News

WCU honors West High's award-winning journalism teacher

By Lightning Reports, Published: March 17, 2024

Retired West Henderson High School teacher Brenda Gorsuch has been awarded the 2023 Western Carolina University Alumni Achievement Award for distinction and success in academe and exceptional leadership.

The award recipient must also have achieved state, regional or national recognition. Such recognition was frequently in the news during Gorsuch’s teaching career. Her students won numerous state, regional and national awards for both Wingspan, the school newspaper, and Westwind, the yearbook. She was spotlighted in the February edition of WCU’s Western Wednesdays webcast. She received an undergraduate degree from the school in 1977 and a masters in education in 1980.

“When Brenda Gorsuch started teaching high school journalism, newspapers were still printed on paper, copyediting still mattered and selling ads could still pay the bills,” host James D. Hogan said. “It’s easy to see the enormous evolution in that profession reflected in her career as an educator.”

“Gorsuch maintains the one thing that didn’t change in her classroom was the importance of understanding the United States Constitution,” said Hogan, who is WCU’s assistant vice chancellor for engagement. “Throughout her career, Gorsuch and her students produced a lot of newspapers and yearbooks, but they also left with a concrete knowledge of the importance of a free press and the value of civic education.”