By Ciaran Lambert/tr news editor
“It’s a result of my experiences as a student,” Handley said. “I felt like there were things being done or taught that could’ve been done differently. Teachers could’ve interacted with their students and treated them more respectfully.”
That passion helped him win the Chancellor’s Award for South Campus.
“Technology has always been a love of mine,” he said. “Growing up, I built a crystal radio set and played around with a HAM radio. It’s always been a hobby.”
Handley said that he started teaching college after he saw how his friend enjoyed his job.
His friend, who shared his love of science and technology, taught electronics at a trade school.
“My friend was teaching it, and I liked doing that, and I wanted to teach it,” he said. “But it was taught at trade schools, and then those types of programs became part of community colleges.”
Handley has taught at TCC for more than 30 years. He has served on multiple district committees and has written a microprocessor training manual for a professional society, co-authored technical reports and various articles including papers for conference proceedings.
Handley said he was honored to win the Chancellor’s Award.
“At the same time, I believe that all the teachers at TCC are exemplary,” he said. “I can go out and find any teacher at TCC and talk to their students, and they’ll tell me that they are the best teacher ever,” he said.
Handley said the teacher he considers the “best ever” is his high school math teacher.
“He seemed to have this ability to present the material in a way that it was crystal clear,” he said. “It wasn’t confusing. It was made possible.”
