Brenda Hartbarger, who teaches at Central Virginia Community College's Altavista Center, believes, "Anyone can learn anything if they stick with it long enough."
That's the teaching philosophy for Hartbarger, who instructs business/computer technology courses at the college.
"Patience, perseverance, self-discipline and the desire to learn are the key components to learning anything," she wrote in an email.
Hartbarger, who lives in Forest, has been named Teacher of the Year at CVCC in Altavista. She and four other local teachers will be honored at the Altavista Area Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner Saturday, Jan. 28, at Altavista Elementary School at 6 p.m.
"I am very appreciative of being named Teacher of the Year. Having the opportunity to teach is truly a privilege because I look forward to going to work. I also have the opportunity of working with a tremendous staff, students and instructors at the CVCC-Altavista Center. Over the years, I have met so many wonderful, hardworking students, who have inspired and influenced me in many positive ways."
Hartbarger has a Bachelor of Science in psychology and double major in English education from Liberty University and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, with a concentration in computer technology, from Hollins University. She's taught at CVCC-Altavista since 2001.
"Community college teaching is interesting today because of the various age groups of students in the classroom, who bring countless life, work and personal experiences with them," she wrote in the email. "Students contribute in so many positive ways to the classroom environment. For instance, since many students already have years of experience in the work environment, they often bring an admirable work ethic, self-discipline, cooperative team spirit, a sense of humor and desire to learn with them to the classroom."
Hartbarger wrote that she enjoys all of the learning process, from preparing the lessons to assessing the students.
"Seeing students become excited or enthusiastic over a new concept on a particular project or watching them work together as a team solving projects is fun. It's rewarding to know that many of them will apply what they have learned in technology classes to other higher level classes or to the workplace, which contributes to their overall academic, personal and work success."
She wrote it's rewarding to hear from former students who've gotten a job, furthered their education or taken some new or different path in life.
While Hartbarger now teaches a diverse group of students from an age perspective, she started in middle and high school. For five years, she worked with Child Evangelism Fellowship in her hometown of Bristol, Tenn., instructing summer camps, weeklong clubs and children's church. Growing up, she wrote she was fascinated by stories about missionaries. She loved to tell those stories to children.
That led to double majoring in English education in college. She enjoyed early American literature and the grammatical structure of the language.
"Today, my favorite subjects to teach are still business English, business communications and business writing. When combined with computer technology, there are so many avenues for businesses to communicate effectively in the workplace."
Hartbarger plans to stay in education in some role in the future. She noted that CVCC-Altavista plans to start a medical office specialist certificate program later this year.
Hartbarger and husband Allen, also a computer technology teacher, have three daughters, Andreana, 18; Savanna, 24; and Heidi, 29.
She attends Brentwood Church in Forest. She said it "provides direction and insight" to keep her focused on her students, not just the content of the course.
Tickets for the dinner at $25 each are available at the chamber office in the train station on Washington Street. For more information, call the chamber at 434-369-6665.
Besides Hartbarger, teachers from Altavista Elementary, Hurt Elementary, Altavista Combined and Faith Christian will be honored.
See next week's Journal for a profile on another of the Teacher of the Year honorees.