At the heart of educational outcomes and achievement at Selkirk College stands the dedicated faculty who nurture the quest for knowledge and provide students with skills for success.
Four outstanding educators were recognized earlier this month as the 2022 SCOPE Award recipients. Hosted by the Selkirk College Faculty Association at the Mir Centre for Peace on the Castlegar Campus, the annual SCOPE (Standing Committee On Professional Excellence) Awards were presented to Charla Beaulieu, Rhonda Belczyk, Renée Harper and Matty Hillman.
“It has been a very challenging learning environment for students over the last two years due to the uncertainty of the pandemic and that has required instructors to build on their creativity and compassion,” says Ellen Strelaeff, chair of the SCOPE Committee at Selkirk College. “This year’s award recipients are a testament to the hard work it takes to ensure learner success at the post-secondary level. The deep knowledge of their particular subject matter and commitment to students is evident on a daily basis.”
Charla Beaulieu: Keeping Students Engaged
Respected by current students, colleagues and graduates of the Digital Arts Program, Beaulieu brings innovative industry-tested focus to the classrooms of Nelson’s Tenth Street Campus. In a program that demands a diversity of skillsets, she keeps pace with the latest tools to ensure graduates enter the workforce with the relevant knowledge to find success.
“Charla is the heart of our Digital Arts Program and it is a privilege to work alongside her,” stated one of her faculty nominators. “She is continually working to improve the student experience by upgrading curriculum, listening to and addressing student concerns, and questioning how students can best be served.”
Understanding the inherent sedentary screen-dependant nature of the sector students are striving to enter, Beaulieu creates a timetable that honours work/life balance and always considers the student experience. Though computer-intensive classes are the foundation of the program, she compliments the curriculum with get-out-of-your-chair interactive elements.
“Charla exemplifies what an exemplary employee is,” wrote another nominator. “She is an excellent teacher, she is student-focused and she makes the classroom a fun, safe and healthy environment in which to learn.”
Rhonda Belczyk: Rooted in Relationships
Arriving to Selkirk College classrooms in 2018 after a 25-year career as a frontline child protection social worker and supervisor, Belczyk has extensive experience infused into her teaching in the School of Health & Human Services. A recipient of the Premier’s Award for emerging leaders in 2014, she has been recognized for her work in the area of community development, service coordination and collaborative practice.
“Rhonda’s desire to support students inside the classroom and out is remarkable,” stated one of Belczyk’s faculty nominators. “She will go to great lengths to guide students through their educational experience, and occasionally, this means having difficult conversations that challenge the student to think about what is best for them moving forward. It is always the student’s success at the centre of her interactions.”
Known as approachable and available for both students and colleagues, Belczyk encourages learners aiming for a career in social work to do the hard work required to ultimately serve others to the best of their abilities. Challenging students by asking questions that provoke critical thought, she leaves a lasting impression on students.
“Rhonda teaches through story-sharing from her past experiences with social work in both protection and policy-creation at the macro level,” wrote a graduate of the program. “She encouraged us to attend learning separate from the classroom and is extremely inclusive in her classroom.”
Renée Harper: Helping Learners Believe
Focused on supporting students as they pursue their adventures in learning, Harper builds confidence in English and Creative Writing courses where she is known as a masterful presenter and translator of information. With her own creative work appearing in numerous literary magazines and journals, Harper brings an energy to the classrooms that is infectious.
“Whether it is Renée’s patience in meeting with struggling students numerous times over the semester or the way she continues to support students once they’ve moved onto larger institutions, it’s clear that she cares deeply about outcomes,” stated a faculty nominator.
Within her first two years on the School of University Arts & Sciences faculty, Harper was instrumental in creating the student-led magazine The Black Bear Review and a new course focused on the graphic novel. Contributing to reconciliation at the college, she has traveled to Inchelium and to the En’owkin Centre as part of her personal and professional journey to foster relationships with Indigenous people of the region.
“Renée was one of the first people who helped me believe in myself again,” wrote a student nominator. “Her encouragement and engagement in class made me feel like I had people who believed in my potential and saw things in me that I wasn’t able to see in myself. I was struggling with the direction I wanted to take for both my life and academic path, and she took time to sit down with me, listen to me and encourage me on. Because of her, I was able to continue on with my schooling and begin pursing my art again. She’s made a big difference in my life and continues to inspire me.”
Matty Hillman: Continuous Growth and Development
Driven by an egalitarian pedagogy that incorporates a decade of experience in child and youth care, Hillman works tirelessly on creating better understanding for both students and colleagues. An alumnus of Selkirk College who returned to teach in the very hallways that gave him his start in a rewarding career, Hillman is now giving back to the next generation of frontline workers.
“What has become clear to me is that Matty is compassionate and caring while still being able to clear about expectations and desired outcomes in course work,” stated one nominator. “He has continually developed his teaching style over the years with grace, gratitude and professionalism that has allowed for his students to also engage in new offerings with the same attitude.”
Through his graduate studies, Hillman focused on supporting the college in the creation of a sexual assault prevention and response strategy. He is a regular presenter to colleagues on bystander training, mental health first aid, trauma-informed approach to teaching and suicide prevention.
Inside the classroom, Hillman approaches the often challenging School of Health & Human Services curriculum in a way that provides students the opportunity to openly learn and share.
“In social work, we speak about a lot of challenging and heavy topics,” wrote one of his student nominators. “But Matty always did so in a way that was trauma-informed and empathetic. I never left class feeling drained or triggered, but rather supported in whatever emotions came up for me. He treats his studies with respect and grants a level of autonomy that can be hard to come by in an academic setting.”
PHOTO CUTLINE: With family, friends and colleagues behind them, the Selkirk College Faculty Association presented its 2022 SCOPE Awards to four outstanding educators that included: (L-R) Charla Beaulieu, Renée Harper, Matty Hillman and Rhonda Belczyk. (photo courtesy Tyler Harper)