DSLCC EDUCATOR OF YEAR – Kristy Casstevens (left) was honored recently as Dabney S. Lancaster Community College’s “Educator of the Year” at the annual dinner meeting of the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. Presenting the award on behalf of the Chamber was Pam Myers, Customer Service Associate.
Casstevens is DSLCC Educator of the Year
Kristy Casstevens was honored as Dabney S. Lancaster Community College’s “2021 Educator of the Year” during the awards presentation at the annual dinner meeting of the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism March 26 at the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs.
Casstevens has been serving as the Director of TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) at DSLCC since 2012. SSS is a federally funded TRIO program designed to provide free academic support and encouragement to students who face economic, social, and cultural barriers to higher education. As a college retention program, SSS helps students meet the rigors of higher education and graduate from DSLCC.
“Kristy has long been fierce advocate for underserved students,” says Matt McGraw, DSLCC Associate VP of Institutional Effectiveness and Academic Services. “She is a well-respected TRIO leader not only at DSLCC, but also regionally and I am proud to have the privilege to work with her. Her leadership, enthusiasm, empathy, and perpetual constant demeanor have made her a major asset to the College.”
“Under Kristy’s leadership, the College’s TRIO SSS program has grown tremendously while never losing sight of its mission,” says Joseph Hagy, Executive
Director of the DSLCC Educational Foundation. “The ‘Achievement Center’ – as it’s known at DSLCC- plays a huge role in college entry as well as student success, retention, and completion. We want to congratulate Kristy on this well-deserved honor.”
Casstevens came to DSLCC in 2005 as a Talent Search Advisor and also served as Assistant Director of Talent Search prior to her current position. She has served as a trainer for the Alleghany Highlands Community Services Board and from 1993 to 2003 she was a teacher in the Weekday Religious Education organization.
An Alleghany County native, Casstevens lived for several years in Richmond, where she was AAA branch manager, an account representative at Sealeze and Battelle Temps, and an instructor at the Institute of Business and Technology.
Casstevens, an Alleghany County High School graduate, earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Administration from Longwood University and a Master’s Degree in Adult and Higher Education from University of South Dakota.
She is an active member of VAEOPP (the Virginia Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel), where she serves as Chair of Legislative Committee and is a Virginia Team Leader. She is also active in MEAEOPP (Mid-Eastern Association of Education Opportunity Program Personnel), the regional organization, where she chairs the Financial Affairs Committee. She is also a member of the national organization, COE (Council for Opportunity in Education). She often mentors new SSS directors in New York, North Carolina and Texas. She and her husband, Mark, reside in Clifton Forge and have two grown children and three grandchildren.
Casstevens was one of five educators from area schools in the Alleghany Highlands recognized by the Chamber during the annual dinner meeting.
For more information about TRIO SSS at DSLCC contact Casstevens at (540) 863-2860 or email kcasstevens@dslcc.edu.