Lou Brown wins teaching award
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on May 8, 2005 2:02 AM
Louetta M. "Lou" Brown in the medical lab sciences program at Wayne Community College was named the 2005 recipient of the George E. Wilson Excellence in Teaching Award.
The award is Wayne Community College's "teacher of the year" award and was presented to Ms. Brown on Friday afternoon in the school cafeteria for staff members and again during graduation Friday night at the First Assembly of God Church.
Ms. Brown received a cash award of $2,500 and the funds to attend a national conference honoring outstanding teaching. She will be the college's nominee for the N.C. Community College System's Excellence In Teaching award.
This is the 20th year it has been presented by the Foundation of Wayne Community College. The award was made possible by an anonymous gift honoring the late George E. Wilson, a member of the Wayne Community College Board of Trustees and a highly respected civic leader in Wayne County and North Carolina.
Ms. Brown is the coordinator of the Medical Lab Sciences Program, which provides the Medical Assisting and Phlebotomy courses of study. Her nomination said she mentors her students and encourages them to give of themselves to others. She helps her phlebotomy students develop a larger view of their community by volunteering with them in the KEEP Program at Gambro Dialysis Center and Kidney Screening at the YMCA, Carolina Turkey, and WCC. She walks with Medical Assisting students in the Alzheimer's Walk. She helps raise money with the Medical Assisting students for the Avon Breast Cancer.
College officials say she inherited the Medical Assisting program at a time when it had only a few students. Since she started at Wayne Community College in 1997, this limited-admission program has grown from five to 30 or more students. The retention rate also has increased. Three of the last seven years she has had 100 percent retention rates, and the seven-year average is 87 percent. At present, the retention rate for the class of 2004-2006 is 90 percent.
Past recognition and awards received as a faculty member include being named to "Who's Who Among American Teachers" in 2003.
She not only teaches her students, but she advises and counsels them from the minute she meets them. She begins by recruiting students at places like the college's booth at the Wayne County Fair or the Allied Health Information Sessions held twice a year at the college. Once interested individuals are at the college, she interviews them and walks them through the admissions process. She works with students outside of their regularly scheduled class time. She is the Advisor for the Medical Assisting Student Association and attends its monthly meetings.
This year she is offering a review class for the CMA Exam for Medical Assisting graduates in May. After students graduate, she does something that no one else in this region does. She has agreed to offer and proctor AAMA certification exams on site at the college. She also follows up with students and helps place them in jobs.