BBCC celebrates 2023 Outstanding Student Award winners

MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College has released its list of 2023 Outstanding Student Award winners, according to an announcement from the college. BBCC faculty recognized their top students from the 2022-23 academic year during a ceremony Thursday evening.

Twenty-one students from various disciplines were awarded the Outstanding Student designation this year. Top student-athletes and campus club officers were also recognized during the ceremony.

In addition to the faculty choices, students also had the chance to identify their outstanding instructors and college staff members, according to the announcement.

Students selected English instructor Octaviano Gutierrez as their favorite full-time faculty member of the year and Industrial Systems Technology instructor James Ayers as their favorite part-time faculty member of the year.

Workforce Education Services Program Coordinator Tara White was the students’ pick for Outstanding Staff Member of the Year. White is the current Viking Food Pantry manager and oversees the Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness (SSEH) grant.

Outstanding academics:

Communication Studies and Composition: Sara Hupp

Business Information Management: Sarah Ferris

Accounting Tech: Gracie Bise

Accounting Business Transfer: Kacie Shannon

Agriculture: Christy Smith

Welding: Zion Figueroa and Robert Compean

Math: Whitney Dillon

Chemistry: Sarah Carter

Biology: Deleah Garcia

Pre-Healthcare: Juliana Fries

Physics: Kyler Kolves

Foreign Language: Daissy “Desiree” Quevedo Garduno

Philosophy: Isabella Erickson

Nursing: Hannah Metcalf and Angie Zavala Morales

Academic Research Skills: Phoebe Torres

Student Success: Rosalina Johnson

Women’s Basketball: Macy Hellstern and Callie Tolman

Wrestling: Samantha Meyer

Outstanding Part-Time Faculty: James Ayers

Outstanding Staff Member: Tara White

Outstanding Full-Time Faculty: Octaviano Gutierrez