Ellie Buitron, center, is this year’s recipient of the Member Excellence Award for Outstanding Mentoring. She was nominated by Jennifer Tonso, left, and poses with FA President Dante Morelli. (photo by Victoria Pendzick)

It was my pleasure to nominate one of our most dedicated members, a colleague who is devoted to mentoring all the members of the Grant community, students as well as colleagues, who rely upon her experience and depth of knowledge. That member is Elida “Ellie” Buitron, a hallmark of dedication at the Grant campus for over 35 years.

Ellie has been in her current position at the AAMC for the past seven years, although she has been devoted to helping students navigate SCCC throughout her career at the Grant Campus. Founder of the ALAS club, Ellie continues to advise the club in its current iteration, Global Connections. She has taught non-credit ESL for many years and is an annual energetic volunteer at the ESL graduation, one of the more meaningful spring events for our students. Ellie also has served on more search committees than we can count, most recently for the two searches for an ESL coordinator for non-credit. Every semester, she visits College Seminar classes to emphasize the importance of priority registration and provide valuable tips on how to do it.

Ellie has made the AAMC an actual center of mentoring for both faculty and students. When we have a question, we all go to Ellie. Despite having others available in the AAMC, students consistently return every semester and only want Ellie. She is our go-to advisor for our many ESL students and will think nothing of reaching out to any faculty member or chair to facilitate the student issues she encounters. For the past seven years, she has embraced thoughtful advising with the insight of a faculty member, a mother and an active member of the Latin community. Students appreciate Ellie’s candor and knowledge, even if it is not something they want to hear.

Further, if ever a class looks like it needs enrollment, all one has to do is contact Ellie and her answer is always, “Yes, I’ll do my best.” That means going the extra mile to help faculty and students. She takes the creation of student schedules very seriously as it is a harbinger of retention and because of her delightful, caring manner she is able to ask difficult questions and guide students appropriately, saying things to them such as

• Don’t fear a challenging teacher! They are fair, and you will learn a lot.
• Hey, maybe taking all your math and science in one semester will be too much given your work schedule.
• Have you joined a club yet? Keep Common Hour free so you can get involved.

Ellie’s vast experience informs her advising, which we know to be critical to student success. Her emotional intelligence allows her to see the totality of a student’s life and by using a mixture of humor and truth she helps them make the right decisions.

No matter the challenge, Ellie remains an optimist and fierce advocate for our students. At the same time, her history at the college and knowledge of our ever-evolving student body allow her to lend an ear to any faculty member in need. She knows how students think and what they respond to. Members of many departments regularly consult with Ellie when they’ve hit a bump in the road. Ellie is a fixture at governance meetings and a bright light at every student government event including holiday parties, spring flings and awards banquets. She is a founding member of the Take Back the Night initiative as well.

Elida Buitron is tireless in her commitment to this college, her colleagues and our students. She is the beating heart of the Grant Campus in multiple ways and is very deserving of this award.