Tristate Teacher Wins Praise for Being a Mentor and a Friend

Tristate teacher Susan Moore recalls that when she graduated from high school, she was interested in pursuing a career in education, but instead turned to nursing. Now, she enjoys the best of both worlds, using the skills she gained in nursing to teach at the Live Oaks Career Development Campus in Milford. She is now being recognized for not only her dedication to the medical field and to teaching, but also for her personal dedication to her students.

Moore, now a 17-year veteran of teaching, is one of four educators from around the Tristate who will be honored with the Cincinnati USA Outstanding Educator Award.

The awards will be presented at UC’s Commencement Ceremony, which begins at 9 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 10, in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

The Wilmington resident will be presented with a $1,000 UC scholarship to be awarded to a high school senior of her choosing who plans to attend UC in the 2012-2013 academic year.

Moore was selected from 23 nominations by soon-to-graduate UC students who wanted to honor a K-12 educator who inspired them on their pathway to a college degree. The nominations were reviewed by a UC committee that included representation from the Office of the President, UC faculty, staff and students.

Her former student, 22-year-old Katherine Yount of Amelia, is earning her associate degree in multi-skilled health technology – as well as a certificate in medical assisting – from UC Clermont College.

Yount calls Moore a “mother, advisor and best friend, along with being an instructor and nurse.

“I was raised by my grandma and so my teacher took on the role as mother. We all used to call her ‘Momma Moore.’

“She not only shared her love of the medical field with me, but also a love of learning, and that being a lifelong learner is something that everyone should strive for.”

“I have fond memories of Katie as a unique, wonderfully curious and creative student,” Moore says. “In our health technology lab, she was a positive force with quiet leadership skills.”

Yount says that when she got “senioritis” in high school, it was Moore who kept pushing her to achieve. When Yount became a new mother after graduating from high school, she says she just “wanted to focus on her son (Koen) and make money. Within three weeks of seeing Ms. Moore, I was back in school.”

Overwhelmed by the prospect of attending a large university, Yount credits Moore with recommending Clermont College. “She said, ‘UC is the best.’ She knows me so well, and she knew I hated big crowds. Clermont College was the right fit.”

“Clermont College offers such a great opportunity for our students,” says Moore. “It’s close to the rural area where they live and it’s a close community with a great support system for students.”

Yount will complete her degree during winter quarter. Her son, Koen, turned two on Thanksgiving.

“Upon graduation from UC, Katie will continue to be an exemplary representative in an industry in which those who are truly successful practice both the art and the science of the healthcare profession,” says Moore.

“This award is truly humbling,” says Moore. “It represents a validation for what educators are trying to achieve – setting students on a course to seek success. That a student such as Katie would take time to initiate this fills me with gratitude.”

This December marks the seventh year that UC has presented the Cincinnati USA Outstanding Educator Awards to recognize the lifelong inspiration of K-12 educators.

Read More about the Cincinnati USA Outstanding Educator Awards

UC Commencement website