SANFORD - Julia Herbon, Lead English as Second Language Instructor, has been selected as Central Carolina Community College's Faculty Member of the Year for 2016-2017.

Ms. Herbon is the college's nominee for the North Carolina Community College System's 2017 Excellence in Teaching Award.

"During her time here, she has used her talents to make valuable contributions to this college, to the NCCCS, and to the communities we serve. For instance, she has created a CCCC ESL Blog, she has authored and co-authored English Literacy/Civics Education Plan grants, and she has been a state trainer for the Adult ESOL Specialty Certificate Training. In addition, Ms. Herbon started an ESL distance learning program called 'Crossroads Cafe,'" said CCCC President Dr. T.E. Marchant.

"Central Carolina Community College is proud to have Ms. Herbon, who enjoys teaching ESL while sharing her personal experiences as a second language learner. She loves to plan her lessons, train her staff, observe classes, do outreach in the community, and participate in conferences geared toward second language acquisition."

Mark Hall, CCCC Chatham County Provost, said that Ms. Herbon's efforts have yielded increased enrollment for the ESL program as well as the high school equivalence. "In particular, Ms. Herbon developed a curriculum to transition ESL students into the college's high school equivalence program. In doing so, she has helped students prepare for and be successful in earning their diplomas," said Hall. "Her oversight of Crossroads Cafe, a distance education program, further improved students' access and success while enrolled at the college. For much of these endeavors, Ms. Herbon has applied for and earned grant funding to cover the costs of software and other supplemental materials that she and many others use as tools to help students.

"In addition to enriching college programs, Ms. Herbon contributes to the community the college serves," said Hall. "She serves on local non-profit advisory boards and volunteers for various events and for ESL programs at local public schools. She encourages her students to do the same, and many of them do volunteer as they realize how much they can gain from working within their own community. In this way, Ms. Herbon is a model of a public servant."

Ms. Herbon said it has been a great honor to be recognized with the CCCC 2016 Faculty of The Year award. "I am still thrilled and surprised to get such an important recognition. I am truly thankful to everyone who has nominated me, especially my supervisor Dan Loges. He has always supported my ideas, visions, and every endeavor for the growth of the ESL program in Chatham County. It is gratifying to know that my hard work and passion for teaching has been noticed and appreciated," she said. "I also want to extend my gratitude to all the faculty members at the Siler City Center. We are a wonderful team that thrives to excel."

Ms. Herbon received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Teaching from N.C. Central University and a Bachelor of Arts in English as a Foreign Language from the Argentinean Association of English Culture in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

For more information on Central Carolina Community College, visit www.cccc.edu.