Honoring Teaching Excellence

In October we recognized four of our Carrington College faculty members for their “Commitment to Teaching Excellence”. This was the first year of what we hope will become an annual event. Campus Executive Directors were asked to nominate faculty members in the following healthcare areas – Dental Health, Nursing, Medical Support, and Respiratory Care. The four recipients were chosen by our school leadership.

These four outstanding educators were recognized for their individual excellence in their role; for delivering teaching that motivates intellectual curiosity in their students that thoroughly engages them in the enterprise of learning, and has a life-long impact.

Here are the four Carrington College 2012 “Commitment to Teaching Excellence” winners, with their thoughts on winning this award. You can read their full blog interviews by clicking on their names.

• Dental Health – Kassie DeCorte, RDA. Program Director, Dental Assisting program, Tucson, AZ.
  • “I haven’t been in my current position for that long and for the longest time I felt like I couldn’t get ahead trying to get the program where I wanted it to be. But when I got the phone call about this award I realized that my hard work had not gone unnoticed. It was reassuring to feel that I’ve done what I need to do to ensure my students have a chance to succeed…”

• Nursing – Nancy Severance, MSN, RN. Team Leader, Practical Nursing program, Boise, ID.
  • “Quite frankly, it just made my day! It made a day when I was really tired so much better! It put a hop in my step. I don’t need a lot of people telling me I’m doing a really good job, but every so often it helps to have your peers say ‘you’re doing the right thing, you’re doing well.’ It made me feel appreciated, and that meant a whole lot.”

• Medical Support – Arlene O’Kelley. Instructor, Medical Assisting program, Albuquerque, NM.
  • “It’s really great to get an award like this! We all bust our butts trying to do our best for our students. We show up to work every day even when we are not feeling too well, we are there for our students. To be recognized for the job you do really does mean a lot… it’s nice to know that you’re valued.”

• Respiratory Care – Kathy Yerdon, BSRT. Instructor, Respiratory Care program, Phoenix, AZ.
  • “It was very nice, and very surprising! I thought nobody had noticed! Professionally it’s validation that I’m doing a good job and a reaffirmation that I can do this, and I can do it well. Personally it reinforces that this is the right fit for me. This is definitely a job that makes me happy, and learning that what I do makes other people happy is very satisfying.”

Congratulations again to our award honorees, and thank you to all of our faculty and staff for their continued dedication to our students. Your enthusiasm and passion for your students’ success continues to positively affect not only your students’ lives, but the wider community as well.

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