Corey Lewis- 2023 Professional Achievement Award - CoT
Corey Lewis is a graduate of the Early Child Care and Education program and started her career as a home provider. She was the first program in Pocatello to attain the highest star rating from Idaho Stars. She then grew her program into a center at the Westwood mall (Lighthouse) servicing 100 plus children and families and still strived for meeting high-quality standards. She eventually saw a need for quality childcare in American Falls and expanded to have a center there. She sold her centers a few years ago and started to work at Idaho Stars as a childcare consultant.
While at her job, Corey advocates for, and helps recruit for our program by encouraging childcare staff to continue their education. While in the field she helped retain students by offering help and telling them about scholarship opportunities in the Early Childhood program. She serves on various committees in the Early Childhood field such as the Regional Early Childhood Committee, United Way Early Learning Collaborative, is Chair of the City of Pocatello Childcare advisory board to the Mayor, and she is Chair of the College of Technology’s Technical Advisory Committee for the Early Childhood Care and Education program.
Ellen Jenkins – Outstanding Student Award – CoT
Ellen Jenkins is a Nuclear Operations Technology student at ISU College of technology, a Nuclear Operations Intern at Idaho National Laboratory’s Transient Reactor Test Facility, and a Reactor Operator Career Path Intern at Idaho State University where she operates the AGN-201 reactor on campus. Ellen received a Reactor Operators license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hold this position, and she is the first undergraduate student at ISU to do so. As an intern at the Reactor, Ellen helps train other students to operate and assist with reactor maintenance.
Ellen is a member of the American Nuclear Society, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. And the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Ellen earned a 3.91 GPA in the program and she is on the Deans list at the College. Ellen was also the Career Path Intern of the Month in January 2023. Ellen has always been interested in music and in 2018, she joined the North Star Independent, a competitive indoor drumline. Ellen recently returned from the 2023 Winter Guard International World Championships where her team placed 3rd in the world competition.
