Women's History Month

Tonie Anderson-Steele
Counselor & Professor

What she loves about her job: "The most rewarding part of my job is helping the students! I love to encourage them to complete their education so they can go out into the world and make a positive difference for themselves and others."

How she inspires others: "She's such a positive influence!" 

Jeanne Branch
Assistant Professor of Accounting

What she loves about her job: "I get to teach accounting, a subject and profession I love! Accounting is the 'language' of business, and daily, I get to teach this language to future business leaders and entrepreneurs! My hope is that they will be able to make better business and investment decisions using their accounting knowledge!"

How she inspires others: "Mrs. Branch is hard working, kind, empathetic, and enthusiastic in helping her students, very consistent, and amazing."

Sheena Cowper
Psychology Lecturer

What she loves about her job: "I love getting students to step outside of their comfort zones and explore new perspectives. It is very exciting when I have a classroom with students from different backgrounds and outlooks. They can learn how to meet people where they are and engage in a safe, learning environment. The dialogue amongst them becomes an unexpected learning tool."

How she inspires others: "Ms. Cowper is hands down the most caring teacher at PSC and 100% deserves to be recognized for her hard work and dedication. When I took her psychology course last semester I noticed how she took the time to get to know her students and actually took the time to listen to them as well. She influences her students to achieve their goals by using her teaching methods to show how to manage stress in a healthy way and how to set realistic goals. Her classes are actually interesting making students eager to learn more. Her classes are easy to understand, this allows students to actively use her lessons on real life matters. She helps students to understand and how to manage in our current crazy world a little better and for that I'm very appreciative. I will continue to tell everyone to take her classes, she is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! :)"

Evelyn Gant
Systems Analyst & Adjunct

What she loves about her job: "During the day, I experience plenty of real-world scenarios that I can bring into my teaching during my evening class/classes and I love that fact. I love that I can be involved with the implementation for Workday Student because it will enable me to be a better support for the departments that I work closely with. I love the group that I support, Financial Aid and Student Finances. They are a wonderful group of people to work with. Because of their awesomeness, I can learn, grow, and assist as we finish our with SRS and move into Workday. I love teaching Dev Math during my night classes. The students are very inspiring and eager to learn."

How she inspires others: "She always has positive energy and she goes out her way to assist all her students." 

Abigail Bott
Recruiter

What she loves about her job: "I get to be the catalyst for opportunities for a lot of students by default, because of my job. It is amazing to be a part of a process that is life-changing for a lot of people. Having a supportive admission and enrollment team is what set me up for success as a PSC student and now I get to pay that forward."

How she inspires others: "Abby is such an amazing helper to students and staff. She helped me student to student in a class, and staff to student when she worked in student engagement. She only has gotten more helpful since she moved to recruiting. She's always been a great asset to PSC!"

Lois Hurd
Career and Technical Education Specialist

What she loves about her job: "I love that my job affords me the opportunity to help students daily. I consider it a blessing to come to work each day and know that I can affect change in the lives of my students by helping students navigate their academic careers successfully while developing their educational experiences through learning who they are, what they want to be, and how they want to get there. My goal is to ensure that they accomplish their educational goals. This is a great win for the students and as well as the college."

How she inspires others: "She's very positive."  "She is very helpful, she has patience, she is caring and funny--she treats you like her own child, meaning she is not going to let you give up on anything you want to do."

Linda Lewandowski
Assistant Professor

What she loves about her job: "My first love is my students! I truly enjoy the challenge of helping others develop a love of learning, of building step-by-step upon core concepts. I love the diversity of students and their variety of interests. In consideration of Women's History, I like helping students realize that women (and men) can break glass ceilings!"

How she inspires others: "She always inspired me to do well on my GED test."

Debby Meyer
Director of Adult Education

What she loves about her job: "I love seeing students reach their goals! There is nothing like seeing the elated faces of students that have reached their goal that they were working so hard to achieve."

How she inspires others: "She is an independent, strong, intelligent, and beautiful woman! She is so encouraging and outgoing, and I love how she pushes others to do better because she knows what they are capable of and that's what I love about her. She is such an amazing person and I'm glad that I had her in high school and college! I wish that Pensacola State College would recognize her because she does amazing things not only for herself and her family but for her students. She is such a motivational person and that's one of the things I love about her. She needs more attention and more affirmations for all the hard work and dedication that she does at PSC. She is so thoughtful, caring, and just a fun person to be around. Love you Dr. Meyer!!! <3 "

Amber Carey
Robinson Honors Program Director & Associate Professor of Spanish

What she loves about her job: "I love sharing the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures with my students. They often come in resistant to or intimidated by learning another language. It thrills me to watch them overcome their fears and begin to make real progress in the language. They are so excited when they begin to understand Spanish conversations in real life or on television. They tell me it is like knowing a secret code. In my Honors role I am blessed to work with some amazing students who embody leadership and service. I am just honored to be a small part of their journey and I can't wait to see what they do with their bright futures!"

How she inspires others: "I am 46, in college for my second degree. I am also a disabled veteran that has a hard time remembering things. Mrs. Carey goes out of her way to not just teach, but to inspire her students to learn more. She is caring, thoughtful, passionate about her position and teaching. Her methods of teaching help even an old gal like myself understand Spanish for the first time." 

Wilma Duncans-Burnett
Adjunct Instructor, BLS Instructors for the Center for Corporate & Professional Training

What she loves about her job: "I love to see students excel and become productive citizens. This too means they complete their program of study and can gain employment. Ans in my case because I facilitate a ladder program, in which they can build upon what they have started by entering other programs that will give them an opportunity to gain employment of a higher-level. In this case they can have an opportunity to increase their income to meet their needs."

How she inspires others: "Miss B is a wealth of knowledge with all her years in education and in the health field. She is tough and prepares her students for professionalism in the workplace. Even the fact that she came out of retirement to help out the university amazes me. How many educators can anyone else name that would do that for the staff and the students to be able to succeed?!"

Darlene Mosley
Associate Professor of Psychology

What she loves about her job: "Teaching. Lecturing. Having a captive audience! I LOVE the research and the prep. I enjoy putting lectures together. I love that look on a student's face when they have an "aha" moment and finally connect the dots. I even like it when a student asks me a question to which I don't know the answer. It means I can do some investigation and find it! My students benefit, and so do I. I hope that on my last day on earth, I learn something I didn't know before. I want to be inquisitive and always open to change. So, maybe, what I really love about my job is constantly learning and sharing the joy of that journey with students."

How she inspires others: "She is so kind and understanding and teaches in a way where I can remember well."

Melissa Sims
Nursing Instructor

What she loves about her job: "I enjoy being able to teach the students concepts that they once thought were difficult and bring it down to a language they can understand. Seeing them enjoy learning makes me want to get up and come to work every day."

How she inspires others: "She is a very knowledgeable teacher who treats us as future nurses instead of just students. She goes out of her way to help students in clinical situations. She exemplifies kindness and genuine care for her work and it shows through her ability to connect with anyone."

Sandy Moore
Program Director and Instructor

What she loves about her job: "As an instructor here in Pensacola State College, I enjoy the interaction with the faculty and students. I have served the College 17 years in various capacities. I enjoy seeing students succeed while watching them blossom through the ups and downs of their chosen and challenging world called healthcare. I assist students to balance the goals of their chosen program with their personal goals. When the two goals align, it is a wonderful feeling of facilitating students to progress toward graduation. It is rewarding to watch each student receive their certificate of completion from Dr. Meadows during graduation."

How she inspires others: "She inspires everyone to be the best version of themselves. To always professional and learn in ways I never thought I could."

Kathy Van Dyck
Interim Department Head

What she loves about her job: "My job offers a unique opportunity for me to work closely with students, faculty, and staff at Pensacola State. I am inspired by helping students to be successful in the completion of their courses and degrees during their time at the college. I also enjoy working with colleagues and especially faculty who inspire me every day to become a better communicator, leader, and mentor. I am also grateful to all the college staff members that I work with who cheerfully help me do my job of making the humanities and Social Sciences Department run as smoothly as possible."

How she inspires others: "Mrs. Van Dyck is a phenomenal professor. She currently teaches Introduction to Diversity, which is important class that everyone should think about taking. The way she teaches this class is very eye opening. This class has had an impression on me and I believe it's just because the way she teaches it. I believe she has had an impression on everyone who takes this class."

Chef Joni Verlin
Instructor

What she loves about her job: "Seeing students develop confidence in their abilities as they learn new skills and put those skills to use in the labs."

How she inspires others: "She is a single mom with four girls. She is tough, but you will leave the classroom knowing at least one thing. I look up to her for all she does. Mom, teacher, and one of the best Chef's. With me being a single mom, she inspires me to go forward."

Carla Williams
Associate Professor of Mathematics

What she loves about her job: "I love helping my students learn as well as building their self-confidence. Most students walk into a math class hating math and most leave still hating it but at least they know they can do math and it won't be a roadblock for accomplishing their future goals."

How she inspires others: "She has gone through great lengths to help me time and time again. Even when I was no longer one of her students, she still continues to help me succeed."  "She's an awesome and caring teacher."

Tamakee Westbrook
Baccalaureate Student of Nursing & President of Student Nursing Association

What she loves about being a PSC student: "What I enjoy most about PSC is the relationships I have developed with my colleagues. I am an immigrant and I have never felt out of place. I have been welcomed, appreciated, and loved. Everyone has treated me with respect and has shown keen interest in learning about my Jamaican culture. Due to this, I always feel like I am a part of a family away from my family."

How she inspires others: "As SNA President, she strives to help anyone and everyone around her."