While the subject of psychology can be intimidating for many students, Bucks psychology professor Patti Hemko Alloway acts as a calming influence in the academic storm, drawn from her own life experiences.

These reasons helped earn Alloway Bucks’ part-time faculty member of the year award last year for social and behavioral science.

However it hasn’t always been easy for the 45-year-old from Warminster.

Prior to her career at Bucks Alloway was engaged to her first fiancé, but things took a drastic turn when he was murdered during a robbery while working in a restaurant in Abington, Pennsylvania. It truly was a life altering experience.

Following a long lapse in practicing psychology, Alloway got involved in working for the Network of Victims Assistance, speaking to other crime victims.

Currently Alloway works out of a private practice in Ivyland where she specializes in post-traumatic stress disorder and grief counseling for children and families. Alloway still balances teaching and counseling, as she has since 2000.

Life started to look up for Alloway when she got married in 2001 and gave birth to her daughter, in 2002.

Tragedy found Alloway again,

Only six days before the birth of her daughter, Alloway lost her mother. To make matters worse, Alloway has lost a number of pregnancies due to secondary fertility problems.

Yet, experiencing the roller coaster that life has put her on has helped strengthen Alloway and made her the determined person as well as role model she is today.

“I believe in what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Alloway said.

Alloway’s hands-on approach has played a huge role in shaping her students time at the college. It’s not unusual to see a crowd around Alloway’s desk well after class has ended.

“When I think of my experience at Bucks, I think of Patti Hemko Alloway,” Ina Behan, 21, a psychology major said.

“(Alloway) is the one professor that I have had that I simply adore. She is a mentor and has inspired me to do my best,” Behan said. “(Alloway) is the only professor I have had at Bucks that has gone above and beyond to help her students in any way she could.”

Test taking and its anxiousness, never an easy task for students, is slain by the dragon of relaxation by Alloway. Her exams are never a surprise and she lets her students know ahead of time before she plans to give them out.”

Alloway offers a perfect blend of challenging material sprinkled with a mix of humor and understanding.

When classes are selected before each semester it is tough to get one of Alloway’s classroom spots, as many Bucks students would attest.

“I have never had the pleasure of having Alloway as a teacher due to the wait list because of the popularity of her courses,” said Brain Clay, a secondary education major from Holland. “However, I have sat in on a number of her classes and it was quite the experience to say the least.”

Alloway is raising the bar for professors at Bucks by going above and beyond for the enrichment of each student she comes across. The strong-willed individual is passing on her bright outlook onto every student she touches at Bucks.