Deanna Aldridge Ouzts, Instructor/Coordinator of Piedmont Community College’s (PCC) Cosmetology program, was recognized at the North Carolina Community College Cosmetology Instructors Association’s (NCCCCIA) October meeting as one of three recipients of the 2016 Lifetime Teaching Excellence Award.
The meeting was held at the Raleigh Convention Center as part of the North Carolina Community College System Conference. Recognition was given to Ouzts for her 20 plus years of service in the Community College Cosmetology field and for her contributions and leadership to the NCCCCIA.
Ouzts is a graduate of Piedmont Community College with an Associate in General Occupations Technology. She also has a Cosmetology license and an Instructor of Cosmetology license from the NC State Board of Cosmetic Art. In addition to having served as a member of the Cosmetic Art board’s Curriculum committee, Ouzts has also served as Vice President and President of the NCCCCIA.
Ouzts owned and operated Country Cuts Family Hair Care for over 30 years, located in the Baynes Community of Caswell County, as well.
“It is an honor for me to be recognized by my peers. The Cosmetology profession has been a good career choice for me,” Ouzts appreciatively commented. “Piedmont Community College has given me the opportunity to teach students a skill that has been so rewarding to me. It is my pleasure to serve our community and PCC in this profession.”
Ouzts also credits her mother, former PCC Cosmetology Instructor and Department Head Leona Aldridge, for encouraging her to enter the teaching profession. Ouzts shared, “If it had not been for my mom I probably would not have pursued a career in teaching!
Under Aldridge’s 25 years of devoted service, PCC’s Cosmetology program became one of the most successful and popular courses of study at the school. She retired in 1995, passing on the legacy to her daughter.
After her mother passed away in 2015, Ouzts began working to expand her mother’s legacy, creating a scholarship in Aldridge’s memory for PCC Cosmetology students. This scholarship will carry on Aldridge’s belief that an education empowers everyone to make a better life for themselves and those around them.
Donations to the Leona Page Aldridge Scholarship fund are encouraged as a memorial to Aldridge and also in honor of her daughter, Deanna Ouzts, who was recently recognized for her teaching excellence at PCC. If you are interested in making a contribution, please mail it to the PCC Foundation at PO Box 1101, Roxboro, NC 27573 with Leona Page Aldridge’s name in the memo. For additional information, contact Patti Clayton at patti.clayton@piedmontcc.edu or (336) 322-2105.
Photo: Deanna Ouzts, Instructor/Coordinator, Cosmetology
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