KHS football team honored by school board
Also, Ivy Tech names its faculty of the year in Kokomo
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The Kokomo Center School Board honored the class 4A IHSAA Regional title holding Kokomo Wildkat football team on Dec. 12 with medals and a resolution praising their efforts in their 100th official season. The Kats’ 12-2 finish tied the previous school record set in 2015.
Forty team members, their coaches, and families gathered in Kokomo High School Auditorium and listened intently as the board resolution was read, noting that the Kats had “joined an elite group in KHS football history by earning the school’s third final four appearance, third regional title, and fifth sectional crown.”
Singled out in the resolution for individually were quarterback Evan Barker, offensive lineman Camden Horner, and linebacker Shayne Spear, who were selected to the Indiana Football Coaches Association (IFCA) Class 4A All-State Team. Running back Darrian Story Jr. and defensive back Reis Beard were named to the IFCA Junior All-State Team.”
Head Coach Austin Colby, named North Central Conference Co-Coach of the Year, continued in the resolution, saying “The 2022 Kokomo High School football season will be remembered for a long time. The success this football team had, both on and off the field … is something we coaches will try to replicate for years to come.”
In the resolution, Kokomo High School Principal Angela Blessing is quoted, “One of the reasons I am so very proud of our 2022 KHS football team is that these players displayed that ‘Team First’ mentality. These athletes would go war for each other, and they did so every Friday night this season. I am so proud of the legacy this 2022 football team leaves for our young Wildkats to follow.
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In other KSC board news, the board also approved Superintendent Dr. Mike Sargent’s recommendation that Jennifer Mable be made Principal of Elwood Haynes Elementary School. Principal Mable, who served as an Instructional Coach, is currently part of the leadership team at Elwood Haynes Elementary. She brings with her 28 years of public education experience.
“My aspiration is to help all Elwood Haynes students learn and grow at their maximum potential,” said Mable. “Supporting the teachers at Elwood Haynes will be a critical element of this new position.”
The board also approved the transfer of current Wallace Elementary School of Arts Principal Jason Snyder to become principal at the newly formed Maple Crest Elementary school for the 2023-2024 school year.
Ivy Tech Community College honors top faculty members
Ivy Tech Community College has honored Tara Kaser of Swayzee and Dennis Brunk of Lafayette, both instructors for the Kokomo Service Area, as two of 37 individuals across the state recognized for excellence in teaching at the 2022 President’s Awards Ceremony.
Kaser was recognized for excellence as a full-time faculty member, and Brunk was honored for his work as an adjunct faculty member at the ceremony in Carmel that, for the 42nd year, honored recipients of the highest honors for Ivy Tech faculty and adjunct faculty throughout the state.
“The impact our faculty members have on our students extends far beyond the classroom,” said Ivy Tech President Dr. Sue Ellspermann. “In addition to excellence in teaching, faculty members are often advisors, mentors, and role models for our students. Today, we are proud to recognize their excellence, passion, and dedication to Ivy Tech and the communities in which they live and serve.”
Laura Hapner, interim vice chancellor for Academic Affairs for the Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area, said Kaser quickly distinguished herself as a leader of instruction and innovation when she joined the Ivy Tech Kokomo faculty in 2018.
“In her short tenure at Ivy Tech, Tara has had a significant influence on her students and colleagues in the Kokomo Service Area and statewide,” Hapner said. “Tara strives to prepare her students for the many challenges in K-12 education. She is a role model for her students, demonstrating what it means to be an educator who embraces diversity, technology, advocacy, lifelong learning and adaptability.”
Kaser is an assistant professor who serves as chair of the Education Department for Ivy Tech Kokomo. She began her teaching career as a swimming instructor while in elementary school and has been an educator ever since.
Hapner said Kaser has accepted numerous leadership roles with the college and is known as a valued colleague who, with positivity and enthusiasm that is contagious, is always willing to share her knowledge, experience, and advice with students and co-workers. Earlier this year, she was honored with the statewide Excellence in Online Teaching Award as one of the “best of the best” among Ivy Tech’s many online instructors.
Honored as the top adjunct faculty member from the Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area, Brunk was recognized for his many contributions as a Life Science instructor.
“With years of experience teaching science to middle school grades as well as bachelor’s degrees from Indiana University and University of Wisconsin and a PhD in Horticulture from Purdue University, Dennis Brunk came to Ivy Tech better prepared than most to teach in the life sciences program,” Hapner said.
“According to his peers, it is difficult to determine which is the greater, Dennis’s passion for science, especially biology, or his passion for learning and education.,” she continued. “Whether he’s seen lecturing in the classroom, directing hands-on activities in the laboratory, or speaking with students in the hallway, they describe his enthusiasm as contagious.”
Brunk has been Ivy Tech Kokomo’s main Biology 101 instructor for the last 12 years and has willingly stepped up to help with other course, including Genetics and Diversity of Life. “More than just delivering the information to the students, he motivates them to do well and inspires a love of learning that he shares with them,” Hapner continued. “Students cannot help but be stirred by his excitement over science, biology, and learning in general.”