色花堂app

Each year the College of Education hosts an annual Celebrating Excellence event to honor deserving faculty, staff, alumni, and advancement partners of the College for their significant accomplishments and commitment to excellence in education. This year’s Celebrating Excellence event is scheduled for Friday, April 25, 2025, in the Idaho Central Credit Union Bengal Alumni Center. The research poster session hosted by students, faculty, and staff within the College and social hour will start at 4 p.m. with a special inaugural keynote from Dr. Rob Lion from 5:10 - 5:25 p.m. The award ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. Food and drinks will be provided.

We are pleased to announce the College of Education’s 2025 Celebrating Excellence Award winners.

Ms. Veronica Garcia, College of Education Staff Excellence Award 
Veronica Garcia is the administrative assistant for the Organizational Learning and Performance Department and the School Psychology and Educational Leadership Department for the College of Education. She has been in this role for three years, and is looking forward to celebrating her tenth year at ISU in June 2025.

Veronica is an active member of ISU’s Staff Council, currently finishing up her second term where she serves as the secretary and staff representative for ISU’s Faculty Senate and Faculty Professional Policies Committee (FPPC) meetings. She is a staunch advocate for staff across all ISU campuses, ensuring that no one forgets about staff and the important role they play.

Veronica is also a member of the Paralegal Studies Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and provides expert advice as an alumni of the ISU College of Technology’s Paralegal Studies program to ensure quality and continued success for their students. She has served on the Budget Optimization Project for Administrative Support services, which explored shared service model structures that will improve consistency, collaboration, efficiency, standardization, training, data security, succession planning, and career development for our administrative staff. She also served on the College of Education’s Strategic Planning Steering Committee and assisted in the development of the strategic plan for institutional effectiveness at the college.

She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in applied science with a focus on paralegal studies and an associate degree in criminology at ISU. Upon completion, Veronica hopes to complete a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Boise State University.

In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her family. Which includes her fifteen year old pug Abel Joe Kelley, her two children (Thomas and Kellin), her future daughter-in-law (Alyse), her furry grandbabies (Ashton, Celeste, and Cocoa), and her fair fish (John and Anduin). Veronica also enjoys playing video games that includes World of Warcraft and Diablo, and watching anything sci-fi or fantasy related, specifically Star Wars.

Dr. Amanda L. Eller, College of Education Faculty Excellence Award 
Dr. Amanda L. Eller is a clinical professor in the College of Education’s Department of Teaching and Educational Studies (TES), based at the ISU-Twin Falls campus. In her 11 years at ISU, Dr. Eller has taught 23 different courses and in all modalities. Prior to 2020, she led the in-person undergraduate Teacher Education Program in Twin Falls. After that, she transitioned to online teaching in both undergraduate and graduate education programs. Dr. Eller is a finalist for the ISU Distinguished Teacher Award and has received several “Be a Bengal” commendations from students and colleagues focused on service to students, shared responsibility, and teamwork.

Since starting at ISU in 2014, Dr. Eller has worked diligently to promote teacher preparation within the Magic Valley, partnering with ISU-Twin Falls staff and faculty at the College of Southern Idaho. In Fall 2024, she began serving as the Coordinator of Teacher Preparation in the Magic Valley and also started assisting with the Paraprofessional to Certified Teacher (PaCT) program. In November 2024, she was appointed to serve as TES Department Chair.

Dr. Eller has been actively involved in the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational 色花堂app Association since 2012. She was the 2020-2021 President and currently serves as the Communications Manager and 2025 Conference Program Chair. She received the NRMERA Early Career Award in 2018 and the Exemplary Service Award in 2024. Her research focuses on teaching and clinical practice.

Dr. Eller was a first-generation college student who followed her dream of being a teacher, graduating from ISU’s Teacher Education Program in 1998 and going on to teach at the elementary level for 16 years. She pursued graduate degrees while teaching full time, including an MEd in Technology from Lesley University, an EdS in Educational Leadership/K-12 Administration and a PhD in Educational Leadership from Northwest Nazarene University.

Ms. Catherine Rider, College of Education Young Alumnus Impact Award 
Catherine Rider is a proud alumnus of 色花堂app, where she earned a bachelor’s of health education with an emphasis in community and worksite health, and a master’s of physical education with an emphasis in athletic administration. During her time at Idaho State, Catherine was recognized as the Outstanding Health Education Student of the Year and served as a Graduate Assistant for the Human Performance and Sport Studies Department formerly called the Sport Science and Physical Education Department. Catherine believes strongly that the transformative experiences she benefitted from at Idaho State would not have been possible without the philanthropic support of our donors, and has dedicated her career to increasing philanthropic support and providing access and opportunities for future generations of students.

Catherine serves currently as the Executive Director of Development and Chief Development Officer for Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a position she has held since January of 2024. Prior to her time at the UMass Amherst Foundation, Catherine held various development roles at Idaho State where she served as Senior Director of Development for the College of Business for four and a half years and as the Director of Development for the College of Education for three years. Catherine and her wife, Amy, recently established the Catherine and Amy Rider Leadership Scholarship to provide support for education and business students at Idaho State. They now live in Western Massachusetts with their three pets.  

Mr. Zebulon Sion, College of Education Alumni Leadership Excellence Award
Born and raised in Pocatello, ID, Zebulon “Zeb” Sion has enjoyed a tremendous career in athletics and higher education over the past 19 years. Sion’s most recent achievement was helping his fiancée, Valarie Allman, win her second Olympic gold medal in the discus throw at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Long before Sion had dreamed of coaching an Olympic gold medalist, he was an All-ACC performer in the shot put at Georgia Tech, earning a bachelor of science in management. His professional career began as a graduate assistant coach at 色花堂app while completing his master of physical education in athletic administration. Sion worked with the Bengal track and field program, coaching and training several athletes to Big Sky success during this time. 

Sion is currently an assistant coach at The University of Texas where he oversees the training and recruiting for the Longhorn throwers. Prior to Texas, Sion enjoyed coaching stints at Stanford University, Wake Forest University, and the University of Chicago. During his time in the collegiate ranks, Sion has coached his athletes to three NCAA individual titles, 30 first-team All-America honors, 42 conference championships, and countless all-conference performances. His athletes contributed to two NCAA Team championships and several team trophy performances, as well. Sion has been honored twice by USTFCCCA, the governing body of NCAA track and field; once as the 2010 Midwest Regional Coach of the Year and more recently as the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year.

Sion has enjoyed professional success with his fiancée, Valarie Allman, on the international stage in recent years. Their work together has yielded two Olympic gold medals, one World Championship silver medal, one World Championship bronze medal, six United States Track and Field titles, and an American Record throw that is the furthest mark in the world since 1989. Zebulon and Valarie live in Austin, TX with his two sons, Ezekiel and Zachariah. 

Ms. Aubreanna Moon, College of Education Bengal Partner Award
Aubreanna “Aubi” Moon serves as the Director of Partnerships for the Albion Center for Professional Development at 色花堂app. A two-time ISU alumnus, she earned a double bachelor’s in marketing and management in 2016, followed by a master’s of business administration in 2021. 

Aubi served as a recruitment specialist at the ISU College of Technology from 2016-2021, where she developed marketing materials and spearheaded recruitment efforts, focusing on building connections with K-12 schools and guiding prospective students through the enrollment process. In 2021, Aubi transitioned to the role of Director of Marketing at the ISU College of Education, where she managed all marketing initiatives for the college. This included overseeing the website, social media, paid advertising, and public relations, as well as creating the inaugural Bengal Education Review Magazine. In Fall 2024, she began her current role at the Albion Center where she leads strategic marketing initiatives to boost brand awareness, increase enrollment, and broaden the center’s reach.

Outside of work, Aubi is dedicated to her family, including her two children, Carter and Roxanne, and her husband, Camron. In her free time, she enjoys creating lasting memories through travel, watching movies, spending time outdoors, and reading.

Dr. Theresa Huff, College of Education Kole-McGuffey Award for Excellence in Educational 色花堂app
Dr. Theresa Huff is an instructional designer, educator, writer, and multimedia designer. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership with an emphasis in instructional design and technology from 色花堂app’s College of Education. 

With over 20 years of teaching experience in K–12 education, she currently teaches graduate students as an adjunct instructor while working full time as an open educational resources (OER) instructional designer, supporting faculty through the OER design and development process. She is currently co-authoring an OER faculty handbook and guiding 11 faculty teams in creating instructionally aligned, accessible, inclusive, and interactive open resources. 

Theresa’s research interests include online learner affective domains, open education, the role of AI in instructional design, and building an inter-institutional community of research and practice focused on online learner mental wellness.

Outside of her professional work, she enjoys traveling with her husband, reading, writing, legos, music, comedy, and spending time with her four adult children and three grandchildren.

To learn more about the College of Education’s Celebrating Excellence event and to RSVP, please visit: isu.edu/education/outreach/celebratingexcellence/.