Aiken Technical College Announces Its 2017-18 Educators of the Year Recipients

Aiken Technical College (ATC) has announced its 2017-18 recipients of the SC Technical Education Association’s (SCTEA) Educator of the Year awards.

The awards recognize employees throughout the SC Technical College System who have contributed to furthering the mission of the system and have done outstanding work in their roles at their individual colleges. Each college within the system recognizes employees in the following categories: faculty, staff, and administrator.

ATC’s Educator of the Year recipients are: Stacey Nichols, faculty member; Shannon Hallingquest, staff member; and Patsy Fields, administrator.

Nichols is the Communications Department Chair, currently serves on the New Faculty Onboarding committee, and chairs the Curriculum and Instruction and Program Review committees. Prior to her current position, she served as an adjunct instructor and later as a full-time English instructor at ATC. She has a Master of Arts in English from University of Vermont and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Mary Baldwin College.

Hallingquest, an ATC graduate, is an Administrative Assistant in the Nursing Department. She has previously worked in the College’s Training and Business Development Department. She assists with the nursing department’s activities such as the College’s pinning ceremonies, annual American Heart Association campaign, and communications with nursing students and applicants. She has an Associate in Business Technology from ATC and a bachelor’s degree from Limestone College.

Fields, also an ATC graduate, is the Administrative Manager in the Education and Training Division. Her prior roles have included budget clerk and operations manager. She served on the SCTEA executive board from 2004 to 2016 and as the board’s president in 2013. Fields has an Associate of Arts degree from ATC, a bachelor’s in Business Administration from Brenau University, and an Associate Public Manager Certificate from the SC State Budget and Control Board.

Nichols, Hallingquest and Fields will be recognized along with other Educator of the Year award recipients in February during SCTEA’s annual conference in Myrtle Beach.