Ornelas Awards honor social concern

The President’s Human Relations Commission recently presented the Miguel Ornelas Awards to members of the campus community.

The awards are given annually by the commission to recognize "both an individual student or University employee, and a group, organization or administrative unit whose programs, services or actions ... have significantly enhanced positive human relations on campus during the previous year.”

The Master of Teaching English as a Second Language Program received the organization award. Directed by Sheri Wells-Jensen, this unit reflects the values of the discipline’s professional association, which include professionalism in language education, individual language rights, collaboration in a global community and respect for diversity and multiculturalism, among others.

As an intrinsic part of their academic mission, TESL faculty and students provide service to the university community. Two projects currently being conducted by the TESL program, in partnership with community members outside the university, received BGSU grants this year: “ESL for Migrant Workers” and “Mingo Language Revitalization and Cultural Exchange.”

Two people received individual Ornelas awards: Davin Heckman, a doctoral candidate in American culture studies, and Christine Pease-Hernandez, a doctoral student in the School of Communication Studies.

A nominator wrote that Heckman uses his “scholarly skills and energy for peace for all people.” A co-founder of the Concerned Citizens of Bowling Green, he provides leadership to a local peace movement and helped organize a peace rally in October.” Heckman also presented to the Chapman Learning Community on alternative voices to war last semester. In addition to numerous volunteer activities, he is the co-founder and editor of Reconstruction, an online journal which strives to make participation in a scholarly community accessible to all and free of charge.

A nominator of Pease-Hernandez wrote that she “is not only an excellent student and teacher in the Department of Interpersonal Communication, she is also an exemplar to the Latino/a community at Bowling Green State University and to the community of Bowling Green, Ohio.”

Pease-Hernandez is president of Juntos, the Latino graduate student association. Under her leadership, Juntos has had a positive impact on the BGSU community, and especially the Latino student community.

She was also cited for her commitment to teaching and learning and to diversity issues. Her outreach to children and youth in the community includes volunteer work at St. Aloysius Elementary School in Bowling Green, where she teaches Spanish to kindergartners and third-graders; her work with the Communicating Common Ground High School Media Project at Bowling Green High School, and her diversity workshop for volunteers with the children’s advocacy group, CASA of Wood County.