It wasn’t so long ago that Rachel Stange was a precocious dual-enrolled student at Laurel Ridge. Now, she is an instructor with the college and was recently the recipient of the Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Award.
“I started my journey here as a dual-enrollment student,” said Stange of enrolling in dual enrollment while still a freshman at Sherando High School. “It added an extra element to them that really gave me a challenge and let me see what college was like.”
Before her high school graduation, she had earned an associate degree in Science and a certificate in Pre-Allied Health. Stange transferred into Bethany College in West Virginia, graduating in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Professional Chemistry. She then returned to Laurel Ridge to pick up an associate degree in Forensic Science in 2024.
Stange then went on to earn her master’s of Business Administration degree from Louisianna State University earlier this year. She is currently working on her master’s degree in Forensic Chemistry from George Washington University.
Stange is teaching several courses, mainly related to industrial robotics and automation, including Applied Data Science Techniques and Introduction to Game Design and Development.
Rachel Stange as a dual-enrolled student.
Stange’s nomination for the Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Award says she brought a moribund game design class “back to life,” stepped in at the last minute to take on the data science course, has represented Laurel Ridge at numerous conferences and events and serves as co-trustee for Epsilon Pi Tau, an international honor society for technology.
“She brings a positive high energy and personal touch,” the nomination says. “She is always available to problem solve with students who are having either academic or life difficulties.”
Receiving the part-time faculty award came as a surprise to Stange.
“I was not expecting it at all, especially when I look at the ones who have gotten it in the past,” she said. “They’ve been here much longer. So, after only being here for a couple years, it was definitely unexpected. I haven’t really processed it.
“Seeing students expand their knowledge and seeing them kind of decide what they want to do careerwise are my favorite aspects of teaching. It seems like so many of our students come in thinking they want to pursue a certain area, but aren’t 100-percent sure. Being able to teach those introductory courses and see them realize, ‘this is what I really like, or I like this section more’ is rewarding.”