Batchelor teaches at UAH, volunteers at Columbia

MADISON – For Patricia Batchelor, Madison is one of those places where everybody knows your name.

“We love the close-knit nature of Madison,” Batchelor said. “Everywhere we go, from the park to the grocery store, we see people we know from all aspects of life in Madison — from schools to soccer teams.”

After living in many different parts of the country, she has lived in Madison longer than anywhere else. “It’s different for me because I know more people due to the sum total of all our experiences since moving here,” Batchelor said.

“I was born in Pensacola, Fla. at the Naval Air Station. Since my father was in the Navy, we moved to Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington D.C., Tennessee, Germany and finally to Alabama,” Batchelor said.

She graduated as valedictorian from Boaz High School. At the University of Alabama in Huntsville, she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biological sciences with an emphasis in microbiology.

Patricia and husband Jason decided to relocate to Madison because they were “looking to make a change in school for our oldest son, Zachary. He is now 19 years old and a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. The Madison City Schools district was the best around so it made sense to move,” Batchelor said.

Her husband Jason works as Vice President & Managing Partner at Summit7Systems. Zachary is stationed at Kanahoe Bay, Hawaii. Their other children are daughter Caila, 12, and Jacob, 7.

“After working full time for a number of years, I decided to go part time in 2011 to spend more time with my children,” Batchelor said. “I wanted to be involved with them as much as possible and volunteering at Columbia Elementary School helped me to do that.”

She teaches microbiology to allied heath (nursing) students at UAH and Calhoun Community College.

The family’s dog Lily is a three-year-old Labrador retriever mix.

The Batchelors don’t eat out often, but “we’ve always enjoyed dinner and a show at the hibachi grill at Sakura,” she said.