Dessert was not the only sweet feeling Dr. Evelyne Charvier-Berman experienced at the California Language Teacher’s Association (CLTA) Annual Conference.

A shocked and surprised Berman received the “Outstanding Teacher Award” that was given during the dessert portion of the awards luncheon.

“I was absolutely shocked. I did not know I was nominated,” Berman, professor of French, said. “All my colleagues were there, so it was rewarding and flattering.”

A member of EC’s Foreign Language department since 1985, Berman was nominated by her peers because of her outstanding dedication and experiments with technology.

Most often, “Outstanding Teacher” awards are given at the conference to high school teachers, leaving college professors out of the mix.

EC’s language department is jubilant to have one of its own gain such prestigious recognition.

“She really does go the extra mile,” Anne Cummings, professor of French, said. “She created a whole set of podcasts for her students to listen to. That’s just typical work for her; always above the call of duty.”

With a letter of recommendation written by Cummings as well as letters from students and teachers, it was up to the CLTA’s tough rubric to see if Berman had the necessary credentials to be in the running for the award.

“I wrote the letter of recommendation and then I went and collected letters from October to the end of December from students and teachers,” Cummings said. “The deadline was Jan. 15 and about a month later, I received a letter informing me about the winners of the award.”

Cummings was a good candidate to write about Dr. Berman because of her experience working alongside her.

“I’ve known Evelyne since she was a teacher’s assistant at UCLA,” Cummings said. “I’ve watched her teach for the last 25 years, and we even wrote a book together.”

Berman and Cummings came together and co-wrote a French-language text-book, “A l’aventure : An Introduction to French language and Francophone cultures,” which is currently utilized by students enrolled in an introductory French course, or French 1.

Berman is also a part of the CLTA and has given numerous presentations as well as attended many conferences in addition to her years teaching.

“I’ve been a member of CLTA for around 20 years going to conferences and presentations, as well as giving some,” Berman said. “I have done a lot of work over the years, but it always been for my students.”

Like Bernie Rang, professor of Spanish, before her, Berman is another recipient of the award for EC’s language department.

“She is continuing a trend because three other professors have won the award,” Cummings said. “Students should know that this is an outstanding language department.”

The winning of the award should give the language department more positive evidence that the language department is stellar.

“Students should know that this is an outstanding language department and I think a public award like this brings a spotlight to EC,” Cummings said. “Not only do we have good professors but that they are also award winners.”

Despite winning the award, Berman remains modest and continues to express the same passion she has always had for teaching.

“I guess my colleagues thought my teaching deserved recognition,” Berman said.

With her eyes still shining with the flattery and honor given to her with the award, Berman continues to work hard and try to innovate in her field.

“You can just see she’s super excited about teaching. She is not just doing it for the paycheck,” Cummings said. “She’s just a great teacher and cares for her students.”