Amber Robertson, an Illinois Valley Community College nursing instructor, has been nominated for Shaw Local Radio’s Teacher of the Year award. Recognized for her exceptional impact on students, Robertson was celebrated with a certificate and a check. Her nominator, former student Alex Hunt, credits her for significantly influencing her nursing career.
Robertson said she’s known for pushing students out of their comfort zones, even if the push isn’t always welcome. “I love to see the light bulbs go on, see how they come in looking like deer in the headlights then graduate like rock stars! I watched (Hunt) grow from that first day through that first semester, then through that second semester, and how her confidence grew. To watch her walk across the stage at graduation was very emotional for me and made me so very, very proud.”
Robertson had been a nurse before she joined the IVCC faculty eight years ago. Now she’s teaching alongside the instructors who once guided her as a student. “The whole IVCC program shaped me. That associate degree literally changes people’s lives, and it changed mine.”
Submitted Picture: Nursing graduate Alex Hunt (left) nominated her Illinois Valley Community College instructor Amber Robertson (right) for a local outstanding teacher award. “She has a spark for nursing and anyone who has her (as an instructor) thrives in what they do,” Hunt wrote in her nomination.