Stephanie Brown, a licensed veterinary technician for more than three decades and a longtime educator for Tri-County Technical College’s (TCTC) Veterinary Technology program, has been accepted into the inaugural class of the Association of Veterinary Technician Educators (ATVE) Fellows.
Brown, who serves as program director for TCTC’s Veterinary Technology program, is the only veterinary technician educator selected from South Carolina for this highly exclusive inaugural class.
The AVTE Fellows program is a transformative initiative aimed at recognizing and honoring the education and expertise of veterinary technician educators in the United States and Canada.
There are more than 200 veterinary technology programs in the nation. TCTC’s program ranks in the upper top 10 in the nation, according to their accreditation team during the program’s last inspection. TCTC’s program, which is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), is endorsed by the South Carolina Association of Veterinarians.
“This recognition begins a transformative journey, acknowledging your unique dedication and expertise as a veterinary technician educator. You will join a distinguished group committed to leadership, mentorship, and innovation in educating the next generation of veterinary technicians,” Tara Groves, B.S., FVTE, LVT, and chair of the AVTE Fellows Task Force, wrote in a letter to Brown.
“Your induction as a Fellow is a testament to your unwavering commitment to excellence and the profound impact of your contributions to veterinary education. Your dedication to the field, especially to the students we serve, is not just inspiring but invaluable to our collective ability to advance the cause of student success,” Groves added.
A self-proclaimed lifelong learner in teaching and veterinary medicine, Brown sees this distinction as an opportunity to advance her knowledge and skills and to adapt to ever-changing practices in the profession of veterinary medicine.
Since 2014, Brown has served as the faculty advisor for the TCTC student chapter of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA). Earlier this year the students brought home the first-place award for its Student Community Involvement Project—a pet adoption event held quarterly—at the South Carolina Technical Education Association (SCTEA) conference.
There are three Veterinary Technology programs among the state’s 16 technical colleges and TCTC is the only one with public pet adoptions.
The annual pet adoption event provides clinical learning experiences and enables students to develop competencies while addressing the overwhelming problem of animal overpopulation. In 2007, public pet adoptions were incorporated into the curriculum and today it’s one of the many ways students make a difference for the College and the community.
Each semester the department takes in up to 38 dogs and 24 cats from shelters, humane societies, rescues and sanctuaries. Under the supervision and guidance of the College’s veterinarians and licensed veterinary technicians, students use their acquired knowledge and hands-on skills to perform procedures that benefit each animal. In addition, each student is assigned an animal that they will train and socialize, transforming them into a highly adoptable pet.
Four times a year, public pet adoption events are held on campus for cats and dogs from the animal shelters that have been cared for during the semester as part of the program. From August 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023, the department provided 156 dogs and 142 cats with routine veterinary care and approximately 130 animals were successfully adopted.
Brown, who has taught at the College for 21 years, is a 1992 alumna of the Veterinary Technology program and worked as a licensed veterinary technician in private practice for 13 years. She was named Veterinary Technician of the Year in 1998 by the South Carolina Association of Veterinarians.
In 2010 she received TCTC’s Adjunct Faculty Presidential Award. This award is given annually at the spring faculty/staff convocation to the adjunct faculty member who is recognized for excellence in teaching, who has consistently high student evaluations and who supports the philosophy and goals of the College.
In 2017 Brown, was one of seven instructors in the United States and Canada chosen to review the newest edition of Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians. She was asked to review this textbook following the feedback she submitted in her role as a reviewer for the 2018 Lavins Radiography for Veterinary Technicians, Sixth Edition, published by Elsevier.
Brown lives in Pickens with her husband, Johnny.