A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from Clark College Vice President of Instruction Dr. Terry Brown. At the beginning of the call, he first informed me that I had not been selected for a sabbatical I had applied for, but then told me he had some good news. During that conversation, I learned that I had been selected to receive the Clark College Exceptional Faculty Award. The recognition will also be shared during the graduation ceremonies in June and publicly announced on the Clark College website during Opening Week events this fall.
I was also honored to be one of seven faculty members receiving the award this year, and I want to congratulate the other six recipients. There are so many talented and dedicated people doing incredible work across this college, and I’m proud to be included alongside them.
What makes this especially meaningful to me is that this is now the third time I’ve received the award during my years at Clark College.
When I first came to Clark College in 2013 after many years working in industry, I never imagined something like this would happen once, let alone three times. Teaching has been one of the most meaningful chapters of my life. Exhausting at times? Absolutely. Frustrating sometimes? Of course. But also rewarding in ways that are difficult to explain unless you’ve worked closely with students and watched them slowly build their confidence.
I’ve always tried to bring a real-world perspective into the classroom. Technology changes fast. Sometimes faster than education can keep up with. I want students to see the reality of the field they are entering, not a cleaned-up version. That means learning technical skills, but also learning how to adapt, communicate, collaborate, solve problems, and keep learning when the tools inevitably change again next year.
Accessibility has also been a huge part of my teaching. As someone who is legally blind, I have never found this theoretical for me. It’s part of my daily life, and I’ve worked hard to make it a foundation of our Web Development program at Clark College.
And then there’s AI, which is obviously the elephant in the room right now.
I honestly don’t know exactly what the future holds for two-year Web Development programs. I think anybody claiming they fully know is probably fooling themselves a bit. The technology world is shifting incredibly fast right now, and higher education is trying to figure out where it fits in. Maybe in the future, it will become less a traditional web development degree and more an AI-first program centered on design, development, accessibility, problem-solving, and human-centered technology. I think we’re already starting to see that shift happen.
What I do know is that students still need guidance, mentorship, honesty, and people willing to help them navigate uncertainty.
What means the most to me about this award is knowing that students are part of the nomination process. That matters to me more than I can probably put into words.
To my students, past and present, thank you. Thank you for trusting me, pushing me, challenging me, making me laugh, and occasionally putting up with my long stories and stubbornness.
And to my colleagues across Clark College, thank you as well. None of us does this work alone. I’ve been fortunate to work with incredibly thoughtful and supportive people over the years, and I’ve learned a great deal from all of you.
I also want to acknowledge many of my friends who may be reading this. A lot of you have helped shape who I am in ways you probably don’t even realize. Some of you are friendships I’ve kept since childhood, while others came from previous jobs, industry work, organizations, and different chapters of my life over the years. Some of you have been there through career changes, personal struggles, difficult moments, successes, losses, long conversations, random technology debates, music discussions, and all the twists and turns life throws at people over the years. All of that matters more than people sometimes say out loud.
And finally, to my family, including my wife Gayle and my parents, thank you for helping shape the person I am today. Your support, patience, honesty, and encouragement carried me through more than you probably realize.
I’m deeply grateful for all of it.
Bruce Elgort 