Bridget Willis, a Computer Technology instructor and division head, at Central Georgia Technical College has been named the College’s Instructor of the Year for 2017. Willis received the local Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction during the fall semester Awards Day and will now move on to the regional competition.

“Bridget is a very hard working individual that cares greatly for her students, her profession, and CGTC,” said Jackie Turner, associate dean of Academic Affairs, who has been a colleague of Willis for more than 10 years. “She is very dedicated to technical education and advancing it in any way possible. As she moves forward as our Teacher of the Year she will have many opportunities to represent us and technical education.  Bridget will continue to work with Kabul University as well as other global students, thus allowing her to grow the Computer Information Systems department and CGTC both locally as well as globally.”

After being announced as the winner, Willis received monetary awards recognizing her achievement from the CGTC Foundation, HEA Federal Credit Union, and MidSouth Community Federal Credit Union.

Willis started full-time with Middle Georgia Technical College in August 2003, after stints as an adjunct instructor at both MGTC and CGTC prior to the recent merger of the two institutions.

With 15 years of experience in technical education, Willis is as passionate as ever about her job and feels that is the reason she received the award.

“I was chosen as the winner because of my passion for technical education and the work I assist with through CGTC programs such as Move on When Ready, Accelerating Opportunities, and Global Initiatives to provide opportunities for all people to have access to education and training skills to become employed,” she said.

Willis holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Information System from Georgia Southern University and a Master of Information Systems Management with a concentration in Application Tools from Devry University.

About her students and time in the classroom, Willis said the main thing she tries to get across to her students is that through the challenges of technical education, a hands-on education is going to give them a better opportunity to meet their goals.

Willis’ involvement at CGTC has been extensive, and currently goes well beyond the person-to- person classroom instruction.

At Middle Georgia Technical College, Willis taught and developed curriculum in dual enrollment CIS initiatives and aided the College in developing key articulation agreements with area institutions. Now, she teaches Move On When Ready dual enrollment courses, trains faculty in DegreeWorks, and under the University of Massachusetts Grant, meets with Kabul Polytechnic University faculty providing guidance in teaching computer programming to their students. Willis meets once a month via Skype to discuss challenges and develop strategies.

The passion Willis exhibits in her work is a reflection of the person for whom she credits her motivation.

“My motivation to teach in technical education is my mother,” Willis said. “She had to go back to school after the manufacturing company she worked for closed. Her experience with technical education through CGTC brought forth to me what technical education has to offer and the benefits of hands-on training.”

Earlier this month, when CGTC’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Craig Jackson, stood before a crowd of her peers and announced she had won, Willis was “stunned,” because there were some “awesome and deserving instructors on the stage” next to her.

“The whole experience has been a blessing and an awesome opportunity to spread my passion for technical education at CGTC,” Willis said.

Willis, who was nominated for this honor by her peers, was selected as the winner from a group of four finalists. A panel of community leaders interviewed each finalist to determine the College’s winner. Oher finalists for the award were, Dr. Morris Clarington, program chair for Health Sciences Core; Attrell Y-Yeima Hunter, Adult Education instructor, and Fredia Wimsatt, Health Technology Core instructor.

Willis will now move on to the Central Region Rick Perkins Award competitions to be held on the Warner Robins campus on March 1, 2017. Willis, along with 22 other Rick Perkins Award winners from technical colleges across Georgia will attend the state conference held April 11-12, 2017 in Atlanta. At the state competition, the top three candidates from the Central, North and South regions will be announced. These finalists will then complete a final interview process to determine the state Rick Perkins Award winner.