Three Sailors from Training Support Center (TSC) Great Lakes were selected above their peers for excellence when they were announced as the winners of the Instructor, Sailor and Junior Sailor of the Year awards, Nov. 19.

Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Clifford Mann was selected as the Instructor of the Year; Fire Controlman 1st Class Richard Kinnison earned Sailor of the Year; and Operations Specialist 2nd Class Charity Passailaigue earned Junior Sailor of the Year honors.

Mann is a Navy military training instructor (NMTI) who has been with TSC since January 2014. He credited his success to the long hours of work he put into being an instructor and his ability to make what could potentially be a dry topic into one that encourages interaction from the Sailors.

"I definitely have to contribute [my success] to the time I spent teaching student [indoctrination]," Mann said. "It helped me be comfortable teaching in front of a class. I do try to have as much fun as possible [while teaching]."

Kinnison is an NMTI and master training specialist coordinator with TSC. He has also served as the community relations coordinator for the Petty Officers Association (POA) and CPO 365.

"I'm always looking to be the best. I don't shoot to be second best. I don't shoot to be third best," said Kinnison, who joined the Navy in 2007. "I always want to be the best at what I do. I want to see how much more I can push myself; how much further I can go."

Passailaigue, who joined the Navy in 2009, is an NMTI who also teaches personal financial management during student indoctrination. She joined the staff at TSC in 2014.

"I just listened to my mentors and worked hard," she said about what helped her earn the award. "I kept trying to improve myself by gaining confidence on the board portion and making my package stronger."

After joining the Navy in 2009, Passailaigue most recently served on board the USS Pearl Harbor (LSD-52) out of San Diego, Calif.

Next up for Mann, Kinnison and Passailaigue is the Navy Education Training Command (NETC) competition to select the best in each category across the command.

"I'm excited," Kinnison said. "I'm not putting anything against anyone else I'm going against but my mentality is go in, give it all you've got and then see where you end up afterwards. There are a lot of people out there doing a lot of different things."

For more news from Training Support Center, Great Lakes, visit www.navy.mil/.