Diversity Champion Recognition

Mark has devoted 20+ years’ as PTC’s Coordinator of Community Service in addition to his responsibilities as a faculty member and Academic Team Leader.

Mark is PTC’s “public face” with community service organizations such as The Bradley Center (an alternative K-12 residential school) and Nursing Homes.

Mark provides all students with opportunities to volunteer their time and talents in support of disadvantaged community members.

Mark promotes and coordinates Service-Leaning opportunities like the Poverty Simulation and the Homeless Project in which students take what they learn at PTC, apply it to helping with real world social problems, and then return and discuss what they learned/experienced with classmates. 

Shane is the founder and long-term advisor to the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), a group that provides a safe space and welcoming community of support and belonging for all students. GSA hosts related educational and social programming and encourages engagement.

Shane has actively advocated for LGBTQ+ students for more than 20 years at PTC, and provides them with direct support via mentoring, referral, advising, etc. He assures that LGBTQ+ students have a safe place to live by networking with current students to identify supportive roommates.

Amber has dedicated more than 10 years to PTC, working in various positions within the PTC community and now serving as the Communications Center Director.

Amber was one of the first people I interacted with during my PTC training, and she pointed out the obvious fact about PTC—that we lacked diversity. This had been her focus for quite some time, and she is passionately ensuring her team is trained and well-versed to handle all students, no matter the background. Her willingness to help change PTC from within is contagious.

Amber has put herself on the line to not only support her team, but also her students, serving as the choir teacher and offering support to the “outcast” art students that have a passion for music and creativity.

I believe that Amber sets an example that the rest of us at PTC need to follow. She acknowledges that what we have done in the past will not get us where we need to be, and that we need to change how we connect with current and perspective students to see an improved PTC.