Winner of the Colorado Community College System 2006-2007 Faculty of the Year
Sheryl Williams, Horticulture Instructor and Community Education Coordinator
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Williaims has been teaching Horticulture and Landscape Professions at the Delta Montrose Technical College for the past five years. She began eight years ago teaching and coordinating Gardening classes with the Colorado Master Gardeners through the DMTC Community Education program. She loves to teach. The joy seeing the lights go on in a students’ eye is priceless. She works very closely with each student to assist them to realize their dreams of a new career in a field that combines science, beauty and mathematics. She is an advocate for each student.
This is William’s third career. The common thread throughout is to “visualize and realize.” She earned a Masters Degree in Music from Indiana University in 1977 studying Choral Conducting. In presenting concerts she had to visualize (auralize) what the music should sound like based on the historical style of music and the composer. Then the task was to take the steps in rehearsal to realize the sound including working with each performer to get the language and tone to match the goal. In addition, the encouragement of every performer’s individual development was an objective that continues in the classroom today.
In order to put herself through undergraduate and graduate school Sheryl worked in several businesses in the field of accounting. Largely self taught she eventually became a full charge bookkeeper and job cost accountant and eventually was hired by one of the “Big Eight” accounting firms to work in tax preparation and computer consulting. When micro computers came out in the early 1980’s she was in the forefront to learn about computers and computerized accounting systems. She was given an opportunity to help businesses install their computerized accounting systems in Southern California.
Williams started her own business and then merged with two others to found Transition/1 a computerized accounting implementation company. Again the theme of “visualize and realize” reoccurred. Her job was to meet with the companies and visualize what information they needed, create a course to meet those goals and then train the employees on the new system. Her partner created custom programs, visualized by Sheryl, to meet the goals of the company. She loved teaching classes for their clients at her offices and on site.
In 1997 Williams and her husband Robert decided to leave the chaos of Southern California for a calm and peaceful lifestyle in Delta, Colorado. Sheryl had loved gardening while in undergraduate school in San Francisco and decided to pursue becoming a Colorado Master Gardener. She joined the program in 1998 and has been an active Advanced Master Gardener for the last 10 years. Sheryl works with the public diagnosing plant diseases and training new Apprentices every summer. Close work with Dr. Curtis Swift, CSU Extension, has expanded her knowledge of the science of plant growth and health. She has won several awards for service and education through the Colorado Master Gardener program and continues to teach for the program each year.
Williams has a huge garden at her home that has been called “Garnet Mesa Botanical Gardens.” Last year her garden was a part of the Grand Junction Botanical Garden tour, a great honor. She grows thousands of plants that are successful in this area and works to create beautiful landscapes.
William’s personal experience growing a vast array of plant material and her skills at computers give her Horticulture students a unique experience. They receive first hand information of what grows successfully here. They also learn to use all the Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, Access, Publisher and PowerPoint. William’s has set up a database of plant material for use on the Western Slope that exists no where else. Her students input information and then learn how to access this information when designing for their future clients.
Sheryl is always trying to find different ways to meet the needs of her students. She has set up her classes on the web to help students that come from a far distance - Paonia, Ophir, Ridgway and Grand Junction. When students can’t come to class, or decide to take a course via the web, they can access the materials and testing from home.
The theme to “visualize and realize” is part of every day, to understand what each student needs to understand and find an individual path to achieve their goals is the joy of teaching for Sheryl. This past semester, Sheryl has taken on the position of Coordinator of the DMTC Community Education program. This has allowed her to use business and management skills to aid in bringing education in many areas to the local population. William brings joy, humor and patience to every situation and truly loves to teach and guide.
