Distinguished High School Mentor Award

Chemical Engineering Students Thank Their High School Teachers, Principals or Counselors

Each April, our department presents the Distinguished High School Mentor Award at our annual Spring Banquet. This unique honor was developed in 2002 to allow our students to recognize the outstanding high school mentors who have consistently motivated them to strive for excellence and higher achievement including high school teachers, counselors, principals, or ministers, for example. Nominations for this award are accepted by the department’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Student Chapter Council by November 15th of each year, and awardees are determined by the Department's AIChE Council by December 1st.

Nomination packages include an essay about how the nominee has influenced or inspired students to strive for success, along with brief biographical information. Successful nominees are notified by the beginning of December and contacted regarding their willingness to stand for the award. A maximum of three awards are presented each year. Awardees are ineligible for consideration for two years (meaning that a winner from 2002 would be eligible for consideration again in 2005).

Beginning with the recipients in 2006, the award will also include a donation to the mentor’s high school by the Arkansas Academy of Chemical Engineers which was founded in 2005 to honor outstanding graduates of our department.

Students, please take the time to fill out a nomination and submit it by the deadline. This is an excellent way to honor the people who have had a significant and positive impact on your lives. Thank you for your participation.

High School Mentor Award Recipients by Year

Danny Fuller (Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School)

Danny Fuller was nominated because of the passion with which he teaches life lessons in a chemistry classroom setting. His nomination reads, “I believe that everyone needs a person like Fuller in their lives; the person that pushes them a little harder than anyone else because that is what they are capable of.” He has participated in numerous research projects through the University of Arkansas Fayetteville, and Hendrix College. He has won many awards for both his research and his teaching abilities.

George Remenar (Eureka Springs High School)

George Remenar has the reputation of being the toughest teacher at his small high school, but at the same time he pushes his students to do their best. His nominator says, “For the many hours that I was in his [classes,] it really did not seem like a ‘classroom,’ but rather an environment that stimulated me to think.” He added, “Mr. Remenar was the teacher that made me see that limitless things could be reached if I strived to meet my goals.” Outside of school, Mr. Remenar spends time reading, working on and riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and spending time with his family.

Sherry Suit (Ozark High School)

Sherry Suit shares her passion for learning with her students and encourages them to be their best. At a time when students get overwhelmed or bored with mathematics and the sciences, her nominator believes that “…more teachers like Mrs. Suit are needed who are passionate about what they do and who make learning fun and interesting.” Mrs. Suit also leads her students to work for more than just a good grade; they work for knowledge.

Gary Ford (Ft. Smith Southside High School)

Gary Ford was nominated because of the passion with which he teaches biology. "I remember more about the things I learned in his class than any other subject in high school," read one nomination. Not only was his teaching style entertaining, but reportedly, everyone in the nominating student’s class received high marks on the advanced placement test.

Ford graduated with a BA in zoology from the University of Arkansas in 1978, and received his Masters in Education from Southern University in Louisiana. He enjoys gardening and oversees the nature habitat at the school. Ford has taught for 25 years, 15 at Southside High School.

Jim Townley (Fort Smith Southside High School)

Jim Townley, already a Distinguished Mentor recipient in 2002, had inspired many students to pursue an education in chemistry by making it fun and interesting. One student stated, "His method of teaching made us easily understand the complicated subject, and in the end we all succeeded."

Townley attained his BSE from Arkansas State Teacher’s College and his MS from the University of Oklahoma, and spent 14 years overseas working for the federal government. He has coached baseball for the past 26 years. Townley currently has one son in medical school and another son at the University of Arkansas.

Leslie Brodie (Van Buren High School)

At the spring banquet, Leslie Brodie received the Distinguished High School Mentor Award from chemical engineering students Christopher Cox, Natalie Harris and Sakura Phansiri. The students nominated their former teacher for the award, which is sponsored by the department.

In their nomination essay, the students wrote that Brodie, their advanced placement chemistry teacher and robotics coach, was a respected teacher and friend, listening to problems and showing a genuine interest in the lives of her students. She was instrumental in encouraging her students to pursue a career in the sciences, particularly chemical engineering.

"Any time we needed her, she was there," the group wrote in the essay. "Without Mrs. Brodie, we would not be in the chemical engineering program."

Mike Dykes (DeQueen High School)

Summer Scott, a chemical engineering student at the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas, says one former teacher holds a special place in the hearts of all students at DeQueen High School. So she nominated Mike Dykes, chemistry, physics and physical science teacher at DeQueen, for the Distinguished High School Mentor Award, sponsored by the UA chemical engineering department.

Scott wrote in her essay that Dykes is the kind of teacher that every student hopes to have, often the first teacher to arrive and the last to leave. "Not only was he concerned with our performance and comprehension of ideas discussed in his class, he would ask about the things we were learning in other classes so that he could apply what we were learning to those topics," she wrote. "He went out of his way to teach concepts in a way that could be understood by all and he would make sure that he was available outside of class to offer his assistance if someone didn’t quite understand."

But Dykes' classes weren't all work and no play, according to Scott’s essay. "Sure, his classes were the hardest in school, but you couldn't help but laugh at his unorthodox teaching methods and the large cloud of chalk dust that surrounded him at all times. When students go back to visit, it's no coincidence that the first room they stop by is Mr. Dyke’s."

James Njengere (Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences in Hot Springs)

James Njengere, chemistry, botany and advanced placement environmental science teacher at Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences, received the Distinguished High School Mentor Award from chemical engineering students Crystal Hall and Ron Cardwell at the department’s spring banquet. The students nominated their former teacher for the award, which is sponsored by the UA chemical engineering department.

The students wrote in their nomination essay that Njengere, a native of Nigeria, taught with great passion and a deep concern for the intellectual development and well-being of his students. "He taught us that any obstacle can be overcome and that any goal is within reach. We attribute much of our interest in science and engineering to this brilliant and compassionate man." Njengere is also involved with student activities and organizations outside the classroom, including the Honor Society, Beta Club and the annual EnviroThon national competition. Njengere spent several years separated from his wife and children while studying for a doctoral degree at Louisiana State University. They were reunited last year.

Mrs. Debbie Bilyeu (Greenwood High School, Greenwood, AR)

Debbie Bilyeu teaches advanced placement chemistry I and II at Greenwood and was recently involved with the planning of a new science building. In his nomination essay, Senior Joshua A. Clark wrote, "I can think of no other person (outside of my parents) who has had the patience and strength to foster within me the desire for knowledge and the skills necessary to pursue my chemical engineering degree."

Mr. Jim Roberds (Blytheville High School, Blytheville, AR)

Jim Roberds teaches biology and zoology at Blytheville High School. One of Roberds’ notable qualities is the way that he inspires his students. Junior Grant Parker stated simply, "He helped me to see the world in a whole new light…this inspired me to learn more and to push myself."

Mr. Jim Townley (Fort Smith Southside High School. Fort Smith, AR)

Jim Townley teaches the advanced placement chemistry at Southside High School in Fort Smith. He has sparked several students’ interest in chemical engineering. "Without his encouragement and dedication to teaching, I would not be where I am today," Freshmen Kelly Houser and Grant Johnson wrote. Senior Laney Philpott (seen in above picture) wrote, "Mr. Townley was there with the encouragement that I needed to get started."