HOUSTON – Call her a community college student with a conscience.

Ledgers. Assets. Credits. Debits. For most of us, the task of trying to reconcile even a monthly bank statement can be a mind-numbing experience.

But HCC-SW accounting instructor Pietro A. (Tony) Pitts takes the fear out of figures. He's an accounting instructor who goes out of his way to make sure financial information is no mystery to his students.

“I use the blackboard a lot,” says Pitts, who teaches at HCC-SW’s Stafford campus. “I’m a visual person, I express myself that way, and I draw things related to my subject matter.”

Now Pitts’ efforts – 25 years as an HCC-SW accounting instructor – has earned him a new distinction. He was selected as Teacher of the Year for HCC – SW by the Houston West Chamber of Commerce. Pitts was honored May 13 at the Chamber’s Teacher of the Year luncheon.

“He has been with us for 25 years and he has proved himself to be an outstanding member of the accounting faculty, and an outstanding member of the Southwest College faculty,” says Dr. Arnold Goldberg, Dean of Workforce Development for HCC-SW. “I was so pleased that he was selected to receive this award.”

Pitts’ colleagues admire his educational skill and devotion to his students. “He is just one of our instructors who will do anything to help students achieve their goals,” says Dr. Marina Nathan, accounting department chair for HCC-SW. “He is totally accessible. If a student works, and can’t make a review session during the day or week, I have seen him meet with students over the weekend to make sure they understand the work. This award is long, long, long overdue. He needs to be recognized. I’m proud that he is one of our full-time faculty members.”

Being available to his students is enjoyable, Pitts says. “I try to help everyone in my class, or out of my class,” he says. “I answer about 10 to 15 emails a day from students who want to understand something or have a question. I consider this part of my job. That’s what I like to do.”

Pitts, who also teaches courses on the Internet through HCC’s Distance Education program, began his career as an accountant for an oil and gas company. After five years on the job, a friend suggested he teach part time on the college level. Pitts decided to give it a try.

“I found out I wasn’t very innovative in those early years,” Pitts admits. “I stayed with the textbook and that was it.”

Then, Pitts realized he could expand on ideas in his own way. “Accounting is written communication,” says Pitts, who graduated from Texas Southern University with a B.A. in Accounting and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University. “That’s why I emphasize the work visually. Students need to see it to understand it.”

Pitts teaches financial accounting, managerial accounting and cooperative education, which allows students to gain accounting experience in the field as part of their coursework. His classes are usually quickly sold out, with students vying for one of only 30 seats in a class.

“When a students asks a question, I never say ‘that is something you should have learned in a previous class,’ ” says Pitts, whose accounting class website includes PowerPoint presentations, assessment tests, review sheets and Internet assignments. “I make sure everyone feels they can ask any question they want in my class.”

In his spare time, Pitts, who lives in Stafford, is an avid tennis player. His favorite tennis facility is the Southwest Tennis Center in Southwest Houston, where he plays doubles or singles matches on the weekends. He also teaches tennis fundamentals and tennis history to minority students.

He never thought he’d be named Teacher of the Year. “It’s not something I sought out,” says Pitts. “I like my job, I understand what I need to do, and I go out and get it done.”