McCracken County resident Amber’Lee Douglas was recently named Student Affairs Student of the Year at West Kentucky Community and Technical College. Douglas was one of eight previous Student of the Month winners nominated for the award. Student of the Month winners were selected between September 2011 and July 2012; Douglas won in October 2011.
“I’m shocked to be selected as the Student of the Year. There were many other candidates who were well deserving of this honor and to be chosen from a field of such outstanding students is a real privilege,” Douglas said. “I just hope the things I’ve accomplished in the last year will inspire other to strive to reach their goals.”
Selection of the Student of the Year is based on continuous academic performance, active participation in various student organizational activities and community service, while demonstrating a positive and encouraging attitude. Students had to maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.7 or higher and must have held and been successful in a significant leadership role on campus or within the community.
Douglas graduated from WKCTC in May 2012 with an Associate in Applied Science degree in criminal justice and is currently working on her Associate in Arts degree. She has earned a 3.8 GPA and is a “vested leader on campus and in the community,” said Dr. Belinda Dalton-Russell, WKCTC vice president of student affairs.
Douglas is a WKCTC Student Ambassador, Student Government Association president, Kentucky Community and Technical College (KCTCS) Board of Regent’s student representative and the Animals Respect Foundation (ARF) secretary. She was named the 2012 Coca-Cola Silver Scholar and All-USA Academic Team member and has served as Alpha Epsilon Beta vice president. As a student ambassador, Douglas has worked as a volunteer at the WKCTC Scholarship Gala, Project United, United Way, Barbeque on the River and numerous WKCTC Happening Hour events. She also served on the student interview panel for the recent Aspen Institute site visit, which was part of the process to name WKCTC one of the top 10 community colleges in the nation for the second consecutive year.
“Amber’Lee has overcome many difficult obstacles in life to thrive and shine, not only at WKCTC, but also in so many aspects in her life,” said Dalton-Russell. “She is an academically exceptional student who is holistically well rounded, well spoken, outgoing, authentic, compassionate and giving. She is the perfect person to represent this college as the Student of the Year.”
WKCTC Professor of Economics and Statistics, Dr. Kevin Gericke, agreed. “This young lady has a determination to make a difference in her community,” Gericke said. “She desires to excel, demonstrate strong leadership skills and pursue opportunities to use her life to transform the community and the world into a better place.”
“If it wasn’t for the support of the faculty and staff at WKCTC, I don’t know where I’d be. I am forever indebted to everyone that has stood by me and helped me become the person I am today.”
Douglas will receive an award of excellence, $200 and recognition in various college and media outlets.