Maurice Ingle
Maurice Ingle, drafting design engineering technology instructor at the Bevill State Community College Sumiton campus, earned the American Technical Education Association’s Outstanding Technical Teacher Award for 2012.
An ATEA spokesperson said nominations were accepted from across the country; the top five were invited to the 49th national conference on March 21 in Biloxi, Miss.
Bonnie Craven, career technical education division chair, nominated Ingle for the award.
“She’s a very dedicated teacher,” Craven said. “Her students come first with her. That is her major concern. She prepares her students for work; she puts forth 100 percent toward them.”
Ingle agreed that her students always come first.
“I love the students,” she said. “I always prayed that God would put me where he could use me the most. Knowing I’m in that place is the best thing. I love working with the students and seeing their excitement when they learn something new.”
One of Ingle’s class projects that contributed to her award is her students’ participation in the annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race. Ingle said Bevill’s participation in the competition started as a drafting project but now includes many departments at the college.
“The students enjoy competition; they enjoy games,” Ingle said. “I like a combination of book learning, computer learning and hands-on learning.”
She added that projects such as the moonbuggy race contribute to giving the students real-world experience that helps them find jobs after college. Many of her students find part-time jobs in their field while they are still in school.
Ingle’s students have also designed new floor plans for homes that will be built by the Marion County Habitat for Humanity in areas destroyed by the April 2011 tornadoes.
Ingle remains humble about the national honor she received.
“The award comes from trying to benefit the students,” she said. “For me, the greatest reward is them going to work and finding a job. That’s as exciting as me finding a job.”