NACC - NCA's Outstanding Tutor Award

Nomination Guidelines:

Awards will be presented to the undergraduate and graduate student who has demonstrated excellence as a communication tutor/consultant. Considerations include quality of assistance, dedication, knowledge, creativity, and contributions to the teaching and learning of communication skills. For each award, no more than two nominees per institution may be submitted in a given year. Nominees may be either undergraduate or graduate students (as of May 1st of the nominating year).

Nominations must include the following documents:

A short cover letter (1 page) written by the nominee for identification purposes only that:

identifies the tutor/consultant
identifies the award for which they are being nominated
identifies the nominee’s institution
provides the name and contact information for the faculty/administrator sponsoring the nomination

A personal statement written by the nominee (not to exceed 3 pages single spaced). The personal statement should describe the following:

a clear philosophy of tutoring/consulting exemplified through narratives about two or three significant tutoring/consulting sessions. It is not enough to merely describe the sessions; nominees must articulate particular values, ideals, and principles inform their tutoring/consulting practices. (Nominees may include individual pieces of evidence that support their narrative. Evidence should be limited to only a handful of specific examples that best illustrate their philosophy on tutoring/consulting. For example, nominees should not reference evaluations generally, but rather identify, from among all of their evaluations, instances or trends that exemplify their approach to tutoring/consulting.)
delineate the activities that demonstrate the nominee’s leadership. Leadership comes in many forms; therefore, nominees should articulate why certain practices reflect particular leadership qualities.
discuss their effectiveness as a tutor/consultant. Discussion of effectiveness can include but is not limited to: skills (professional/interpersonal), professional development, abilities, experience, achievements, and/or contributions to the teaching and learning of speech. Ultimately up to the nominee to make the case for why particular qualities or practices exemplify their effectiveness. (Nominees may include individual pieces of evidence that support their narrative. Evidence should be limited to only a handful of specific examples that best illustrate their effectiveness as a tutor/consultant.)

Supporting documents referenced in the personal statement. Only those specific documents referenced by the nominee should be included.

For example, only include evaluations from individual sessions referenced in the personal statement. Supporting evidence cannot exceed 10 pages.

Letters of support (a minimum of two and maximum of three letters of recommendation). Letters should include one from the director of the nominee’s Communication Center and no more than two from other individuals who work with the nominee (e.g. other tutors/consultants, faculty, administrative staff, former students who tutored/consulted by the nominee).

Letters of support should identify how they know the nominee and explain the worthiness of the nominee for the award. Letters of support should include discussions of the nominee’s skills (professional/interpersonal), abilities, experience, character, achievements, and/or contributions to the teaching and learning of speech. Letters should include one or two detailed examples that illustrate the worthiness of the nominee.

Award Rubric

Nominations must be submitted by February 10 to Zack Sowder

Previous Winners

2024: Breeze Petty, Hamilton College (undergraduate); Darrin Majocha, Rochester Institute of Technology (graduate)
2023: Mikayla MacIntyre, Rochester Institute of Technology (undergraduate); Mercy Faleyimu, James Madison University (graduate)
2021 Winners: Gabrielle Garcia – Rochester Institute of Technology (undergraduate)
Cayla Keiser – Rochester Institute of Technology (graduate)
2020 Winners: Madison Seymour, University of Southern Mississippi (undergraduate)
Meghan Parsons, Texas Tech University (graduate)
2019 Winners: Veronica Shoemaker (undergraduate), The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Meghan McKinney, (graduate) Eastern Kentucky University
2018 Winners: Brooke Wateska (undergraduate), Carlow University
Harper Anderson (graduate), Texas Tech University
2017 Winners: Tiera Gibson (undergraduate), The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Taylor Williams (graduate), The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
2016 Winners: Aleke Vehos (undergraduate), The University of Southern Mississippi
Carley Young (graduate), The University of Southern Mississippi
2015 Winners: Aimee Miller (undergraduate), Monmouth College
Shaquana Suggs (graduate), The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
2014 Winners: Donald Watson (undergraduate), The College of Southern Nevada
Nicole Magee (graduate), The University of Southern Mississippi
2013 Winner: Carl Brown, The University of Southern Mississippi
2012 Winner: Alyssa Davis, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
2011 Winner: Michael King, The University of Southern Mississippi
2010 Winner: April Van Cleve, The University of Southern Mississippi
2009 Winner: Danielle Lokaj, Davidson College
2008 Winner: Hemalatha Yarragunta, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

View Past Award Winners