Each year, every member of the sophomore class of the Ventura College women's basketball team selects a "Favorite Teacher" based on their own personal criteria. 2017-18 is the 13th year in which the team has honored their favorite teachers, and 74 awards have been presented, including this year.
On Saturday January 13, VCCCD Board member Steve Blum, VC Interim President David Keebler, VC Vice Presidents Dr. Kim Hoffmans and Dr. Damien Peña, and VC Athletic Director Will Cowen helped the team honor the latest class of Favorite Teachers. These instructors, through their skill, expertise, thoughtfulness, and humanity have earned the distinction of being named the team's 2018 "Favorite Teachers".
Professor Gary Amar (Speech), selected by Jasmyne Martin
Speech class was not a class I wanted to participate in, but Gary Amar made speech interesting to take. I had heard great things about him and he was a great teacher. Professor Amar loves being in the classroom. He took his time to explain the subject matter and always had a good story to tell that related to what we were learning that night. He was funny and talkative, and made speech class enjoyable. I wouldn't say that I love public speaking but I learned a lot in Mr. Amar's class. Thank you for being such a great teacher.
Professor Jack Bennett (Mathematics), selected by Avery Brunk
My favorite teacher during my time at Ventura College is Jack Bennett. I had Professor Bennett for Differential Equations. He always came to class with a smile and made the high level math incredibly interesting. He was always willing to answer any questions and was available for office hours to offer extra help. This course was not easy, but he always showed the uses of each technique we learned and how to apply them to real world situations. Above all, Jack is my favorite teacher because of his love he demonstrated for math. Thank you for an amazing class Professor Bennett!
Professor Michelle Hagerman (Chemistry), selected by Celeste Salazar
Chemistry Professor Michelle Hagerman is my favorite teacher at Ventura College. Professor Hagerman was one of the most genuine and caring teachers I have ever had. She is the kind of teacher one can go to if you had any chemistry problems or personal issues. I enjoyed taking chemistry with her because she had a great style of teaching, which made it easier to understand. She gave great examples of problems, then allowed us to solve similar problems before tying up the concepts. Thank you so much Professor Hagerman, it was a pleasure being in your class and having you as my professor. I learned so much from your class.
Professor Niki Milani (Psychology), selected by Melissa Ohmie
I chose Professor Niki Milani as my favorite teacher because she is passionate, knowledgeable and overall, an amazing professor. She always has you on your toes with her fun and creative ways of keeping you attentive and participating during lectures. As an example, sometimes during lecture she would toss candy at students to keep them involved in the discussion. She makes the content easy and enjoyable to learn. You can see that she loves her job and knows psychology. She is easy to talk to and listens to her students, and personalizes lessons to address our questions. Thank you Professor Milani, for teaching the way you do. I learned a lot about psychology in your class.
Professor Maureen Newton Eliot (Health Education), selected by Elissa Root
My favorite teacher is Maureen Newton Eliot. I took Health, Nutrition and Fitness from her in my first semester at VC, and actually enjoyed going to class even though it was at 8:00 am. Maureen truly cares about each student and relates class to everyday life. She knows the material well, and knows how to teach others how to apply the information to their lives. Her class taught me a lot about myself as well as the choices I need to make for a healthier lifestyle. Her class project, an online nutrition journal, helped me realize the deficiencies in my diet and guided me to improve my overall health. If I could take her class again, I would, and I recommend her to everyone I know each semester.
Professor Ben Somoza (Spanish), selected by Davina Del Castillo
I chose Mr. Ben Somoza as my favorite teacher because he is one of the most influential teachers of my college experience. He is an example of what a professor should be like. He is always enthusiastic and wants everyone in his class to succeed. He is very intelligent and has accomplished and experienced so much, which I truly admire. He takes his time with his students to make sure that everyone understands the material. He makes class humorous and entertaining, which is hard to do with Spanish. He is very strict with many rules but they are very beneficial and are essentially life lessons. His class was an amazing experience and I can finally say that I can speak a little bit of Spanish!