COTC Announces Teaching Excellence Awards

Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) honored Kimberly Goudy, PhD, and Pamela Kirst with the Teaching Excellence Award for the 2019-20 academic year.

The Teaching Excellence Award is presented annually to one full-time and one part-time faculty member in recognition of and to promote teaching excellence. Faculty members are nominated by enrolled students with the winner selected by a faculty committee.

“I love what I do,” said Goudy, who is a professor in the business management technology program and has been teaching at COTC since 2002. “I am passionate about my role as a mentor and advisor for students. Most importantly, I want students to know they are appreciated and supported as a student and member of the community during their time at COTC.”

To illustrate how much she values her students, Goudy earned a doctorate in business management from Northcentral University in 2015 so she could, in part, relate to them as a student herself. She opted to participate in an online learning platform to parallel the experience of COTC’s online students. Business management technology is currently the only degree that may be completed entirely online.

Goudy’s students praised her caring attitude and passion for teaching. One wrote, “During the more stressful times both personally and academically, she was always there to motivate me and remind me of how much of an asset I was to this process. Kimberly is the most kind, caring and passionate instructor I have ever crossed paths with. Her passion and drive to lead and help others goes well beyond this structured learning platform, and I’ve been a witness to that.”

Kirst is a part-time faculty member that teaches English and composition. She retired from Zane State College in 2017 and returned to COTC after her first stint as a part-time faculty member in 2003-04. To have students take time from their busy lives to nominate her for the award, she said, “I feel warmed, humbled, and very, very happy.

“At COTC I’ve had the opportunity to work with students who are as young as 13 and others who are, believe it or not, almost as old as I am. In the last two years, I have met students from many different cultures who speak many different languages, students returning to school after rolling with life’s punches, student veterans, “traditional” students and students who are still in high school,” she said. “There’s a universal desire for education among this diverse and wonderful group of people; I’m honored to be a facilitator on a small section of some truly amazing journeys.”

Her students showed their appreciation for her ability to create a learning environment that promotes each individual student. “She makes you leave class with a sense of pride and motivation to continue on,” wrote one student. “Her class was the biggest class I’ve taken so far with over 15 people and she made everyone feel like family. She knew everyone’s name and made sure of it. She encouraged peer involvement and had everyone making friends the first day. Her class is full of laughter and long-lasting knowledge that you don’t forget.”