April 19, 2017
East Central Community College in Decatur recently announced the selection of Business and Office Technology instructor Christy Ferguson of Philadelphia as the 2016-17 Instructor of the Year.
Upon notification of her selection, Ferguson said, “Wow! … I am thankful to my Heavenly Father, family and coworkers for their continued support of my educational endeavors.”
Ferguson joined the ECCC staff in 1999 and previously served as an adjunct instructor for ECCC and East Mississippi Community College. She is also a former business education teacher at Central Academy in Macon.
In addition to her teaching duties, Ferguson serves as a Phi Beta Lambda advisor at East Central. She received the Phi Beta Lambda Outstanding Local Advisor Award in 2014 and serves this year on the Phi Beta Lambda Advisory Committee.
She has also served as a Phi Theta Kappa advisor, where she received the Phi Theta Kappa Horizon Award and the Phi Theta Kappa Paragon Award. She also has served on the Phi Theta Kappa Advisory Committee.
Additional honors include selection for Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. She was chosen as a Lamplighter in 2006 and was named Career-Technical Instructor of the Year in 2007.
She currently serves as president of the Mississippi Business Education Association. Other MBEA positions she has held include President Elect, Vice President, Community College Representative, Web Master and Newsletter Editor. In 2016, she received the MBEA Outstanding Career and Technical Business Educator Award.
When asked who influenced her teaching the most, Ferguson said, “The students that enter into my classroom and my coworkers that I share my day with.”
This is her advice for future teachers: “Love what you do! Teaching should not be considered a job, but a calling. Don’t stop learning … teaching allows you to learn with your student.”
Ferguson is a graduate of East Mississippi Community College and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees plus an additional 15 hours from Mississippi State University. She is a graduate of Nanih Waiya High School.
She holds certification in Online Instruction and IC3 (Internet and Computing Core Certification), and Office Proficiency Assessment in Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Keyboarding, and Quickbooks.
She and her husband, Jerry, have two daughters: Leah, an ECCC graduate and senior at Mississippi State University, and Nicole, 19, a freshman at ECCC.
She is a member of the Spring Creek Baptist Church, where she serves as Sunday School teacher, AWANA Large Group Time leader, and serves on the church’s nominating and outreach committees.
