Mary Stuart Turner honored during Louisville football game for work with Redfern Health Center

During Saturday's home football game against Louisville, Mary Stuart Turner was honored as Clemson University's Staff Member of the Game. Turner - a lifelong local and Clemson fan - currently oversees the Student Health Services Lab at Redfern Health Center, and her excellent work in this role has earned her public recognition in the community she's been a part of for so many years.

Turner was born and raised just minutes down the road in Six Mile, S.C. She grew up loving Clemson, and this love kept her in the area as she pursued higher education and a career. Turner earned an associate's degree from Tri-County Technical College and served as a medical lab technician at AnMed Health in nearby Anderson before accepting a similar position at Redfern.

"I knew I wanted to be a part of Clemson, and it's five minutes from home, so it worked out wonderfully," she says.

Turner has been with Redfern for 22 years and counting. In her current role, she works with six laboratory professionals to oversee quality control, daily test volumes and the distribution of accurate, timely results to patients.

When asked about her most memorable Clemson experience thus far, Turner is quick to praise the people above all else. "The connections I make with people on a daily basis at Redfern are just amazing. We have such a caring staff; from doctors, to nurses, to lab technicians, to radiology, to pharmacy, to our Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) department - I just cannot say enough about everybody we work with."

Turner recounts one particularly meaningful connection with her previous supervisor Gale Reynolds, who took Turner under her wing and motivated her to return to school for her bachelor's degree.

"She saw in me that I was a hard worker and could make a difference here, so she pushed me, and I'm thankful for her. I might not have been pushed if I had been somewhere else, but she pushed me for more education and wanted me to have an opportunity to be the supervisor here one day. I'm so glad she did."

It's paid off, too. Earlier this summer, the Redfern Lab was accredited by The Joint Commission - a transition from its previous accreditation through the Commission on Office Laboratory Accreditation (COLA) - for surpassing the highest standards of patient care and safety.

Turner was joined on the field on Saturday by her husband Shane, a local veterinarian. Her two sons, Will (21) and Luke (16), cheered loudly from the stands, while her daughter Mary Kate (20) celebrated from afar at the University of South Carolina, where she is currently following in her mother's health care footsteps and studying nursing.