she goes above and beyond to make these complicated courses as easy as possible. She ensures that these courses are worthwhile learning experiences for her students that will be beneficial for them in their long run. She is undoubtedly an ideal professor to look up to. As a chemical engineering student, I envision myself to be in the academia in the future and Professor Hu is certainly my role model. All in all, Professor Hu is hardworking, dedicated, caring, passionate, and committed towards her profession, which makes her a worthy recipient of this award.

Nominated by Lisa Garner Santa

Hideki Isoda began his first semester as a faculty member (Director of Media and Production) in the TTU School of Music in January 2020. By mid-March of 2020 he had been tasked with supporting our school's entire move to online instruction, which for a School of Music is an even more daunting task. Hideki not only facilitated our faculty's transition to online teaching, but also assisted with setting up special technologies that would allow musicians in different spaces to rehearse together without sound delay – a vital aspect to teaching and performing. Hideki also was personally present to facilitate a wide variety of large-scale livestreamed concerts allowing the SoM to represent our programs with the highest levels of digital audio and video available, including real-time international events. Without his expertise, our TTU School of Music would have failed through the pandemic. Lastly, Hideki was instrumental in producing pre-recorded concerts for consumption by our audiences during the time when audiences were not allowed. This allowed the School of Music to stay connected to our local and regional audiences during this trying time. Without doubt, Hideki Isoda is a Hidden Gem within the School of Music.

Nominated by Souvik Roy

D. Zhang has been teaching Genetics for last 30 years at Tech. He always goes extra miles for his students to learn and make them understand about the subject. He is passionate about the subject and loves to teach Genetics as well. Providing extra office hours and /or concept clearing sessions etc., reflects his caring nature to his students. His devotion to Texas Tech is not only limited to Genetics class but also he spends 8 to 11 PM working daily (24x7), this proves his dedication to work. As a TA and PhD Student under him, I feel really proud of being his student. He inspires me everyday. This all satisfies the criteria of being a 'Hidden Gem', and he is a precious gem of Texas Tech indeed. I appreciate the efforts made/making by Dr. Zhang for the students for past 30 years. Thank you.

Nominated by Anonymous

I am nominating Dr. Ian Lértora because I see the time he takes to make sure he is always available to help his students not only succeed, but to excel! I see him always making himself available to students who need a little extra help, or working diligently into the night to give them comprehensive feedback on the assignments they submit. I get to be his sounding board as he anguishes over low-performing students and how he wants to do more to raise them up. I have been by his side as he glows with pride when a former student achieves their dreams. Ian has been an educator for as long as I have known him--his greatest passion is seeing his students grow. During the stress of the past year and a half of the pandemic, I have seen him dive even deeper into the role of supporting his students. He always makes sure that their health and mental well-being takes precedence, because in his philosophy, if a student isn't mentally or physically healthy, they cannot be engaged, productive learners.

Nominated by Shannon Bichard

James Hodgins is a strong advocate for student success in the Department of Advertising & Brand Strategy. Even during times of uncertainty (COVID), he has taken great efforts to engage with students both in his classes and with special projects. During the fall 2021 semester, he organized the Hub City Student Advertising Competition. Over 100 students from all over West Texas came together for a one day competitive advertising experience. Students worked alongside community partners in Lubbock to create advertising campaigns in the one-day challenge. This form of creative engagement with both students and the community takes additional time and commitment and that's why I'd love to recognize James Hodgins as a "Hidden Gem" at Texas Tech!

Nominated by Melissa Hays

Johnny started at TTU not long before COVID began. His skill with technology has been helpful to the rest of the program. He continues to teach online and goes above and beyond to produce engaging and creative materials for students. As a Deaf person, and someone who is so bright and energetic, he brings fresh perspective to our program.

Nominated by Sung-Won Lee

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the PHAS had no labs that could be offered in an online format. During the second half of the 2020 spring semester, when the campus was completely closed, Dr. West wrote several laboratory activities that used publicly available simulations. He emailed these to the students, TA's, and lecture instructors in our four introductory physics courses (PHYS-1403, PHYS-1404, PHYS-1408, and PHYS-2401). While students weren't able to complete all the labs on the schedule, these activities allowed them to investigate some of the topics they would have covered.

For our summer courses in 2020 and 2021, Dr. West created YouTube channels for each of our introductory physics lab courses. While keeping the handful of simulations previously developed, he proceeded to make a series of videos for all the laboratory experiments we ran last summer. These consisted of him explaining the experimental setup and collecting the data. In some cases, he also interpreted some of the data. Students used these videos in conjunction with their lab manuals. They were still required to make predictions, answer questions, solve equations, and calculate results, and do everything they would have done in lab except for collecting the data. These videos had to be ADA compliant, meaning they needed to have Closed Captions. YouTube will automatically add closed captioning, but the closed captioning YouTube adds isn't ADA compliant, as it doesn't have capitalization, punctuation, and often doesn't include the correct wording. Dr. West had to manually edit all the closed captioning in order for the videos to be ADA compliant. What is worth mentioning here is that Dr. West worked almost every day in two summers to make a full sets of video for introductory physics courses. As the department chair, I am very grateful for his initiative and dedication.

In summary, Dr. West fulfills a vital role in our department in his capacity of Teaching Lab Director. He is not content to maintain the status quo and seeks ways to improve the development and teaching methods of new curriculums in introductory physics courses; particularly, physics lab courses. His loyalty and dedication to the department are unmatched. The school has a large number of staff, but we are very lucky to have Dr. West who has been performing all the introductory physics education tasks outstandingly over many years (~10 years!). He is not only an asset to the department, but also to the College of Arts and Sciences and the Texas Tech University (Because he educates ~2,000 young minds so well every semester!). He is highly deserving of this recognition.

Nominated by Stephen Fife

AI am very excited to nominate Dr. Kristy Soloski for the Hidden Gem Award. Throughout her time at Texas Tech, Dr. Soloski's exceptional approach to teaching and mentoring have set her apart at our university. She is energetic, innovative, and knowledgeable, and she invests greatly in our students. As program director, I regularly review Dr. Soloski's contributions to our program, as well as hear about her outstanding teaching from many of our students.

At the heart of Dr. Soloski's teaching is a genuine concern for her students. This is evident in the development of her course policies, grading, classroom presence, and interactions with students. Her expectations for students are high, and she provides creative, diverse, and enriching learning opportunities in her courses. Her student and peer teaching evaluations consistently praise her use of clear grading rubrics, timely feedback, lecture notes that are easy to follow, and in-class discussion and activities that hold student's interest. Students report that Dr. Soloski's enthusiasm for the class material and her students' well-being is infectious.

Although Dr. Soloski's accomplishments with the stats courses are impressive, I believe her greatest impact in students' lives comes through her diversity course. This class is required for all graduate students in our program, and it can tough for some as they confront their own privilege, blind spots, and implicit biases. Yet they overwhelmingly report that Dr. Soloski approaches the topic from a position of openness and creates a safe place for all to participate in class discussions. Using an applied/experiential approach, Dr. Soloski helps students expand their understanding of critical issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Most of all, she inspires them to become better people. Her use of innovative teaching shines through in this class as well. For example, one doctoral student shared, “When we took diversity with her, she had us go on a field trip around the building, take our typical route that we would take to class, tour through our clinic, and examine parking availability to understand better the experiences of individuals who have mobility issues or visual impairments who have to navigate our campus.” Dr. Soloski also has students do an experiential activity in which students move forward and backwards to acknowledge the privileges and disadvantages they experience in their lives. In addition to hands-on learning activities, she also pairs doctoral and master's students in groups to produce a publishable-quality paper. At last count, students have published nine papers from her diversity course.

In conclusion, I believe Dr. Soloski's energy, innovation, and investment in students make her an excellent candidate for the Hidden Gem Award. Her contributions to our program cannot be overstated.

Nominated by Courtney Meyers

Dr. Fischer has made an incredibly positive impact in the agricultural communications program since she joined in January 2021. She strives to bring real-world examples and experiences into her classes. She dedicates time to help students feel supported both personally and academically. We are so fortunate to have her in our department and at Texas Tech!

Nominated by Claire Nevarez

Loni is an advisor in Student Union & Activities and oversees students on the Student Activities Board (SAB). She has worked tirelessly to help students succeed not only within their roles on the Board, but also with their academics to ensure that students thrive both in and outside the classroom. She has supported her students within their academics and personal and work life and ensures that she reaches out to anyone who may be able to provide additional insight. She has been a valuable member of our team and the students she works with appreciate the time that she dedicates to them and their well-rounded success.

Nominated by Carmen Pereira-Muro

Melissa Hays has been amazing me ever since she decided to rejoin the American Sign Language program and became its director. Under her leadership, the ASL program has bloomed, growing exponentially, at a much higher rate than the other language programs at CMLL. I give Melissa credit for this growth: she has a well laid plan for the program, based on assessing community need, and during these years of pandemic and zoom encounters we have all seeing how necessary ASL interpreters are in an inclusive and fair society. Melissa has hired top instructors and supervises them closely. She has redesign the ASL curriculum, making it meaningful and career oriented, far from just fulfilling the language requirement. Students majoring in ASL know that they will not only have a job, but greatly contribute to a fairer society. Besides being an inspired and energetic director who has brought her program to a new level, Melissa is a magnificent teacher. One has only to look at her numeric evaluations to realize how exceptional she is. For 2021, her numbers were solid 5s and a 4.9. The comments underscore what a phenomenal, caring and effective instructor she is. She is very much a hidden (and silent) gem in our department and university!

Nominated by Claire Nevarez

Michelle is an advisor in Student Union & Activities and oversees students on the Student Activities Board (SAB). Through these times, she has worked tirelessly to help students stay engaged with the campus community to support their out-of-the classroom wholesome learning experience. She has worked with our students to pivot from in person events to virtual and helped find effective marketing strategies to ensure that students are aware of the opportunities that are available to them. She has been a valuable member of our team and the students she works with appreciate the time that she dedicates to them to ensure that their events and experiences are successful.

Nominated by Andrea Giles

Dr. Riley Krotz is by far one of the most influential professors/mentors I have had through my experience with Texas Tech University. As a Professor, he is captivating, makes class interactive, and provides real world situations. As a mentor, he has always shown how much he cares about other students and myself. He is always trying to find ways to help me succeed further. He always reminds me of scholarships and workshops to help me have the best experience in the Rawls Undergraduate Research Program.

Nominated by Aditya Tandon

Spoke with family at graduation and invited my dad to a final exam!

Nominated by Donovan Satchell

Going beyond the Texas Tech standard, Professor Al-Hmoud has positively influenced me during my time here, allowing me to soar and reach new heights of achievement. As a first-generation student, fear of the unknown walking into a classroom on the first day accumulated many negative feelings. Seeing the glow of Professor Al-Hmoud as she entered the classroom brought a sense of peace that cannot be put into words but has to be experienced. Her hard work and personal dedication to ensure that I did not feel like a number set the precedence for my time at Texas Tech. She opened her office to me not only for tutoring, mentoring, or asking a question about the Middle East; it was a safe space for vulnerability. In a time of strife, Professor Al-Hmoud took her time to ensure that my mental well-being was cared for. She set aside her duties as a professor, student, and mother to seek my needs. Her selfless act of care put me on track to where I am today.

Due to me having a job and being a student, tutoring was not always feasible during the weekdays. Professor Al-Hmoud would meet me on campus during the weekend, even during an early morning zoom call to ensure that I was successful in her course. The class was not easy by any means, but she provided me with the resources and took time to slowly explain the content so that I was successful in her class. After joining her study abroad trip to Jordan, she became a mentor for my career in diplomacy. Once COVID hit, I unfortunately became sick. I reported my results to the school that prompted the alert to my professors. Out of the five professor I had at the time, Professor Al-Hmoud was the only one that genuinely cared for my health. She would send check-up emails to make sure I was doing well. She was not focused on me completing class work while I was ill, she was more concerned about my recovery. Inserting kindness in small ways can have a big impact. Her check-up emails were the only joy that I was able to experience while I was sick. She knew that I was unable to leave my home, so she cooked my favorite dish from the study abroad trip and set it on my porch. Her knowledge and passion for teaching is ultimately what inspired me to pursue a career in diplomacy. She looked over all of my graduate school and fellowship applications. During moments of doubt, her encouragement always reminded me of what I am fighting for. I have been selected for the prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship through the U.S. Department of State. As the first student from Texas Tech to receive this honor, I credit Professor Al-Hmoud for her encouragement and mentoring. With the fellowship, I will become a U.S. Diplomat in 2024. As a senior graduating this May, I have never encountered a professor as kind, selfless, and caring as Professor Al-Hmoud.

As I reflect on my time at Texas Tech, I would be remised if I did not credit Professor Al-Hmoud for opening the door of possibility for me. When a person sees past the surface to look at the heart, their impact lasts a lifetime.

Nominated by Carmen Pereira-Muro

Dr. Sarah Cantor is a true hidden gem. She joined us in fall 2020 as lecturer for one of our small programs, Italian. She arrived in the midst of some of the worst of the pandemic. All her classes were online, and she had no real means of getting to know well any of her colleagues in other languages. In spite of COVID handicaps, she managed to utterly connect and cheer up her students, obtaining evaluations hovering at 5.00, with raving comments emphasizing what a great instructor she was, and what a cheerful community builder she was. In a year with no pictures of our students' events for our newsletter, Sarah managed to send us some super fun screen shots of her zoom classes with the students doing creative activities related to Italian culture. She has shown to be a true team player in the department, attending all lectures and departmental events, in person or online, and agreeing to improve the Italian curricular offer by teaching a class on Dante this summer. Sarah is a warm, joyful person and a committed and creative teacher, something both her students and her colleagues have so benefitted from in these hard past two years.

Dr. Martin implemented a successful experiential learning program in her upper-level business communication courses. Her students completed simulation-based modules that motivated them to tailor assignments to realistic business communication challenges that they might face in their desired career fields. She guided nearly 100 students through this highly-rated asynchronous online course experience by redeveloping course content, with a new focus on open source resources, and utilizing collaborative technologies such as FlipGrid, while training students on the use of these technologies in virtual environments. Dr. Martin's students demonstrated ownership and engagement in this course by matching personal communication and career goals to conceptual application. Student feedback noted Dr. Martin's exceptional commitment to student performance though personalized feedback and helping students feel connected in an online environment. Her background in user-experience design methods and commitment to local, and remote, Red Raiders motivated her comprehensive redevelopment of and dedication to this successful course.

Nominated by Dana Weiser

I am nominating Dr. Shera Thomas-Jackson for recognition as a “Hidden Gem”. Dr. J (as she is known to her students) consistently goes above and beyond for her students. Dr. J has been a full-time instructor (now Assistant Professor of Practice) in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences since 2012. Each semester, Dr. J teaches of hundreds of students and it is a running joke within the department that she has likely taught every undergraduate course we offer. Despite this vast amount of experience and excellent teaching evaluation scores, Dr. J continuously updates her teaching materials and thinks of innovative teaching assignments for her students. For example, a few years ago she transformed a traditional research paper assignment into one in which students were asked to include an artistic piece as well. She is consistently working to evolve as an instructor and her course materials and the students recognize her passion for teaching. Another example of Dr. J going above and beyond for her students was during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when we suddenly switched completely online and Dr. J adroitly handled this challenge. During spring 2020, Dr. J planned out a fun theme for each of her classes, complete with costumes and virtual background. This offered a bit levity during a time of heightened distress, great uncertainty, and profound grief.

Beyond the classroom, since 2012, Dr. J has served as the faculty advisor for the TechCFR student organization (an affiliate of the National Conference of Family Relations, the main family science organization). She has continued in this role as the sole advisor or co-advisor for the last nine plus years. One of the greatest strengths of our department is the instrumental and professional support Dr. Jackson gives to the TechCFR students. She works closely with the student officers to grow their leadership skills, facilitates professional development and volunteer opportunities, supports and helps students to attend state and national CFR conferences, and encourages students' presentations at conferences. She has helped to increase the student organization funding from the university from $1800 to over $5200 a year. Our students' accomplishments are certainly due in no small part to Dr. Jackson's teaching, encouragement, and mentorship as the TechCFR advisor.

She has also gone above and beyond by incorporating undergraduate students in her program of research. To date, she has mentored 22 student led posters and roundtables at the Texas Council on Family Relations and NCFR annual conferences. She has mentored more than 25 additional undergraduate and graduate students as co-authors on professional posters, workshops, roundtables, panels, and presentations. In addition to mentoring undergraduate students in research, Dr. J is also attentive to her students holistically. When one of her students was having a difficult time and was at risk for leaving the university, Dr. J drew her back into the university by helping her to the launch the long-lasting engaged scholarship project, Healing in the Arts. Through poetry, dance, music, and storytelling, Dr. J has created a space for dozens of students to express themselves, be engaged with the school, and heal from a variety of challenges and traumas. From this endeavor, Healing in the Arts has become a student organization, they have performed in theaters and virtually for over nine semesters.

With this passion for education and dedication to her students, it is no surprise that every commencement our HDFS students are most excited to hug Dr. J and introduce her to their parents. She is truly a “Hidden Gem”.

Nominated by Erin Collopy

I am pleased to nominate Dr. Sydnor (Syd) Roy as a Hidden Gem. Dr. Roy has worked hard to ensure that students have the necessary support to succeed during the pandemic. In the classroom, she has 1) formalized alternative assignments for students who are not able to attend class so they see a realistic pathway to completing their work; 2) shifted assignments so there are fewer high-stake assessments; and 3) provided materials and instruction online for those students who have not been able to attend class. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Roy has created a single document listing all the support systems available on campus (counseling center, student health, the dean of students, food pantry) and in Lubbock (e.g. city health clinics) to give to students. She has increased her availability and offers various modes of communication. We all need a little more support these past few years and Dr. Roy has amply provided that for her students. I have served as Dr. Roy's peer evaluator and I know she is an excellent instructor, but the additional work she has put in to foster student success during a trying time is why I believe she is a Hidden Gem.

Nominated by Robert Cox

Tristin started in a new position with CASNR just as the rush to December graduation was picking up. With very little preparation or lead time, she got things organized, completed all the graduation tasks, and met with student after student to ensure that graduation was successful. She worked long hours and solved numerous problems, displaying a real "hidden gem" mentality as she worked to ensure that students were successful through graduation. CASNR is lucky to have her with us!