CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) — A Parkland College professor and a sophomore student were each honored with statewide mathematics awards earlier this month at the 51st annual Illinois Mathematics Association of Community Colleges conference in Monticello.

Math and physics professor Omar Adawi received the IMACC Distinguished Service Award, given to a member in recognition of outstanding career contributions to the organization. Adawi, who has more than three decades of experience, served as IMACC president in 2013-2014 and has held various leadership roles within the organization over the years.

“I’m greatly honored to receive the IMACC Distinguished Service Award,” Adawi said. “My participation in IMACC has permitted me to be involved in several important statewide and national mathematics education initiatives over the years.”

Sophomore Shane Beard received the IMACC Memorial Fund Scholarship, a $1,250 award given to a mathematics student from an IMACC member college who has completed at least 30 credit hours with a GPA of B or better.

Beard originally enrolled at Parkland to study engineering before finding his calling in education after joining the college’s Peer Tutoring program. He has since been accepted into Eastern Illinois University’s mathematics education program and plans to become a high school math teacher or college professor.

“I found inspiration in my professors and confidence in areas of academia I once thought impossible,” Beard said. “A career in helping others find the same success would be fulfilling in ways that would not be attainable working in any other field.”