Fleming College teacher gets award for excellence
It isn’t often you come across a teacher who has made a difference in so many of her students’ lives—but at Fleming College, Shauna Longmuir did just that.
The 51st annual convocation for Fleming College’s Sutherland Campus continued Wednesday at the Sport and Wellness Centre on Brealey Dr. with a ceremony for the School of Justice and Community Development.
At this year’s ceremony, the Charles E. Pascal Award was presented to Longmuir for her success and excellence in teaching.
The award was named after former Fleming College president Charles Pascal for his commitment to public education.
“There are so many amazing teachers at Fleming and it could be anybody, so to be recognized is incredible.”
Longmuir told The Examiner that she felt overwhelmed when it was first discovered she would be this year’s recipient of the Charles E. Pascal Award.
“There are so many amazing teachers at Fleming and it could be anybody, so to be recognized is incredible,” Longmuir said
She explained how she has taught in elementary, high school and university but college is by far her favourite layer of education.
“I have been to weddings, I have celebrated babies being born and I have been with students through breakups and all sorts of things,” Longmuir said. “For me it is all about the relationships.”
An idea that Longmuir indorsed within the School of Justice and Community Development is her T-Shirt Strategy.
Longmuir and other faculty have used this strategy to inspire students and get them excited about being part of the Fleming community.
The T-shirts have an illustration of a swallow holding a scale in its beak.
The scale represents the justice system but the swallow reminds the students to return home and grow deep routes, according to Longmuir.
“We give students who show up for orientation T-shirts for the hopes that they feel immediately connected,” Longmuir said.
Crystal Dudgeon was this year’s School of Justice and Community Development valedictorian, who gave a lively speech.
“We kicked those exams right in the junk,” Dudgeon told her fellow graduates.
Dudgeon, a single mother with two daughters, graduated with one of her daughters, Emily, at the convocation ceremony.
Longmuir taught Dudgeon and said she was a student who would reach out, get involved and make a difference.
“I have no doubt in my mind I will be there for Crystal’s first class because I am sure she will be teaching with me one day,” Longmuir said.
“Crystal is a driver on the highway of life and she will pickup any hitchhiker on the way,” Longmuir said.