DeLisa Dawkins

Administrative Office Technology Program Director

Dental Assisting diploma, Greenville Technical College

Medical Laboratory Technology degree, Greenville Technical College

Bachelor of Science in Health Science (Health Education emphasis), Medical University of South Carolina

MBA in Marketing and Marketing Research, Strayer University

When DeLisa Dawkins graduated from Greenville Technical College with a Dental Assisting diploma in 1987, it was a big deal – to her and to her entire family.

“My parents were so proud to see me in a cap and gown,” she remembers.

Dawkins is the first in her family to attend college and the first to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

“My mother was a high school graduate who worked in a dry-cleaning business. My father finished the 10th grade and worked in manufacturing jobs. They always pitched college to me, but we didn’t know how to navigate the college application maze because no one had ever done it.”

Fast forward to 2025 and the next generation’s educational attainment looks very different. “Today, for this generation, education is a standard. It all started with my mother’s and father’s encouragement,” said Dawkins, who added that six of her parents’ seven grandchildren have college degrees.  Dawkins’s son is a student at Greenville Technical College. “He knows this isn’t the end game. He is starting at Greenville and will go for his bachelor’s,” she said. 

“My parent’s goal always was for me to go to college,” said Dawkins, who took college prep classes and was an honor student.  She said when the family moved from New Jersey to South Carolina, she got lost.  “I didn’t have the support system I had in New Jersey schools,” she said, “and I struggled to gain my footing.” She talked to her guidance counselor and discovered she was lacking one credit to complete her junior year, so she attended summer school and came back as a senior in the fall. 

“I chose Greenville Tech because I didn’t have the resources or guidance I needed to attend a four-year college.  I didn’t know how to pursue grants or financial aid so my parents paid cash for the first year of tuition.”

She entered the Dental Assisting program with her eye on the next step.

She began her career as a dental assistant and married and began her family.  She returned to Greenville Tech where she earned a Medical Laboratory Technology degree.  The degree was a great steppingstone and she graduated debt free this time.

She learned how to navigate the financial aid process and enrolled at the Medical University of South Carolina as a junior taking night classes with her employer offering tuition reimbursement. 

“Take advantage of opportunities Be vigilant when an opportunity is in front of you,” she tells her students today. “My previous jobs prepared me for this job.”

Dawkins served as donor resource manager/director of education and training for The Blood Connection from 1997 until 2008.

From 2013 to 2015 she was senior market manager for community engagement for the American Cancer Society. She was community outreach coordinator for Spartanburg Regional Health System from 2009 until 2014.

Prior to that she was a member of the faculty at Spartanburg Community College and the University of South Carolina-Upstate where she taught business studies. 

She also has served as a flight attendant /inflight trainer for Frontier Airlines and since April 2015, she has been a residential and luxury real estate agent.

She has been a keynote presenter at various conferences including the National Cancer Institute and the Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals. She has been a guest lecturer at conferences for America’s Blood Centers, Blood Centers of Wisconsin and Blood Centers of America.

She served as a consultant for the Sickle Cell Education Task Force for the National Institute of Health in 2009. She served on the grants committee for the Komen SC Mountains to Midlands from 2007 until 2011.

As a former Mrs. South Carolina, her platform was breast cancer in disparate populations in 2005.

She was inducted into the Golden Key Honor Society in 2012 and was a finalist for the Healthcare Hero for Gibbs Cancer Center in 2012.

She is a member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and the MUSC College of Health-Related Professions Alumni.