Member News: Palm Beach State College
By: MIASF Staff
Date posted: Dec 21, 2020 Mon
The ABYC Foundation announced this week the 2020 Educator of the Year - Stephen Spencer from Palm Beach State College (PBSC) in Lake Worth, Florida. The ABYC Foundation’s Educator of the Year award was established to honor extraordinary instructors who are shaping future marine service technicians.
Spencer, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, began his teaching career in 2001 after retiring from a 31-year career in the U.S. Coast Guard, rising to the rank of Command Master Chief. Spencer taught diesel and automotive at two other schools before joining PBSC in 2015 as an automotive and diesel technology instructor.
PBSC Transportation Service Technology program director Eligio Marquez Jr. credited Spencer with helping to launch the new marine service technology program at the school. According to Marquez, after meetings in 2018 with the local workforce taskforce, Spencer organized to get the program up and running by August 2019.
Just this fall, amid the challenges of holding class within COVID, Spencer’s first class of 14 graduated from the program. As he shared with his students, “You now have all the pieces of the puzzle in your hands. It’s up to you to put all those together so you can be successful in business.”
Spencer, as the 2020 ABYC Foundation Educator of the Year winner, will receive an award, gift certificate from Harbor Freight, a free ABYC professional certification class and free registration for the next ABYC Education Training Conference.