From First-Generation College Student to Award-Winning Educator

As a first-generation college student, Assistant Professor of English Wendy Eddy knows what it’s like to juggle a family while working towards a degree. She and her husband started taking classes in 1990 at what was then Tulsa Junior College (now Tulsa Community College).

“As 23-year-old parents and the first people in either of our families to attend college, we both quickly fell in love with higher education,” says Eddy. “We carefully organized our lives around our classes.”

Inspired to teach by her TJC professors, many of whom would later become her colleagues, Eddy adds, “After my first year as a TJC student, my career goal was to learn enough to return to TJC as a professor. I managed to do that -- 9 years after I took my first class at TJC.”

Eddy was hired in 1999 by TCC as a part-time academic advisor and adjunct English professor after completing her graduate degree at the University of Tulsa. Then in 2002, she accepted a full-time faculty position that would eventually evolve into a fulfilling career.  

“I have stayed with TCC for more than 25 years because, quite honestly, there has never been anywhere I would rather be,” shares Eddy. “TCC’s mission aligns perfectly with the goals I have always had for my own life.”

Eddy's passion for higher education and the English discipline is rooted in her desire to equip students with critical skills. "I wanted nothing more than to prepare students to read, think, research, write, and participate fully in the world in which those skills are necessary," she says.  

One of the most rewarding aspects of her role at TCC is working with its diverse student body. "My students have come from vastly different backgrounds and have faced a multitude of often unthinkable challenges in order to walk through my classroom door," Eddy notes. "Every semester, I find myself inspired by the passion, strength, and ambition I see in my students."

As a co-chair of the English Assessment team, Eddy has found a new passion in data analysis and its application to improving educational outcomes. "I especially enjoy examining what the resulting assessment numbers reveal about our strengths and weaknesses as a discipline," she explains.

Service Excellence Award recipient  

In 2024 Eddy received a TCC Service Excellence Award. One of her nominating colleagues praised her part in the Assessment Team by saying, "Her leadership and vision for the Assessment Team has been exceptional. This is a hands-on team that reviewed more than 1,100 essays on a variety of benchmarks. This team's goal is to enhance the quality of education our students receive in Freshman Composition.” One of her students added," 'I want to do well, and I am thankful for an instructor who offers clear examples for what can be improved upon. Also, the positive and encouraging comments are the best for keeping a student motivated!’"

Advice to students

Believing in the transformative nature of education, Eddy says, “Without a doubt, my family’s lives would be much different had TJC not been there for my husband and me all those years ago.” So, her advice to TCC students is to remember, "Education will not only change your life; it also has the potential to improve the lives of future generations of your family.”