When I think of energy, passion, and enthusiasm, I automatically think of Christie. Since her first day at UT, she has reached out to me and other colleagues to find common ground. She wants to implement teaching strategies to shape our students to be excellent nurses. Each opportunity Christie has to meet with other faculty serving in committees she gives tangible examples of strategies to reach students right where they are.

Christie brought Mr. Potato Heads to our December faculty retreat and taught BSN faculty how to teach a leadership principle without lecturing for hours. She dressed in a red cape and indeed was a “super” example of how to engage students as the faculty raced to put together Mr. Potato Head toys. She listened and responded thoughtfully to each question that was raised about this activity. The faculty were hands on in racing to build superior Mr. Potato Heads with no errors at Christie’s leading.

Christie Manasco has spent hours building relationships in another county to give our students an awesome community health experience. She has gone door to door in this other county to make sure the students are excited about serving patients' needs in other places besides the acute care setting.

She volunteered to do a webinar with me recently with TLC on how to engage students. Preparing for this webinar with Christie allowed me to see how much she loves teaching the students. Her office is full of what some would call “toys” but what I see are “ladders”. “Toys” are objects that children play with that aide them to meet a milestone but “ladders” cause people to reach new heights and see new things.

Christie is dedicated to the nursing profession. She keeps up with the latest trends on teaching clinical judgment. She faithfully shares events and new information that help faculty grow in their ability to teach. One such event she shared with me was HURST giving free webinars on how to write Next Gen NCLEX questions. It was exciting to see her on the webinar and to hear her talk about this new way of writing test items.

Finally, Christie is concerned about others' well-being and health. Christie knew I was under a lot of stress and drove all the way from her home in Jackson, TN, to have lunch with me in Memphis. She even went to the wrong restaurant but got up and left and then came to find me. She listened to me, and I felt so much better knowing she cared for me and could identify with me.

Christie Manasco is an excellent educator, but that does not stop her from trying to be better. She is currently working with the TLC to learn to be a better educator. She is currently in their medallion program. Christie is always faithful to share with other faculty members what she is learning from the TLC.