Virginia graphics instructor earns national teaching award By Moriah Balingit November 17 at 4:41 PM A graphic communications instructor at Loudoun County's Monroe Technology Center has earned national recognition for her teaching. Pam Smith, who has been teaching at the center since 2006, received the Printing Industries of America's Frederick D. Kagy Education Award for her work combining theory and instruction on graphics software with real-world projects. The center is based in Leesburg and offers classes for high school students across the school system, and her students have produced work for the school system, for Loudoun County and have made marketing materials for a local car show. Smith is a graduate of the center herself, and she worked in graphic design for several years before returning to Loudoun as a technology assistant at Harmony Intermediate School. She became the graphics communication instructor in 2006. In a nomination letter, Paul Foster, vice president of the Printing and Graphics Association of the Mid-Atlantic, praised Smith for seeking out ways to improve her own skills and instruction. "Pam sets an example for other instructors through her dedication to lifelong learning and continuous improvement," Foster wrote.