FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2002
CONTACT: Roland Ruiz, St. Philip's College Director of Community and Public Relations
210.531.4851
ST. PHILIP'S COLLEGE FACULTY MEMBER NAMED 2002
TEXAS TECHNICAL SOCIETY EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR
Juan Villela, an air conditioning and refrigeration instructor at St. Philip's College Southwest Campus, has been named
the 2002 Technical Educator of the Year by the Texas Technical Society. Villela, a product of the very same Air
Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration program he now teaches, was awarded the honor at a luncheon held recently in
Austin.
Villela, who began his career in the air conditioning and refrigeration trade by taking classes at St. Philip's more than
18 years ago, cited a supportive teaching environment along with his diverse background in the field and an ability to
communicate with students as reasons for his success in the classroom. Villela strives to make every class challenging,
informative and fun for students, and he says that receiving this award will inspire him to continue to work harder to
become a better instructor.
"I try to help students realize their goals. Sometimes this means helping them realize they have already established some
goals by enrolling in school. I don't tell them what their goals should be, but I try to explain some of the options their
education will open for them. I stress the importance of setting goals and striving to reach them incrementally," Villela
said. "I try to help students challenge themselves to do the best they can in each course they take. I give them some
tools to stay organized, like forms which I have developed for my classes, such as an assignment log and a self-tracking
chart on which they can keep track of their own attendance, quiz grades and major exam grades.
Villela himself was a student at St. Philip's College, taking classes in air conditioning and refrigeration before entering
the field as a technician and eventually starting his own business. In 1996, he began to teach part time and finally came
full circle in August 1998 when he became a full time faculty member, teaching the classes he once took as a student. St.
Philip's College, one of the Alamo Community Colleges serving the greater Bexar County region, is a comprehensive community
college designated as both a Historically Black College and a Hispanic Serving Institution. St. Philip's College is
accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.