Spanish Tutor and Comm Lab Friend Wins Award

Bill Smiley has wins a local
radio station contest
for Teacher of the Week.

OCCC Spanish tutor Bill Smiley and long-time Communications Lab friend has been named Teacher of the Week by Oklahoma City's Magic 104.1 FM KMGL radio station.

According to an email from OCCC Arts and Humanities Dean Susan VanSchuyver, the accolade was bestowed to Smiley following a letter written to the radio station by a student.

The unnamed student said, "Bill ... not only built award winning choirs, he touched lives. His laugh & voice can easily fill a room & with his playfully sarcastic sense of humor, he has the uncanny ability to motovate a lot of young people to keep practicing, pay attention, listen to & work with one another"

Smiley is currently a teacher at Bridge Creek High School in Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, where he has taught for over 20 years.  Smiley plans to retire in December of this year.

Smiley teaches music appreciation and choir and has taught Spanish at the high school.

In his position at OCCC, Smiley serves as a Spanish tutor in the World Languages and Cultures Center and frequently visits the Communications Lab to engage the staff in conversation.

KMGL's Teacher of the Week program is part of their Teacher Feature promotion. Through the program, KMGL hopes to "recognize all the hard work our local teachers do."

At the end of the year, a Teacher of the Year will be selected from the weekly winners for the grand prize of a trip and $500.