The Nicolet College Board of Trustees recently honored two Nicolet employees with 2017 Outstanding Service Awards for superior performance that advanced student learning, responded to community needs, and furthered the overall mission of the college.

Receiving the 2017 honors were Craig Deer, Nicolet welding instructor, and Lisa Young, coordinator of Nicolet’s Academic Success Department.

Deer joined the Nicolet faculty four years ago. In his nomination for the award, Nicolet Dean of Trade, Industry, and Apprenticeships Jeff Labs cited numerous achievements above and beyond the high level of instruction Deer delivers in the classroom.

These included:

– Helping create the pathway for graduates of Nicolet’s one-year Welding program to transfer their Nicolet credits to Northcentral and Mid-State technical colleges, which offer two-year associate’s degrees in welding.

– Providing customized welding training to area manufacturers.

– Advancing strong partnerships with the 11 K-12 school districts in the Nicolet District.

– Working diligently with other Nicolet staff on the accreditation application to bring Competency-Based Education to Nicolet, which allows prospective students to be awarded college credit for precise skills they’ve learned on the job or elsewhere.

Deer is one of the few Welding instructors in the Wisconsin Technical College System with both Certified Welding Inspector and Certified Welding Educator credentials from the American Welding Society. He also has a technical diploma in Machine Tool Operations from Northwestern Wisconsin Technical College.

Young started in the Academic Success Department as an adjunct instructor in 1997 and in 2001 joined the full-time faculty. She’s led the department as its coordinator for the past four years, directing services on the Nicolet Campus and at the nine outreach centers located throughout the Nicolet District. In all, the Academic Success Department serves more than 650 students a year with GED/HSED instruction and testing, college preparation classes, and classroom team teaching that integrates basic skills instruction into the curriculum.

She was nominated for the Outstanding Service Award by Jan Dobizl, Academic Success instructor. During her time at Nicolet, Young’s accomplishments include:

– Creating a collaborative and effective work environment in the Academic Success Department where educational excellence, student success, and teamwork are a constant.

– Advancing Nicolet’s mission by serving on numerous Nicolet committees, including the President’s Collaborative Council, Strategic Initiative Team, K-12 Advisory Committee, and serving as chair of both the college’s Faculty Innovation Council and Scholarship Committee, among many others.

Young earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a master’s degree from Capella University.