FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
LaRita Phillips
League for Innovation in the Community College
4505 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 250
Phoenix, AZ 85048
480/705-8200
phillips@league.org

Kristen Bowles
Microsoft Corporation
5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20015
 

2006 Terry O'Banion Student Technology Awards

The League for Innovation in the Community College and Platinum Partner Microsoft Corporation are pleased to announce the selection of Marty Cox, Black Hawk College (Moline, IL), and Jacob Fennick, West Virginia Northern Community College (Wheeling, WV), as the 2006 Terry O'Banion Student Technology Champions. Microsoft sponsors the Terry O'Banion Student Technology Champions awards annually in honor of Terry O'Banion, Senior League Fellow and President Emeritus of the League.

The students selected for this year's awards demonstrated a special passion for technology that is leading them to pursue a career in IT. Family responsibilities, personal health struggles, and financial need were special considerations for both award winners, whose dedication and commitment to pursuing a better future for themselves and their families is inspirational. Both students came across as being very creative and inquisitive. Debbie Collins, who nominated Marty Cox, said, "Marty gets wonderful ideas and just takes off with them." And David Goeddel, who sent in Jacob Fennick's name, said, "he has the desire to understand why things are the way they are in a language." Their exemplary commitment to moving forward in their career while working to overcome financial and health related issues is admirable. It is our hope that the honoraria will help them complete their education and achieve their degrees and career goals.

The winning students are Student Technology Champion Marty Cox and Student Developer Champion Jacob Fennick. These winning students each receive $5,000 plus a variety of software products from Microsoft. The winning letters of nomination will be read during the League's Innovations 2006 conference in Atlanta.