NORTH AURORA, Ill., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Few teachers can motivate students like Wendy Skonie. Her medical assisting class at Everest College - North Aurora boasts a 98% student satisfaction rating and 98.6% student retention rate, making it one of the most successful programs on the campus.

Skonie's inspirational and instructional skills have not gone unnoticed. Last month, Skonie, an Aurora resident, was honored with the College's national Dream Maker Award for excellence in teaching.

The Dream Maker Award recognizes one extraordinary instructor who engages students in learning through classroom, campus and community involvement, uses innovative instructional strategies and helps students ultimately realize their career goals. More than 3,500 instructors from 100 Everest campuses across the United States and Canada were considered for the award.

Skonie, a certified medical assistant who spent 30 years in the field before becoming an instructor at Everest, believes teaching should be fun and interactive. Skonie promotes hands-on learning in the lab and encourages lively discussions in the classroom that both inspire and challenge students.

"Ms. Skonie has been the most influential person in my life, and her teaching style has taught me more than I have ever learned in my years of going to school," said Maryann Fliss, one of Skonie's students. "Her attitude toward her students is positive, compassionate, open-hearted and energetic. She takes the time to connect with each and every one of us."

"We are truly fortunate to have a teacher like Wendy on our campus team," said Robert Van Elsen, president of the Everest's North Aurora campus. "Wendy has the unique ability to read students as individuals and understand what they need from her to succeed. As an outstanding role model for inspired instruction, Wendy Skonie truly deserves this year's Dream Maker Award."

The Dream Maker Award winner is selected by Everest's educators and administration.

About Everest College

Everest College provides career-oriented diploma and degree programs in healthcare, criminal justice, skilled trades, business, paralegal, and information technology. Everest College has six Chicago-area campuses, including Burr Ridge, Chicago, Merrionette Park, North Aurora, Skokie and Merrillville, Indiana.

Everest has 100 schools in the U.S. and Canada, and is owned by Corinthian Colleges, Inc., one of the largest post-secondary education companies in North America. For more information, visit www.everest.edu.

    Contact:

    Tim Young or Alyssa Templeton
    L.C. Williams & Associates (for Everest College)
    312/565-3900 or 800/837-7123
    tyoung@lcwa.com or atempleton@lcwa.com

SOURCE Everest College

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http://www.everest.edu