A Very Special Nomination :)

I found out recently that several of our faculty and staff nominated me for the Embracing Diversity Award. I was very touched an honored. I had won a similar award at Akron several years ago, and it is nice to be continually recognized for my efforts. The nomination is a bit flawed though, as it really fails to mention how much almost everyone in our department and college care about and serve all students, including those who are more vulnerable. Despite my typical grumblings about things, our community gets it right when it comes to human dignity. We have more to do and can do a better job recognizing and celebrating our large and vibrant Arab population, but progress is forth coming. I normally don't post nominations, but this one is very special to me and reminds me of all of the good people I interact with every day.

How does the nominee embrace diversity?

We fully and without reservation nominate Michael Morsches for the Embracing Diversity Award. Michael Morsches has served as the Dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness (LECR) for four years. His department includes students within the English as a Second Language Program, General Education Development (GED®), Intensive English Language Program, Tutoring and the Volunteer Literacy Program.

Michael’s intuitive style of inclusion is a product of a lifetime of active international engagement. Michael served tours as a Peace Corps literacy volunteer in Jamaica and an ESL volunteer instructor in Yemen. His greatest accomplishment was building a school in his oppressively hot post in coastal Yemen for Eritrean refugees who fled civil war in Ethiopia. Michael later served as an associate Peace Corps director in Tanzania, and as an administrator for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).  In Omaha, Michael worked to bring educational materials to underserved developing world communities. These experiences have laid the foundation for work that Michael has done during his time at Moraine Valley Community College in the area of diversity.

Michael wasted no time organizing programs for students on the margins. Michael designed an English conversation group that currently spans four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday each weekend. The conversation group incorporates members of the immigrant community along with participants in MVCC’s English language programs. These conversation groups provide diverse students the opportunity to practice their English in a comfortable and friendly environment. It is common for Michael to have as many as sixty students per weekend who learn about American culture, who talk about their homelands, and who ultimately belong to Moraine Valley’s family of learners. For some of these students, Michael’s group offers the only contact that they have with English speakers, and certainly the only non-judgmental setting they have to learn to be productive members in American society.

Michael frequently tutors a variety of students who are struggling with academic content. Michael’s vast knowledge of cognition-strategies provides a potent remedy for students that struggle in content areas such as math and English. Michael was instrumental in the success of recent student Tremayne Harmon. Michael tutored Mr. Harmon faithfully on his road to obtaining a GED. For Mr. Harmon, the stakes were high. Failure on the GED also meant he would lose his job on the railroad, which would have spelled disaster for Mr. Harmon and his family. Michael also works diligently with MVCC’s English language learners. Michael tutored a student from Palestine in philosophy, and he currently works with a young student from Myanmar who struggles in math. Michael’s input in regards to textbook selection in Developmental Education, geared with the English language learner in mind, is instrumental for student success.

Michael served as the Muslim Student Association advisor for two years, working closely with the group and providing students of faith a Muslim mentor whose unique path to Islam was largely different than their own. Michael often counsels Arab students who find a receptive audience for some of their struggles both academic and personal. Oftentimes, Michael provides the tough love, reassurance, and confidence these students need to function effectively at MVCC.

This past summer, Michael used his vacation time to travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and served as an educational liaison for the US State Department. As a global ambassador for Moraine Valley, Michael helped the refugees living in the Mole Camp set up English language instruction for those who have fled conflict in the neighboring Central African Republic. While there, Michael initiated weekly Skype conferences with Moraine Valley employees. During these Skype calls, employees here gained a better idea about African culture and the nature of struggle for African refugees, while those at the camp practiced their English and joined in academic fellowship with staff at Moraine Valley.

Michael Morsches leads a diverse staff at LECR where he encourages all employees to share their experiences during the Friday staff meetings. Carmela Ochoa, a LECR Secretary, recently shared her experiences as a student abroad in Tanzania and Jamaica with the unit. Michael continues to be at the forefront of diversity activism on campus:  there is no greater champion for students of Color, English Language Learners, the disenfranchised, and any student who reaches out in times of need. Michael not only embraces diversity, but he is also an active agent who aims to broaden the minds of others. For these reasons, we nominate Michael Morsches for Moraine Valley Community College’s Embracing Diversity Award.