In the fall of 1981, fresh from the Virginia Commonwealth University where she earned a Master of Science in Medical Technology, Carol Smith joined the faculty of the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) as the education coordinator of the Clinical Laboratory Science program. In addition to teaching a variety of courses, Smith has overseen the program’s daily operation for the past 31 years. With her retirement at the end of June, SMHS will say goodbye to a stalwart faculty member who will be remembered as much for her conscientious nature as for her ability to connect with her students.
“I have felt complete confidence in Carol,” says Sylvia Silver, D.A., Director of the Clinical Laboratory Science Programs and Professor of Pathology and Medicine at SMHS, who calls Smith a hard-working individual with an easy-going teaching style. “It’s difficult to imagine what this program would have been like without her as my partner.”
Smith says that her first love has always been teaching – as indicated by her repertoire that included courses in laboratory operations, urinalysis and body fluids, clinical chemistry, hematology, immunology, immunohematology, and clinical laboratory management. But she also recognized the importance of administrative tasks that kept the program running smoothly and stepped into that aspect of the coordinator role as Silver became more involved with research and the duties of her associate deanship.
As an assistant professor, Smith made an effort to provide her students with guidance during difficult times. “Carol was one of the best advisors I’ve ever had,” said Jessica Reinhardt, B.S. ’06. “She was never too busy to listen or respond to us. She is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the medical laboratory field, but also always so kind and patient with her students,” she said.
At her May 9 retirement party, Smith had the opportunity to catch up with alumni – some of whom were graduates of her very first class. “They’re supervisors in laboratories now or working for the FDA,” Smith said. “To see their success over the years and feel that you had some small hand in it is incredible.”
Smith says that she hopes that the Clinical Laboratory Science program will continue to grow. “There’s going to be a tremendous need for good clinical laboratory scientists over the next decade,” Smith says. “As a consumer, I worry about who’s going to be doing the testing for what I need.”
Smith will continue to teach two courses online in the fall to keep a hand in the field, but looks forward to having more time to spend with friends and family. She loves to cook and says she plans to try some of the recipes that she’s been collecting over the years. “I was talking to my college roommate just the other night and told her that she and her husband should come over once a month and I’ll try out these recipes – with the proviso that if the meal stinks, we call for pizza or Chinese,” she says.
Silver is delighted that Smith will remain somewhat involved with the program in her retirement, especially as a source of institutional memory and knowledge of past students. “We have her phone number,” Silver jokes “and she better not change it!”
