Brenda Dew, who has taught for 15 years at LWC, has a passion for teaching.

COLUMBIA,  Ky. --  Lindsey Wilson College  professor Brenda Dew does not plan to slow down.

That is why a recent award made her laugh as much as it humbled her.

Dew, an LWC professor of human services and counseling, recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Tennessee Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

"I always say that you get this award when you are old," said Dew, who has been a member of the LWC faculty for 15 years. "I was very honored. Besides your students, what's better than having your colleagues say you do a good job?"

Dew has served as past-president of the Tennessee Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and she has also held a number of other important positions in the association.

"She has given distinguished service to the profession of marriage and family therapy," said Richard Gillespie, president-elect of Tennessee Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. "She is an educator, writer and therapist who has played a significant role in the training of many marriage and family therapists over time. Her service has been of the highest caliber in advancing the good of families and the development of our profession."

Dew has a passion for teaching, but she did not start out teaching future counselors. She began as a grade school teacher, then after pursuing graduate degrees became involved in counseling -- both as a college professor and as counselor with a private practice.

Dew said she enjoys marriage and family counseling because "you can do more with a family than a person -- you have a system."

"If you look at the family as a system, you are really trying to change the system," she said. "I like seeing how the system operates."

When she teaches Lindsey Wilson students in the college's School of Professional Counseling, Dew said she aims to give students the skills and know-how that will make them effective counselors.

"I try to give students techniques that they can walk out of my classroom and use immediately," she said.

Dew said she "loves to teach," especially when she has a breakthrough with a student.

"It's fun to see someone's face when they say, 'I got it,'" she said. "College's purpose is to give you information so that you have more possibilities in life. College is about give you more choices and it broadens you."