In the second year of her career as a Vocational Nursing Program Instructor at Victoria College, Amanda Langley earned the Distinguished Teaching Award.
The accolade was presented at the 2024 Commencement Ceremony last month by VC Foundation President Mike Rivet. The award honors excellence, promotes effective teaching and recognizes exceptional faculty for their contributions to student learning through classroom teaching.
“I was completely blown away and humbled I received this nomination,” she said.
Langley is a two-time VC nursing alum, having graduated from VC’s Vocational Nursing (VN) Program in 2001, then earning her Associate of Applied Science in nursing to become a registered nurse (RN) twenty years later.
“Before I got my RN, I was teaching at the Career & Technology Institute in the Certified Nursing Assistant Program,” she said. “I enjoyed that. I knew if I wanted to pursue teaching any further, I would need to get a bachelor’s degree. That pushed me to go back and get it.
“It’s cool because I am seeing some of the high school students I taught coming into the nursing program. I am teaching one of them right now. That’s icing on the cake. That’s what I am setting out to do, while they’re still getting to their dreams. It’s been awesome.”
While teaching full time and working part time in labor and delivery at Citizens Medical Center in Victoria, Langley has been working towards her Bachelor of Science in nursing from The University of Texas at Arlington online. She graduates next month.
“I have a lot going on, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said. “I tell my husband I’m not going to get my master’s degree. I feel like I’ve been going to school forever. I need a bit of a break, but I don’t know. I have a feeling I’m going to keep going.”
VN Program Coordinator Katrina Heinold and VN Program Chair Rebekah Patterson nominated Langley for the Distinguished Teaching Award after witnessing her effectiveness in the classroom.
“Amanda teaches students how to connect with patients on a deeper level, emphasizing empathy, active learning and culturally sensitive communication,” Heinold said. “This holistic approach not only equips students with the clinical knowledge they need, but it also empowers them to provide compassionate and patient-centered care.”
Patterson said Langley goes above and beyond.
“She is constantly coming up with new and creative ways to deliver material to her students,” said Patterson. “She makes learning fun.”
Langley looks forward to continuing to teach and still work in nursing. She especially enjoys being an instructor at VC, where she planted the seeds of her nursing career.
“I am pretty much born, bred, bled Victoria College,” she said. “The nursing program is rigorous. I know exactly what it takes to be a VC student, and what they’re going to be when they come out. I hold that bar very high. I don’t move the bar. I expect the students to rise to it. Most of them do.”
Langley said nursing and teaching go hand-in-hand because nurses educate their patients.
“I want to spread the knowledge that it’s not just treating a patient’s illness; you’re treating the patient as a whole,” she said. “Now, I get to merge my love of nursing and caring for other people and educating people. It’s been awesome.”
Photo Caption: From left, Victoria College Foundation President Mike Rivet; Amanda Langley, VC's 2024 Distinguished Teaching Award recipient; VC President Dr. Jennifer Kent; and Amy Mundy, VC's Executive Director of Advancement and the VC Foundation.