“I find it extremely hard to describe her dedication, love and, discipline to the development of every student who is privileged to meet and be influenced by her. Her knowledge, insight and, passion is truly unmatched. The most beautiful thing about working with Kelly is that I know she genuinely wanted the best for me. While she works with so many students, I can honestly say she took the time to individually tailor each of our experiences specific to our goals and aspirations. Then from a place of love and trust, she had a way of reaching in and transforming ones ability to be better from the inside out. Being a student leader, shaped under the guidance of Kelly was a privilege. She is the reason that I went on to win awards in Journalism for reporting on SGA. And beyond academia, her insightful nature still serves me along the way. ” -Kaelyn Bradley, former SGA Senator
“From the moment I met Miss Kelly, I saw a dedicated hard woking and passionate individual. During My journey through SGA from local parliamentarian through State President, she has been one of my biggest supporters of not just myself and our region but to the success of SGA State. Typically an advisor focuses on their students, school and chapter. Not Kelly, whether or not she knows you, trust that you will be motivated by her and you can count on her resilience, determination, and love for us all. I was not her student but she was one on my role models. If I look at all the advisors there, with no doubt, I would pick her time after time again for SGA advisor of the Year. Local , Region and State is lucky to have her!” – , past TJCSGA State President
“With a campus of 20,00-0 full-time students from 130 different countries and speaking 79 different languages, civics has been in the forefront of many students’ minds. In response to changing U.S. immigration policy, SGA coordinated multiple town hall meetings on a variety of subjects that were all well attended. With the Super Tuesday primary coming up, SGA hosted voter registration on campus and have two census awareness events on the schedule. Kelly has provided excellent leadership to SGA as an organization and inspired her students to raise their expectations of themselves and the world around them. She has done this in a fun and accessible way and shown her students that they too can make a difference. Kelly is highly deserving of this award.” – Meg Fullwood, Learning Lab Specialist – Journalism – Dallas College, Richland Campus
Kelly Sonnanstine has been a great partner for us at the League of Women Voters of Dallas! We have worked with her for years to help educate the Richland students about civic engagement and enable them to know how to vote and engage with their representatives. She should absolutely be the Student Advisor of the Year for Texas! – Barb Larkin, League of Women Voters
“Miss Kelly was an inspiration to me during my time at Richland. She is a very hard-working person and goes above and beyond to help others. Her actions have motivated me to be a better leader in my society.” – Haya Qazi, Former SGA President
“Kelly is a great advisor. I appreciate how much she has taught me in the brief time I have been in Dallas College. As a new student, I am glad she gaveme tools that I still used to this day. She is passionate about her work, and she does everything she can to help. I have seen how hard she has worked this past year, motivating student to stay active, sharing the different resources that students can use, helping others achieve their goals, and so much more. Throughout this pandemic, Kelly was a great moral support to everyone, her compassion toward others, always motivate us to keep working hard, and be the best version of our selves. She has been a distinguished role model to students like me, that are new to college.” – Daniel Juarez, Region 2 Parliamentarian 20-21
“The truth is that her presence in my life has made this year bearable. Despite my energetic tendency, the low student involvement in Dallas College’s projects this year has created a situation where I cannot hope to tackle all challenges ahead of me by myself, and luckily I have never been alone. Her guidance has helped me move forward and continue aiming for ambitious goals as I prepare to go on my next academic journey. Regardless of the results, I know that I would have failed without Miss Kelly.” – Ferdinando J Castro-Gonzalez, Region 2 Vice President 20-21
“Kelly always reminds me that in any situation a leader is in they should keep calm, find a solution, and show respect to others. There was one time that I was upset with some officers and I had been harsh with them. She pulled me aside about my communication skills, and stated, ‘You are President you should be nice and show respect to others no matter how upset you may be because to get respect you have to show respect.’ ” – Edward Sesay, SGA President 2019-2021
“I have known Kelly for over 4 years and it is obvious the amazing relationship that she with her students and the impact she has as an advisor. Her students are always prepared, engaged, and involved at the region and state level and you can see the hard work and dedication that she puts into serving as a mentor and advocate for students. As an advisor coming into Region 2, with a chapter that had not been recently active, Kelly was there to provide support and guidance to me and to offer help to my SGA chapter with future award submissions. I have seen her work at the regional level serving as the Region 2 Co-Advisor and the guidance she provided to this board, jumping in to offer her campus for a regional conference when the host school campus was no longer able to host the event. This year as I served as a Region 2 Co-Advisor, the example Kelly had set was a road map for me in this role and the ability to work with two of her students on the region executive board was evident of how she prepared her students to take on these leadership roles and lead the region effectively. I am proud to offer my support as a fellow colleague and friend to Kelly Sonnanstine for Advisor of the Year!” -Stephen Rogers, SGA Primary Advisor, Collin College
Kelly Sonnanstine 