At SWTC, the student returns to be a teacher, Lisa Edge comes home

Twenty years after beginning her journey as a Medical Assistant student at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, Lisa Edge is coming home. A native of Mineral Point, Edge is returning to the Fennimore campus this fall, not as a student in the front row, but as a faculty member. This transition marks a poignant full-circle moment as she joins the instructional team alongside Kris Schoville—the very mentor who taught her two decades ago.

After initially pursuing a degree in physical education and health from UW-Platteville and teaching for several years, budget cuts prompted her to pivot. When she discovered openings in the Medical Assistant program at Southwest Tech in 2004, she enrolled immediately, driven by an eagerness to learn. It was during this time that she first encountered Schoville, who was then in her first year of teaching the program. Inspired by Schoville’s ability to combine a background in teaching with a passion for healthcare, Edge found a professional blueprint she hoped to one day follow.

The program Edge returns to has evolved significantly since 2005. While the core knowledge remains as solid as ever, the learning environment has been transformed from a small off-campus building into state-of-the-art modern healthcare labs. This fall also marks the debut of an accelerated curriculum, transitioning from two semesters to a semester-and-a-half format designed to get skilled professionals into the workforce faster. For Edge and Schoville, the coming months are about more than just teaching skills; they are about fostering the same growth and community impact that defined Edge’s own career. As they begin this next chapter as colleagues, Edge is eager to help a new generation of students discover the rewards of a profession that changed her life.