Colby Eagles Alumni Association
Tennele McDougal Hankins, Class of 1994
Nominated by Michelle Hawkins Morris, 1994
Copyright Colby Eagles Alumni Association @ 2014
Tennele attended Colby Community College for two years after completing high school and was involved in many activities including Sunflower Singers. She transferred to Wichita State University where she graduated Magna Cum-Laude with her degree in Education.
Tennele is an amazing woman who gives 100% to all she does and never takes the easy road. She chose to teach seventh grade science for Curtis Middle School in the Wichita School District. She has ALWAYS been dedicated to giving her students the best education possible. She has even been honored with the prestigious Golden Apple Award for excellence in education. She became a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in 2007. This distinction allows her to teach in any state in the United States without having to go through state certification process. This involved a year long in depth evaluation of her teaching and how she strives to make education "top notch" for every student. The process also involved the proof of her ability and knowledge of science and how to relay that in teaching. Showing a mastery level of science along with further testing and evaluations from administrators, she completed her certification. On average around 30 teachers become nationally board certified in Kansas every year, although very few qualify on their first attempt like Tennele.
She and her husband Jason, class of 1995, have two daughters, Grace and Sara.
