Quincy teacher wins Golden Apple

QUINCY (WGEM) - Dana Trantor was the recipient of the WGEM Golden Apple Award in October.For almost 33 years, Trantor has combined her love of healthcare and teaching as a health occupations educator at Quincy Area Vocational Technical Center.

“That’s the most important thing is that we want people to go into healthcare and care for others. That’s why they call it healthcare,” Trantor said.

“I took the intros to career and health class and it became an interest too, as soon as I walked into the door,” said Annabelle O’Dear, who is in 11th grade at Quincy High School.

“She’s just so gentle with the way that she teaches. It’s like one-on-one. You could be the only one in the classroom and it would still feel the same as a whole class. Even with COVID going on and masks, I still feel like she’s connecting to everybody,” said Kendall Batterton, who is a sophomore.

Before transitioning to the classroom, Trantor spent years as a full-time nurse herself. Students, like sophomore Sammy Valentini, said they benefit from her real world experience.

“Her experience has helped us relate to what actually goes on in the hospital because the book will tell you a lot, but she will tell you so much more about the finer details the book just doesn’t tell you,” Valentini said.

As Trantor prepares to retire at the end of the school year, she continues to mentor and inspire students to pursue careers in healthcare

“She just really shares her experiences and makes you really ground with what you want to do,” Batterton said.

“My greatest joy is seeing them in the community. I’ve had some throughout the whole world travel abroad, and it’s just kind of neat to see how they care for others,” Trantor said.