Sullivan-Sanders recognized by Lasell University for outstanding collaboration

Mia Sullivan-Sanders, a Lasell University student from Anaconda, was recognized by the institution for outstanding collaboration in the fall 2022 semester in their Exercise for Special Populations course, taught by Professor Tracy Curran-Jessick.

Sullivan-Sanders was selected as one of the two best people to work with in this course. Recipients of the Collaboration Recognition Award are selected by their peers for exemplifying superior skills in collaboration by sharing ideas and useful information, communicating in a professional manner, and cooperating in a way to ensure success.

The Collaboration Recognition Program at Lasell University was launched last year as an opportunity to acknowledge students not just for their academic performance in a particular course, but for collaborative behaviors that are the key to success in professional environments.

Professor of Art and Graphic Design Stephen Fischer and Lasell Village resident Parker Small conceptualized the program based on a model that Small previously implemented at the University of Florida (UF) College of Medicine, where he taught for 34 years. Employers of those UF students found the model to be a valuable assessment of the graduates’ competencies beyond technical know-how. At Lasell, Small and Fischer piloted the Collaboration Recognition Program in each of the University’s five schools of study with immense success. In 2021, five courses utilized the model; as of this semester, nearly 30 were part of the program.