Three honored as TCTC’s Educators of the Year

Three staff members have been honored as Tri-County Technical College’s Educators of the Year and will be recognized at the South Carolina Technical Education Association (SCTEA) meeting in February. Glenn Hellenga, director of Career Services, is the College’s outstanding administrator; Timeko McFadden, Spanish instructor, is the outstanding instructor; and, Dr. Amoena Norcross, curriculum consultant, is the outstanding staff nominee. SCTEA is a professional association of technical education personnel and others interested in post-secondary technical education. The group will be recognized at an awards luncheon at the SCTEA conference Feb. 15-17. Hellenga, of Townville, joined Tri-County in 1973 and began his career as a counselor in the Comprehensive Manpower Training program. In 1978 he established the College’s Career Center and became its first director. He later served as director of Employment and Training and WIA for nine years and since 2008 has directed the Career Services office. Tri-County’s Career Services Office provides a wide range of services to assist students and employers in meeting their employment needs through career planning, job placement, cooperative education and work/based learning. Hellenga was honored in 2015 by the South Carolina College Personnel Association when he received the Clarice W. Johnson Outstanding Professional Award, which recognizes and encourages outstanding contributions to the field of student affairs. In 1995 he received Tri-County’s Presidential Medallion for Staff Excellence. That same years he received one of the top SCTEA awards, the outstanding support staff award, at the annual SCTEA conference. Hellenga is a past board member of the Anderson YMCA and Anderson Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and is a volunteer for the United Way of Anderson. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church Anderson where he is a deacon, elder and youth leader and serves on various committees. He earned an M. Ed. in student personnel and higher education and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Georgia. He received an associate in arts degree from Young Harris College. Since 2011 McFadden, of Simpsonville, has served as a Spanish instructor in the Arts and Sciences Division. For the past two years she has served as the program’s coordinator for instructional activities. Last year she was named coordinator for the Honors Program. She is faculty advisor for the International Students Association and is a member of the College’s Diversity and Inclusion Project Team. In August of 2017 McFadden was selected to participate in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Languages and Literacy Collaboration Initiative. The ACTFL is dedicated to the improvement and expansion of the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. She is a member of the Alpha Mu Gamma National Collegiate Foreign Language Honor Society. In addition, she serves on the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department Citizens’ Advisory Board and is a volunteer at Clemson Elementary School as well as the As-Sabeel Academy. Before joining Tri-County in 2011, she was a Spanish teacher and Spanish department head at Woodmont Middle School in Greenville County. She earned a B.A. in Spanish, as well as a B.A. in religion, from Converse College. She has a master in arts in hispanic literature from the University of Georgia. In 2005, she received an associate degree in culinary arts and food service management, as well as a certificate in business, from Greenville Technical College. Since 2015 Dr. Norcross, of Pendleton, has served as a curriculum consultant for the Curriculum and Instructional Support Department. Prior to that she was Title III Activity Director for Learning Communities and Learning Communities Coordinator for the Instructional Support Department (2013-2015). She joined the College in 1992 as director of the Writing Center and Writing Across the Curriculum Program. In 1996 she joined the Arts and Sciences Division, where she taught English for 17 years. A longtime member of the Two-Year College English Association Southeast, she served as the state representative and as editor of the TYCA—Southeast Journal from 2009-2013. In 2015 she received the Cowan Award for Teaching Excellence at the TYCA-SE Conference. The Cowan Award winner demonstrates exceptional skill in instruction, develops creative approaches to curriculum and instruction and exhibits a leadership role within the academic department. Dr. Norcross was selected as the College’s 2011-2012 Faculty Fellow and in 1995 was one of 12 national educators to receive a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. She was selected as a member of Exemplary Faculty Team, National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program from 1996-2000. Currently, she serves as chair of the High-Impact Educational Practices Advisory Team and the 21st Century Skills Assessment Team. She co-authored the College’s 2016 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Quality Enhancement Plan. Dr. Norcross earned a bachelor of arts in foreign language and linguistics from Florida Atlantic University and a master’s degree and Ph. D. in linguistics from USC-Columbia. She is a 2009 graduate of the South Carolina Technical College System Leadership Academy. She served as president of Tri-County’s Faculty Senate from 2012-2013 and as vice president in 2007-2008 and 2003-2005.