Jody Lester, chair and associate professor for the Department of Respiratory Care, won the Golden Apple Award for the College of Health Sciences, and Susan Esp, assistant professor for the Department of Community and Environmental Health, received an honorable mention.
One outstanding faculty member from each of Boise State’s six academic colleges and the Graduate College was presented with a 2014 Golden Apple Award on March 10. All nominations were made by students and the award is sponsored by the Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU). The Golden Apple Award is a way for students to thank teachers who encouraged them and instilled a passion for learning. More than 250 students nominated more than 180 different professors. ASBSU received more than six times the number of submissions than it did last year.
Lester was nominated by a student who took one of her online courses and was inspired by Lester’s work in education. Esp was nominated for her genuineness in the classroom, her knowledge of the subject and her genuine care and concern for her students.
Both Lester and Esp are proud and thrilled about the nominations. Lester and her husband, Walter Lester, were interviewed for an article for The Arbiter about the ceremony. In it, they describe how motivational the nomination and ceremony were to them. Read the article online.
Esp states that “teaching is my favorite part of being a professor. I particularly love working with undergraduates and helping them explore their educational and life potential. I make it a point to learn every student’s name and engage with them by name in the classroom and outside the classroom …. I have had four papers published this year and I have to say this nomination was my favorite part of the year.”