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January
27, 2002 Dear Awards Committee: When I started at Meridian, I knew nothing about
Air Conditioning & Refrigeration except that it seemed interesting. I failed
many times, but somehow Mr. Clemons saw real potential that I never imagined I
had. He never let any student, including me, get away with second best. Working
with high school students isn't easy, because most of them were there just to
pass time. However, if you were in Mr. Clemons’ class you were going to learn
and be ready to tell what you learned at the end of class each day. It would
have been easy to let the high students sleep, but he took the time to motivate
them to want to learn. In Mr. Clemons’ class I learned how to develop
public speaking skills through VICA training. This gave me confidence in job
interviews and even gave me the courage to give an icebreaker speech at a
Toastmaster's meeting. Mr. Clemons taught me a foundational knowledge of Air
Conditioning and Refrigeration. I competed in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
troubleshooting contests from 1996-1998, receiving 1st place awards at the
regional level both years and 5th place at state the first year and 2nd place at
state the second year. In my final year, our class took on a display
project to be entered into the VICA contest (words do not do the display
justice). Mr. Clemons' separated the class into groups that were most suited to
each task and let our imaginations fly. This brought together a mountain that
showed a person's potential career path, beginning from the bottom of the
mountain at Meridian Tech all the way up to owner/operator. The top of the
mountain was refrigerated to make snow, the backdrop was air conditioned through
the letters Air Conditioning and the letters Refrigeration had the snow effect
like the snowcap. (All three evaporators were run by an old window unit.) Our
class project went on to win 1st place at nationals. One day I asked Mr. Clemons what would be the
advantage to going on to OSU-Okmulgee. He said, "You will get a deeper
understanding of refrigeration and electricity," and then he asked me,
"How much money do you want to make?" I said I wanted to be able to
raise a family and he said, "Well, you'll be the first one in line for a
raise with a degree, and the connections to businesses that want to hire Air
Conditioning and Refrigeration graduates are increasing daily." OSU-Okmulgee
provided me with a wonderful "career connection," and today I am
working at the world headquarters of Hussmann Refrigeration, where I work as a
Laboratory Technician. I test cases using a data acquisition system to gain
information such as product temperature, superheat, sub cooling, BTU's per hour,
etc. This data is used to research and develop prototype refrigeration cases. I recommend Mr. Clemons for Teacher of the Year
because first, his book knowledge combined with common sense make for a teacher
that is able to provide students with information that is understandable but
challenging. Secondly, his patience with me and other students allowed us to
learn in a comfortable atmosphere. Finally, his love for the students is
unmatched by any schoolteacher or professor I have known. For example, I
competed and should have received the 2nd place award for troubleshooting at the
state VICA contest. I thought I completely lost! Mr. Clemons' attention to
details found that a student and myself were entered into the computer
incorrectly and my 2nd place award was given to another student. He spoke to a
VICA representative and convinced her to give me a 2nd place silver medal, but
the tool award could only be given once. I still received a tool award, and
later I found out that Mr. Clemons and another friend of his donated money to
Locke Supply, which allowed me to pick out $100 worth of tools. When I first started, I never dreamed I would be
where I am today. But I believe Mr. Clemons’ teachings laid a firm foundation
from which I was able to reach heights I never thought possible. His influence
in my life will forever hold a special place in my heart as a wonderful teacher,
but most of all a friend. Sincerely, Ryan Stewart Former Student
Mark I. Clemons, MSEd, NBCT and National CareerTech Teacher of the Year. For more information or to book Mark for a Consultation, Keynote, Seminar or Workshop contact him at 918 277-9864 or mark@markclemons.com |
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