Health education faculty celebrated as MCCer of the Month
Three Meridian Community College faculty members, Tiffani Minchew, Gloria Adams and
Dr. Paige Pennington are MCCers of the Month for February, March and April, respectively.
The MCC Foundation bestows this honor, and it spotlights outstanding faculty and staff members for the work they do for the College. The award comes with a $250 stipend.
Minchew, an MCC alumna from the Class of 2007, is the Dental Assisting Technology Program coordinator and instructor and has served in that position for nearly five years. “I love the atmosphere at MCC. I loved it as a student and even more as a faculty member. It’s home now,” she said.
Working on the program’s accreditation site visit for the past two years, Minchew
said receiving the MCCer of the Month makes the work all worth it. “I am so honored,”
she said.
Adams is the Medical Assisting Technology Program coordinator and instructor who has been at the College for almost eight years. Born, reared and “still there” in the Smith County town of Sylvarena, Adams worked for 18 years at the MEA Medical Clinic in Laurel. “This is the clinic I did my clinical hours at for my college degree and they hired me before I finished. MCC is my second job in my lifetime,” Adams said.
She counts Sept. 21, 2015, as the proudest moment at MCC. “This was the day I was notified my program received the award of initial accreditation through the Commission of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).”
A native of Oxford, Dr. Pennington began working at MCC in 2015 as the director of the dental programs. She graduated from Converse College with a bachelor’s degree in biology and another in psychology. She also graduated from the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry with a dental medicine doctorate. “The best thing about working at MCC is the camaraderie between my coworkers. The dental hygiene department is a strong team of people dedicated to one goal: to produce the best graduates possible in every way.”
All agree at the forefront of their jobs are the students. “My favorite part of my job is seeing students progress from beginners to competent practitioners,” Dr. Pennington added.
Adams echoed the sentiments. “When I lecture on something, and the student still has that puzzled look on their face then all of the sudden it clicks and they have that smile from ear to ear, it does my heart good, and I know I am put here for a purpose.”