DOBSON — Surry Community College (SCC) has honored two of its own with its annual faculty and staff awards.

Each year committees are formed to select the honorees. The excellence in teaching recipient is selected by a team consisting of an educational administrator, a faculty member and a member of the SCC Board of Trustees. Faculty, staff and students nominate teachers for consideration by the committee.

For the second year, the distinguished staff award was handed out to recognize a staff member who exemplifies dedication to the mission and goals of SCC. The winner of this award is selected by a committee comprised of the previous year’s excellence in teaching award winner, the chair of the employee association, the student government association president and a community leader. The staff member is nominated by faculty and staff of the college.

This year’s excellence in teaching award winner is Terina Lineberry, a teacher in the nursing program. Kirk Killon, director of emergency medical programs, is this year’s distinguished staff award recipient

Lineberry has worked at the college in both a part-time and a full-time capacity. She started as a part-time employee around eight years ago when she taught mostly clinicals in the hospital. Before that she was a nurse for 30 years.

“It was such a good fit for me,” she said of the switch to teaching. “I enjoy seeing the students progress from the beginning to the end of the program. It’s a really rewarding thing to do. I wish I had started earlier.”

In 2007, Lineberry made the move to a full-time nursing instructor.

“I’m very passionate about nursing and I want the students to be as well. I guess that comes through a bit more than I thought it did,” she said.

Lineberry was responsible for spearheading the nursing students’ participation in a campus challenge to recruit organ donors in the fall of 2009. The students were in a competition with other community colleges and universities to meet the record of 21 organ donors established by another college. During a two-day event, the SCC nursing students beat the record, recruiting 1,106 organ donors.

She said she was surprised to receive the award from her fellow faculty and staff members.

“I didn’t know I had been nominated. I was a bit overwhelmed at first,” she said. “There are a lot of really good educators here at Surry. It was a very diligent interview process to choose.”

Lineberry hopes to continue teaching at SCC for the rest of her career because she enjoys the atmosphere offered by the college.

“I would be very happy if I retire from here. It’s a great place to work. We have a great body of students and we have support from the administration as well as an exceptional support staff. They are friendly, helpful and they do things so quickly,” she said.

Killon has been working at the college at least part-time since 1985. He worked full-time with emergency medical services from 1985-2002 where he served as the paramedic supervisor for Surry County EMS. He has also worked as an emergency room nurse and a PRN nurse.

Killon previously received the NC Paramedic Competition Champion award in 1991, the Surry County Commissioner’s Lifesaving Award for 25 lives saved in 1995 and the NC Community College Adult Educators Association Innovation Award for Classroom Ambulance Simulator in 2006.

Killon said he was honored by the award mostly because it means he was recognized by his colleagues at the college.

“It’s quite an honor. The biggest thing is it came from my peers. Knowing the people I work with, there are plenty more deserving people on campus. That’s the humbling part,” he said. “I was definitely surprised by it.”

Killon said that over his 27 years of emergency medical care experience he has seen a number of changes. However, he is happy in his position at the college and hopes to continue in that role.

“It was quite a journey to get to this point. When you spend that many years in the same profession you see a lot of change. I’ve been able to see that happen throughout the years,” he said. “Surry County has been a leader in emergency care and we want to remain at the forefront.”

Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.