OCTC's McCrary Earns Scholarship Awards

by Bernie Hale

Owensboro, KY (03/15/2018) — Owensboro Community & Technical College's Lauren McCrary, program coordinator for the Medical Information Technology has earned two $1,000 scholarship awards to complete her dissertation.

McCrary a native of Owensboro, has been at OCTC since 2012 and her dissertation "Influences on the Development and Implementation of Work-Based Learning Opportunities in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System: A Faculty Perspective" focuses on the development of experiential learning opportunities. She is doctoral candidate in Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation (EPE) at the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Scott Williams, OCTC President added, "We are proud to support our faculty and staff while they further their education, it not only benefits the college and the employee, it also benefits our students. The student experience and perspective provides valuable lessons that have long term rewards."

One of the scholarships was awarded through UK's department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation. The EPE faculty selected McCrary's proposal and the $1000 award was designated to help offset some of the costs incurred in completing the dissertation project.

The additional $1,000 honor was granted through the Arvle and Ellen Turner Thacker Endowment fund through the University of Kentucky's Student and Faculty Recognition Committee.

"I truly appreciate the support both from a financial standpoint and as a motivating factor. I enjoy learning from those who value higher education and I am grateful for those who support me in continuing my studies" commented McCrary.

McCrary plans to have the study complete in December 2018. She earned a master's degree in Public Administration from Western Kentucky University and a bachelor's degree in Merchandising from the University of Kentucky.

She and her husband Kris live in Owensboro and have two children, Bruce and Lulu.

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Owensboro Community & Technical College is one of the sixteen community and technical colleges that make up the Kentucky Community & Technical College System. OCTC serves the KY counties of Daviess, Hancock, Ohio and McLean. OCTC has three campuses in Daviess County and a Center and Annex in Hancock County. OCTC strives to serve the communities in the service area by providing associate degree education for transfer, state of the art technical education for students focusing on entering the workforce, customized business and industry solutions through the Workforce Solutions division, and adult education and business and industry testing through the SkillTrain unit.

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The Kentucky Community and Technical College System is the Commonwealth's largest postsecondary institution with 16 colleges and more than 70 campuses. We also are Kentucky's largest provider of workforce training and online education. Through partnerships with business and industry, we align our programs to meet the needs of local employers. We help students fulfill their dreams of creating a better life through programs that lead directly to jobs or help them transfer to one of our four-year partners.

Connect with OCTC: Owensboro.kctcs | Facebook.com/owensboroctc | Twitter@OCTC_Tweets | Instagram OwensboroCTC

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