December 2024
Taryn Wagner
Your community technology center values excellence, competence, diversity, integrity, accountability, innovation, listening & collaboration, service and leadership. Thank you to Taryn for demonstrating the characteristics that we value. We are glad to have you as a teammate!
Adult Health Instructor
"Taryn completed Southern Tech's Medical Assisting program in 2007, with Robin Waters as her instructor, and has worked in the industry since then. She was referred to us by Robin for a short-term health instructor position in 2021. Taryn has been teaching as a part-time WED Health Instructor for the past 4 years, specializing in short-term Medical Assisting, Phlebotomy, and CPR/First Aid.
As a Short-Term Health instructor, she has demonstrated a true passion for teaching and is a natural in the classroom. She has embraced the technology applications we use and the best practices for curriculum development. Taryn is like a sponge, soaking up anything new to enhance her class resources. For example, she recently embedded keyboarding assignments, recognizing that the current Medical Assisting cohort lacked keyboarding skills. Another skill she has recently added to her repertoire is IV therapy, which was a direct response to an industry partner's request. This addition helps broaden the students' skill sets and makes them more marketable in the workforce.
She has now taught six short-term Medical Assisting classes, resulting in a collective retention rate of 96% (45/47 students) and a collective Medical Assisting certification pass rate of 100%. All of the medical assisting completers are currently employed as CCMAs. All thirteen students in the current class are scheduled to complete in February 2025. In addition, Taryn represented Southern Tech with her presentation titled "The Three Rs of Medical Assisting," which she delivered at a podiatrist conference held at the Ardmore Convention Center earlier in the fall semester. She is also pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Health and Human Services and was recently awarded a Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health EXCELLENCE AWARD by WGU.
Taryn states that the best part of her week is coming here to engage with students as they learn. She is a consummate professional who sees people as worthy and capable of great accomplishment, regardless of their circumstances. She is an invaluable advocate for Southern Tech, in the classroom and our community."
Nominated By: Alisha Mason, Program Director
Professionalism Traits:
- Excellence
- Competence
- Diversity
- Integrity
- Accountability
- Innovation
- Listening & Collaboration
- Service
- Leadership