Brand named Humanities Teacher of the Year

SCOOBA — East Mississippi Com­munity College instructor DeLisa Brand has been named the college’s Humanities Teacher of the Year Award recipient.

Each year the Mississippi Humani­ties Council presents Humanities Teacher of the Year Awards to hu­manities faculty at each of the state’s colleges and universities. The recipi­ents will be recognized this year dur­ing a public ceremony and reception March 25 in Jackson.

“I feel like it is an honor to be se­lected,” said Brand, who is the Eng­lish Department chair for the Scooba campus. “Instructors work very hard, and I appreciate it any time instruc­tors are recognized for their dedica­tion to the field of education.”

Brand is in her sixth year as an in­structor at EMCC, where she teaches English Composition I and II, as well as World Literature. She is a member of numerous committees, including the Procedures Commit­tee, the Commencement Commit­tee, the eLearning Committee, and the Achieving the Dream Commit­tee.

She is a former president of the Scooba campus Faculty Association, serving two terms as vice president of that body. In 2020, she was named a William Winter Scholar at the 31st Annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration.

“DeLisa is a gifted instructor who is committed to helping her students succeed,” EMCC Fine Arts/Humani­ties Division Chairperson Janet Briggs said. “Having taught Delisa at Northeast Lauderdale years ago, it has been especially rewarding for me to see her grow into the instruc­tor that she is, and I am pleased she was selected for this award.”

Recipients of the Humanities Teacher of the Year Award receive a $400 cash award and are required to prepare and deliver a public lecture. Brand’s lecture, which was open to the public, took place Feb. 28 in the F.R. Young Student Union on EMCC’s Scooba campus.

“My topic was about how literature is similar to a quilt; each piece of lit­erature makes up the fabric of who we are as a culture,” she said.

Brand is a Meridian native who earned her master’s degree in Eng­lish and Secondary Education at Liv­ingston University, which is now the University of West Alabama.

She taught high school English for 10 years in Thomasville, Alabama, and 10 years at Meridian Community College before accepting a position at EMCC’s Scooba campus, where her son Kade Brand is studying Elec­trical Technology.

“I know I made the right choice when I decided to pursue a career in education,” Brand said. “At times, teaching can be challenging, but I can’t think of anything more reward­ing than helping prepare students to become the next generation of lead­ers. My parents taught me to try and make a difference every day. Teach­ing allows me that opportunity and privilege.”