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NEWS
Teacher of the Year
As a college student, Tammy
Owen knew she wanted to return to her alma mater as a nursing
instructor.
“I wanted to make the
kind of difference in other people’s lives that my instructors
here made in my life,” said Owen, a nursing instructor
at West Kentucky Community and Technical College. “I wanted
to do whatever I could to help people change their lives.”
Students at the college showed
their appreciation for dedication by naming her WKCTC’s
Teacher of the Year.
“I really wasn’t
prepared for this. I really never thought I would receive this,”
Owen said shortly after Monday’s announcement. “Receiving
this award is the greatest honor I’ve ever received.”
A Burna resident, Owen is
the first recipient of the Teacher of the Year award since Paducah
Community College and West Kentucky Technical College merged
to form the new consolidated college. The award had previously
been awarded at the community college level only.
Owen was picked by the student
body from among seven instructors nominated by the college’s
Student Senate. The other nominees were: Renea Akin, division
chair of allied health; Dr. Kevin Gericke, assistant professor
of economics & statistics; Russell Hobbs, associate professor
of developmental studies; Vicki Koehler, professor of culinary
arts; Dr. Doug Pruitt, assistant professor of psychology; and
Jason Taylor, assistant professor of mathematics.
Owen, a registered nurse,
received an associate degree from Paducah Community College
in 1991. She gained a bachelor’s degree from Murray State
University in 1999 and a master’s degree from the University
of Phoenix in 2001.
A past president of the Kentucky
Nursing Association’s District 5, Owen received a KNA Award
of Excellence in 1997 and has served as a faculty co-sponsor
for the Kentucky Association of Nursing Students.
Owen said she tries to introduce
new and innovative teaching techniques in her classroom each
year.
“I really try to get close to my students. I try to encourage
and support them because nursing can be an intense and difficult
program, and I want them to succeed.”
President Barbara Veazey said
the fact that the selection was made by students made the award
very special.
“It doesn’t matter
what my vision is or what I’ve been dreaming of for this
college,” Veazey told the nominees before the announcement.
“You are the ones who are working with the students and
making a difference for the students and the college as a whole.”
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