HCTCs Linda Blair honored as Educator of the Year

I have the best job in the world. Those are the words of HCTC Professor Linda Blair whose love for teaching has resulted in her being named Educator of the Year by the Kentucky Association of Developmental Educators.

Students give the highest praise for Mrs. Blair and her ability to help them despite any challenges. I meet the people where they are and take them as far as I can. I love doing this for a living; what we do here is life changing for our students and it is great fun to be part of seeing how our students succeed.

Mrs. Blair has students think about how they think. She writes the word metacognitive on the board. I ve had students tell me how they learned to change their thought processes and it changed their life. For Mrs. Blair, knowing she can have that kind of impact is very rewarding. I see the self confidence in the students increase in just one semester s time, noted the writing teacher.

HCTC President/CEO Dr. Allen Goben stated in a support letter for the award, Her passion for excellence and brightly shining inner light of hope for all students are exemplary. In fact, I often describe her as an example of how we should all interact with students. Linda has an uncanny knack for shifting gears to meet the needs of each student. Her passion for excellence in learning drives her to work tirelessly, making sure all students have an opportunity to succeed. She has a smile that just lights up the room, and her positive energy quickly boosts students to achievement. Linda makes every day an exceptional one. She challenges students, supports them, and helps them find resources as well as inner strength to achieve.

HCTC student John Johnson, age 41, of Hazard, praised Mrs. Blair for her teaching and support. She really takes an interest in seeing that we do well. It s like it is her goal for the day, noted the Foundations of College Writing II student. I m a better writer now. It s like the doors just opened up to me after being in her class because she explains it all in a way I understand.

The Kentucky Association of Developmental Educators also honored a former HCTC student at their conference in November Chad Knight. Knight graduated from Transylvania University with top honors and is now a medical school student at UK.

KADE is an active statewide organization (the state chapter is affiliated to the national organization, the National Association for Developmental Education) which promotes student success in developmental classes. KADE members often actively participate in a listserv dedicated to developmental topics and attend an annual conference, the location of which rotates around the state and was hosted at HCTC in 2006. KADE honors its brightest and best members at this annual conference, hosted in 2009 by Eastern Kentucky University.

Mrs. Blair joined the faculty in 1993. Two years prior to that, she worked at another job she loved the College s Older Workers Program.

Linda has two sons, Brian Blair of Hazard and Bruce Blair of Chesapeake, Va.