MATTOON, IL-(Effingham Radio)- Lake Land College honored Scott Rhine, Lake Land College IT Network Administration instructor/program coordinator, with the 2018 Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Member Award at commencement.
Throughout his 21 years at Lake Land, Rhine has created a learning environment in which students feel comfortable taking risks, seeking assistance and taking on challenges.
He continuously pursues new information to share with students and colleagues, challenges himself to develop new programs and courses and energizes all around him with his infectious desire to teach, learn and innovate.
Rhine’s role as an educator spans beyond classroom material as he mentors those around him and emphasizes to students about the importance of giving back to the community.
Whether it’s a canned food drive or the innovative creation of a prosthetic for a young community member, Rhine seeks out opportunities to extend Lake Land’s reach far beyond the classroom.
Rhine, who teaches programs in IT Network Administration, IT Game Development and IT Digital Media Specialist, said he tries many different teaching styles—keeping what works and discarding what doesn’t.
“I have always known that funny and creative is engaging, and rote facts are boring. Since I teach very complicated subjects that involve a huge amount of potentially mind-numbing content, I have some very creative, and some would say silly analogies and stories, that illustrate the major concepts. I often run into graduates from years ago who can describe the analogies in great detail. This is a testament to how effective these methods are,” said Rhine.
His dedication has significant impact on all of his students.
Kathy Black, division chair of business and business instructor, said Rhine devotes every Friday to his lab and interacts with students who like to study in his lab.
“Students are in Webb 116 all day even if they are not attending classes,” said Black.
“This is the type of environment that Scott creates that draws students to his lab.”
Some of Rhine’s community projects include a canned food drive that averages about 1,200 cans per semester.
A project he worked on as an advisor for Club I.T. was to create and maintain the hardscape and landscape of the Club I.T. garden on campus.
Another project was a 3-D printing pilot design for a prosthetic forearm for a 3-year-old girl.
Rhine received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Toccoa Falls College in Georgia and a master’s degree in business administration from Eastern Illinois University.
He lives in Mattoon with his wife, Marla, and their four children, Lydia, Alexander, Chandler and Sophia.
For more information on Lake Land College, visit lakelandcollge.edu.