"... most of all, I'm blessed to have great students enroll in this class every year. They work hard and excel after graduating."
Francis Tuttle Technology Center had eight instructors nominated for four state CareerTech awards, and three of them are finalists.
Johnnie Loudermilk, Criminal Justice Instructor at Francis Tuttle (pictured above left), is a final candidate for the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education (OkACTE) Teacher of the Year. Biosciences and Medicine Academy (BSMA) Instructor Rance Peters is a finalist for the New Teacher of the Year award, and Pre-Nursing Instructor Lauren Van Osdol is a candidate for the Carl Perkins Community Service Award.
All awards will be announced during the OkACTE Summit, a state convention that takes place Aug. 4-5 in Tulsa.
Instructor Award Finalists and Nominees
- Teacher of the Year: Finalist- Johnnie Loudermilk (Criminal Justice, Reno Campus); Nominee- Myka Collett (STEM Academy Math, Danforth Campus)
- New Teacher of the Year: Finalist- Rance Peters (BSMA, Rockwell Campus); Nominee- Michelle Rios (Esthetics, Reno Campus); Nominee- Kody Van Osdol (Automotive, Danforth Campus)
- Carl Perkins Community Service Award: Finalist- Lauren Van Osdol (Pre-Nursing, Danforth Campus); Nominee- Angela Roughley
- Counseling and Career Development Professional of the Year: Nominee- Angie Cox (Career Counselor, Rockwell Campus)
“I feel like this should be a team award,” Loudermilk said. “I am very blessed to work with wonderful support staff and administrators that allow me to think outside the box and deliver changing curriculum. My fellow instructors are always there to help me in any way they can. I have a strong advisory board that is very supportive of the program. And most of all, I’m blessed to have great students enroll in this class every year. They work hard and excel after graduating.”
In the Criminal Justice program, Loudermilk facilitates the training of high school and post-secondary students who want to enter law enforcement. Many of these students go onto the OKC Police Department Cadet program and become professional officers with the department.
Van Osdol is an instructor in the Pre-Nursing program at the Danforth Campus. This program prepares high school and post-secondary students for careers in the nursing field.
The class also serves the community through volunteer work at Edmond Hope Center, the Bethany Children’s Center, and Skyline Food Pantry. Van Osdol said this reinforces that the nursing profession is, above everything else, caring for others.
“We are surrounded by countless opportunities to make a difference - whether it’s feeding the hungry, clothing those in need, or offering comfort to the sick,” she said. “When students are empowered to step into these moments of service, something remarkable happens: their empathy deepens, their hearts expand, and their desire to serve becomes a calling. Through these experiences, they are not just preparing for a career - they are stepping into a life of purpose, where love in action becomes a lifelong mission in the world of healthcare.”
Peters teaches future doctors and healthcare professionals in the Biosciences and Medicine Academy. He specializes in instruction on the Anatomage Table, a state-of-the-art anatomy training tool that gives students a detailed digital look inside the human body.
He has taken multiple teams to state and national Anatomage competitions.