NEWS

NEWBERRY — Newberry College honored six outstanding alumni educators with induction into the prestigious Hall of Master Teachers. The event was held May 8 at the Center for Teacher Education.

The society’s awards recognize graduates of Newberry College for exemplary dedication, service and excellence in the field of education. Each year, honorees are selected for five awards, each recognizing a different area of distinction: new, veteran and retired classroom teachers, educators who works outside the classroom, and heroes for diversity and equity.

Nominees are evaluated on their professional activities, educational and community leadership, and influence on students and colleagues.

Griffin Gunter ’13 received the Veteran Classroom Teacher Award. He teaches at Lexington County School District One’s College Center, which offers students the opportunity to earn an associate degree in high school. Gunter prepares freshmen and sophomores for dual-enrollment math courses. He works with the Gilbert High School wrestling program and makes a point of supporting other student-athletes in the off-season. He has also mentored Newberry College graduates in their first years in the teaching profession.

Dr. Terry L. Fellers ’69 received the William Dufford ’49 Retired Educator Award. Throughout his career, he taught math at Boiling Springs High School, served as a guidance counselor at Batesburg-Leesville High School, and taught night classes at Piedmont Technical College. After having retired from full-time teaching, Fellers now works in adult education in Newberry County. "Terry Fellers is all about the students,” said his nominator. “He only wants to push them to their greatest potential. There is no better cheerleader to have on your side.”

Kaitlynne Goodman ’22 was honored with the New Classroom Teacher Award, which recognizes teachers in their first five years. She teaches English at Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle/High School and advises the Senior Beta Club and National English Honor Society. She has worked to make sure parents are informed and involved, and that her fellow teachers are appreciated. “Ms. Goodman goes above and beyond to make sure her students know she cares about them. She challenges her students to think outside of the box and her classroom is very student-centered and student-led,” said one nominator. “Her passion and commitment to her students never fails to impress me,” said another.

Derrick Hines ’08 received the Educator Outside the Classroom Award. He mentors up-and-coming educators as director of the Teaching Fellows program at the University of South Carolina, and as a college coordinator for the teacher cadet program. His work takes him to high schools across South Carolina, where he inspires students to continue their education and even to pursue teaching as a vocation. He is a member of the Palmetto State Teachers Association and serves on numerous K-12 and college education advisory boards. He was a 2015 finalist for Dreher High School’s Teacher of the Year and a 2024 finalist for the University of South Carolina’s U101 Program Instructor of the Year. Hines also serves on the Newberry College Alumni Association’s Board of Managers.

Brandarius Jones ’20 and Dr. Peggy Barnes Winder ’86 were co-recipients of the Nancy Lou Anderson Glasgow '70 Diversity & Equity Warrior in Education Award.

Jones teaches fifth grade at Killian Elementary School and works as a defensive coach for W.J. Keenan High School’s football program. He also serves as the campus site coordinator for Newberry College’s Call Me MISTER program, which works to address the nationwide shortage of male elementary school teachers from diverse backgrounds. He has also been involved in community service efforts in the Columbia area, including work with homeless individuals. In July 2023, he received the Neon Apple Award from the Columbia Fireflies.

Winder has taught at Newberry College since 1990, when she became the college’s first Black full-time professor. In 2012, she assumed the role of director of diversity education and was instrumental in the creation of Dufford Diversity & Inclusion Week, which she spearheaded as committee chair for a decade. She also chaired the Multicultural Committee from 2013-22. She is a two-time SGA Professor of the Year, a 2011 recipient of the L. Grady Cooper Award, and a 2022 recipient of the Alumni Distinguished Service Award, among others. A skilled athlete and coach, in 1998, she became the first female inductee into the Newberry College Athletic Hall of Fame. In February, she was one of the first two women’s basketball alumnae to have their Newberry College jerseys retired.

Pictured: Dr. Peggy Barnes Winder ’86, Dr. Terry Fellers ’69, Kaitlynne Goodman ’22, Griffin Gunter ’13, and Brandarius Jones ’20.