People

Angelica Cortez from Palm Beach State College’s Belle Glade campus was recognized at a Belle Glade Chamber of Commerce event for her contributions to the campus.

Cortez, a librarian and associate professor, received Palm Beach State’s first High Impact Award at the chamber’s 52nd annual awards banquet Oct. 25 at the Belle Glade Elks Lodge.

She was presented the award by Dr. Maria Vallejo, vice president for growth and expansion and provost of the Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves campuses.

The High Impact Award will be presented annually to an individual at the Belle Glade campus who goes above and beyond his or her role/s, contributes to student success and is innovative.

“Angelica is a student advocate , proactive, reliable, has a positive energy, and is caring and tenacious,” said Vallejo.  “If the job is for the benefit of our students, no job is too small or large for her. She will step in to fill the void and has made sure that student activities are taken care of while handling her job and that of the vacant director for the library. She was solely responsible for our campus leasing internet hot spots so our students can do their homework. No easy task.”

Cortez was one of seven individuals awarded that evening.

Other award winners were:

Melanie Grimes – Citizen of the Year Award
Roger Hatton – Agri-Industrial Man of the Year Award
Tim Ascheman – Firefighter of the Year Award
Amie Pitts – Community Pride Award
Wreynard Heath – Officer of the Year Award
Mark Krammer – Deputy of the Year Award

Cortez has been serving the Belle Glade campus since June 2015.