Honored for Outstanding Teaching

May 3, 2016

On Sunday I was honored by my some of my students with the Plume for Outstanding Teaching Award for passionate teaching and commitment to student success.

I received the plume pictured above with messages from some of my wonderful students who considered me for recognition:

“Professor Thompkins played an instrumental role in my recognition of white privilege and racism in the U.S. I will NEVER forget the lectures and activities in his diversity and cultural competency course.

I firmly believe that many of society’s most complex problems could be better addressed if more people other than Social Work and Sociology students took this course. I am forever grateful for his time, wisdom, patience, and vulnerability.”

—Andrea Berthet BSW, Class of 2016

“I nominate my Social Work Professor Relando Thompkins because he is outstanding. He makes it so easy for all students who come from diverse backgrounds to be able to share their feelings on tough subjects. “

—Katrina Tinsley-Woodruff, BSW, Class of 2016

“Although Professor Relando Thompkins-Jones isn’t someone I’ve known for very long, he has still been extremely influential for me as an individual and as an aspiring Social Worker.

Again, he is someone who embodies the whole heart of Social Work Practice, and his passion for others shines through in his teaching. I couldn’t have asked for a more knowledgeable, passionate, and caring professor to close out my time here at Oakland University.

It’s difficult to graduate without being fearful of the future; all I’ve ever known is how to be a student. When I came to him after class to discuss some of these fears, he sat down with me for an hour and a half listening to everything I had to say and giving me pieces of advice to carry with me.”

—Lauren Simpson, BSW Class of 2016

Professor Thompkins-Jones with graduating students Social Work Students Oakland University Social Work Pinning Ceremony 2016 — **After the Social Work Pinning Ceremony with graduating BSW’s Ashliee and Lauriel. Congratulations on a job well done, and welcome to the profession!**

My students continue to inspire me in unexpected, but wonderful ways, and they are a part of my journey as much as I am a part of theirs.

Ubuntu,

From Aspiring Humanitarian, Relando Thompkins-Jones, MSW, LLMSW

Discover more from Relando Thompkins-Jones

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Relando Thompkins-Jones

I'm a macro social worker, social justice educator, and consultant who uses media and education to advance equity and social justice within people, organizations, and communities. I am also the Founder, Host, Editor and Producer of Social Justice Origin Stories, a storytelling project that highlights the personal stories and defining moments that have inspired individuals and organizations to labor for equity and social justice. I started Social Justice Origin Stories because I believe in the power of storytelling and making our experiences accessible to others, because I believe in the liberatory effects of social justice education, to support justice-seekers in finding community and feeling less alone given the relentlessness of oppressive systems, and hopefully to be a resource of support and reflection for those who are thinking through how they could best contribute to the work. We need all who can, to do what they can.