FCS instructor named Teacher of the Year

  Monday, August 8, 2016 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

Standing just shy of five-feet-tall, Jennifer Snell knows she presents a small, unassuming figure.  

But, as they say, it’s what’s inside that counts.

“Pittsburg State has a reputation for being small but mighty,” said Snell, an instructor in the Pitt State Family and Consumer Science (FCS) department. “I compare my abilities as an FCS teacher to be just that.”

Her colleagues statewide agree.

Snell was recently named the Postsecondary Teacher of the Year by the Kansas Association for Career and Technical Education (K-ACTE). The K-ACTE is an organization that promotes excellence in career and technical education, and the annual awards are given to teachers who “have made extraordinary contributions” to career and technical education.

Snell, who just completed her first year on the PSU faculty, said she was honored to receive the award and that the credit is owed to her campus colleagues.

“In my position, I have the opportunity to work closely with multiple departments on campus, including the College of Education and the Kansas Center for Career and Technical Education,” she said. “The relationships I have created have shaped who I am as an instructor.”

Snell said her mentors, Amber Tankersley and Duane Whitbeck, have provided her with a “solid background of educational resources and opportunities to mold my practices.”

“Having this type of leadership so close at hand is advantageous to me and my students, as we are receiving first-hand, up-to-date information in their field,” she said.

Snell holds three degrees from Pitt State. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences in 2008, a BS in FCS Education in 2011 and a Master of Science in Career and Technical Education in 2013. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Adult and Lifelong Learning from the University of Arkansas.