Montgomery College chemistry Professor Nevart Tahmazian has been named the 2015 Maryland Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
This is the ninth time in 12 years—and the seventh year in a row—that an MC professor has been named the Maryland Professor of the Year.
“I believe the opportunities are endless to reach out to students, one by one, and make a difference in their lives,” Tahmazian said.
“On the first day of class, I ask students to introduce themselves, to talk about their backgrounds and share some of their hobbies,” the professor says. “I tell them the class is like a train. We are going to leave the station with everyone on board and we won’t stop for 15 weeks; we need an environment of respect so we don’t allow anyone to fall off the train.”
In addition to her classroom work, Professor Tahmazian is an adviser to two campus organizations that encourage students to become educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. She is a long time community outreach ambassador and promotes chemistry in local schools.
She served a three-year term as the coordinator for the prestigious National Institute of Standards and Technology summer internship program, enhancing professional opportunities for students. And, working with other faculty members, she secured a $600,000 grant that helped to provide 150 scholarships to engineering students.
To see a short video of Professor Tahmazian and hear more about her teaching philosophy, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuwUh_jz4TE