Winners are chosen through recommendation letters sent by students.
By Geoffrey Hovatter
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Jane Focht-Hansen, professor of English and humanities and director of the writing center, was named 2019 Adviser of the Year at the Outstanding Student Awards Banquet April 10.
“I mean I was completely surprised at the awards banquet,” she said.
She won the award for advising the Cheshyre Cheese Club. She also won in 2009 for her work advising this club.
“She’s gone above and beyond doing special things for the students and for the SAC community,” Carrie Hernandez, senior student success specialist, said.
The winner is decided by the number of recommendations and nominations letters sent to the office of student life by club members.
An email is sent asking members of student clubs to nominate their adviser for the work they do for the club.
Hernandez said, “We ask students to write a one-page summary of why the adviser should be selected for the award and to provide examples of what they did for the club.”
Focht-Hansen has been teaching at the college for 25 years and is a graduate of this college.
She has been helping the Cheshyre Cheese Club since the 1990s.
The club has been a part of the college for more than 90 years.
It was founded by female students, and the original idea was for it to a be a supper club where members try food.
The idea is based on a club founded by Samuel Johnson, an English writer in the 18th century.
Open Mic Night is an event the club has hosted for four years to provide students the chance to sing, perform with an instrument, do stand-up comedy or present poems in a comfortable environment.
Focht-Hansen said club members want to make it as comfortable for anybody who is interested in coming to perform. It’s about sharing different experiences with other people.
This semester Focht-Hansen arranged the club to host a cheese tasting event at Central Market.
The club members tried eight cheeses and asked questions about the origin of each.
“Being a club sponsor is no different than being a classroom teacher,” she said. “You’re opening doors, you’re inviting people in and you’re saying ‘well, you can do this,’” Focht-Hansen said.
Club meetings take place at 2 p.m. every Tuesday at the writing center in Room 203 of Gonzales Hall.
For more information, contact Jane Focht-Hansen at 210-486-0668.