Local educators speak at Red Cross conference
By From staff reports
Published in News on November 7, 2010 1:50 AM
Wayne County educators, Melissa Lewis of Spring Creek High School, and Faye Davis of Charles B. Aycock High School, were featured speakers at the American Red Cross' iGive, weLive 2010 All High School Conference.
It was held recently in Durham, one of two annual conferences sponsored by the Carolinas Blood Services Region of the Red Cross.
More than 300 students and 40 faculty members from across the state attended.
Also attending were students from Rosewood High School and Goldsboro High School.
The conference focused on the fact that high school blood drives play a critical role in helping ensure that blood is available for patients throughout the community, said Kimberly Berrier, senior donor recruitment representative with the Red Cross.
Ms. Lewis, a health occupations instructor, is a registered nurse. She has been coordinating blood drives at Spring Creek for five years.
Ms. Davis has been teaching allied health for 10 years and is a registered nurse. Her school holds three blood drives each year. Aycock was the first high school in Wayne County to sponsor three drives a year, open the drives to the public and recruit 16-year-olds.
Mrs. Berrier said Ms. Lewis loves the school environment, working closely with the students and coordinating blood drives at the school. "Melissa rolls up her sleeves and gets the job done, all the time."
Mrs. Berrier said it is Davis' passion about teaching health occupations to the next generation of doctors and nurses that makes her so unique. "Faye does such a good job at educating high school students on the importance of giving blood that I see at least five of them give blood as freshman at Wayne Community College every year."