Frances Colombin, an Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology employee, recently received the Making It Work Day Spotlight award from the Oklahoma Career and Technical Education Equity Council.
Colombin was one of 15 Oklahomans honored, along with three businesses and organizations, at the 30th annual Making It Work Day at the Capitol on March 6.
Making It Work Day recognizes individuals who are committed to removing barriers to success for single-parent families by providing educational experiences for students beyond the classroom. The ceremony, which was held at The Credit Union House of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, also recognized nontraditional students.
Colombin is director of the adult basic education program and MPower at OSUIT. She retired from teaching middle school after 30 years and began teaching evening GED courses at OSUIT, said Katie Quillin, MPower coordinator and instructor, who nominated Colombin for the award.
“When the position of director became available, Fran took the opportunity to teach and nurture in a different way than she had before,” Quillin said.
She still teaches GED classes, but also helps students on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families find employment in the community, Quillin said.
“She is an advocate for our TANF students and understands that sometimes she has to be the voice that gets them where they need to be,” she said.
Colombin received OkCTEEC’s Outstanding Instructor of Non-Traditional Students Award in 2022.
OkCTEEC is affiliated with the administrative division of the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education. The council advocates for students pursuing nontraditional careers and for resources for educating single parents.
“Making It Work Day is one of my favorite award ceremonies, as it allows for those graduates, community partners and instructors who have excelled to be recognized for their hard work,” said KayTee Niquette, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families coordinator at Oklahoma CareerTech. “It is an event that is traditionally held at Oklahoma’s state Capitol, but regardless of location, our awardees are allowed to shine.
“Listening to the stories of many who accept their awards is nothing but inspirational, and OkCTEEC is very excited to host this event once again, so that special projects programs with both the Oklahoma Department of Career and Education Technology and Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education might be highlighted.”
She serves as an adviser for OkCTEEC, along with Jennifer Bielli of Oklahoma Human Services and Gina McPherson of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
“On behalf of OkCTEEC we are very excited to celebrate another year of Making It Work Day,” said Robin Shambaugh, OkCTEEC president and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Journey 2 Success Delaware County coordinator. “It is our privilege to honor and recognize our outstanding graduates, instructors and business and industry partners along with our community and agency partners across the state of Oklahoma. We would like to congratulate our students and partners for their determination, hard work and dedication this year.”
OkCTEEC’s purposes include promoting and supporting career and technology education, increasing its effectiveness, promoting research in the field and in educational equity, developing leadership and advocating for equity and diversity.
For more information about OkCTEEC, visit https://www.cteec.org/okcteec. For more information about the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, visit www.okcareertech.org.
