Roane State Community College

Ariel McFadden is flanked by two Roane State instructors who she said were of invaluable help in the college's Occupational Therapy Assistant program - Dr. Teri Gergen, right, program director, and Susan Sain, OTA fieldwork coordinator.

May 30, 2017

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

From now on at Roane State Community College, there will be an award given to an outstanding student in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program that carries a former student’s name.

When she learned of that ongoing honor in her name, Ariel McFadden had this reaction: “That’s just crazy, but it’s really nice.”

McFadden, a Cleveland, Tennessee resident, said she was totally surprised to learn that Dr. Teri Gergen, director of Roane State’s OTA program, had launched the new award and named it after her.

McFadden received the McFadden OTA Alliance Award during Awards Night in late April at the main Roane State campus in Harriman.

The award “recognizes excellence in academics, community involvement and professional behaviors in an OTA student from the East Tennessee Alliance.”

That alliance between Roane State and Chattanooga State offers classes via distance technology.

“I cannot say enough about the instructors” in Roane State’s OTA program, McFadden said. “They were so incredibly supportive of all of us. They were phenomenal.”

McFadden said Roane State OTA Fieldwork Coordinator Susan Sain “was also a huge part of my OTA journey.”

In a turnabout on Awards Night, McFadden awarded a mentorship pin to Gergen in tribute to her advice and assistance during her college career.

For now, McFadden said, she’s preparing for the national OTA certification test. She said she intends to place her inaugural McFadden OTA Alliance Award in a prominent location next to her Roane State diploma.