Sharon Stewart retires from HCTC

Mathematics Professor Sharon Stewart is retiring from Hazard Community and Technical College following a 17-year career which she loved. Teaching here has been wonderful because of the students. I love standing in front of a class and interacting with the group. I have the utmost respect for these students who face so many difficulties to achieve their goals, she said.

Professor Stewart said HCTC has provided a wonderful environment for her to grow professionally and she is especially appreciative of her colleagues.

A native of Fillmore, New York, Mrs. Stewart and her husband, Brian, moved to Kentucky for the job from Grand Falls-Windsor in Newfoundland, Canada. They stayed much longer than they ever dreamed they would. We have bonded with this place and the people. Leaving here is one of the most difficult things we ve ever had to do, she said.

Students in Professor Stewart s classes give her the highest praise, including calling her awesome and saying, She makes math fun. Another student wrote, I felt as though Mrs. Stewart truly cares about her students and will go out of her way to help them in whatever academic area she can. All of the tests and assignments were fair and helped me to understand the material we were covering much better than I otherwise would have. I would recommend this class to anyone asking about taking Calculus at HCTC. I looked forward to going to class every day, and Mrs. Stewart being such a fantastic teacher contributed a large amount to that enthusiasm.

HCTC President Dr. Steve Greiner said he greatly appreciated Professor Stewart s devotion to student success. When students enroll in Mrs. Stewart s classes, they tell us how much they enjoy learning. That is a tremendous credit to her ability in the classroom. We re going to miss Professor Stewart and we wish her the best, Dr. Greiner said.

Mrs. Stewart earned her bachelor s degree from Houghton College, in Houghton, NY. It is a small Christian liberal arts college that her parents went to as well as all of her three sisters and all of their children. She earned her master s degree at the State University of New York at Geneseo, NY.

Sharon and Brian have three children: Sheila (who lives in Carlton, NY), David (who currently lives in Jeonju, South Korea) and Anna (who lives in Albion, NY, about six miles from her sister Sheila). The couple has five grandchildren.

We ve been feeling our age a bit and it was time to spend more time with our family while we still have the health to enjoy them. There are things we d like to do that we haven t had time for, Mrs. Stewart said. The couple will be moving to Carlton, NY, where they own a large old house that needs lots of work, so they have a project waiting for them. We will get involved with a church and do what we can there. I would like to teach part time at a college in that area, since I have gotten a lot of joy out of teaching math. I also hope to get back to painting, something I haven t done recently, but always enjoyed. We d like to travel, particularly back to Hazard to see everyone that we expect to miss, she said.