Thank you Mickey, other faculty for impacting students' lives

As students walked into the J.W. Jones Student Union, they were greeted by an employee who took the time to learn their name and ask how their day was. This beloved faculty member has recently left.

Mickey Ashley, known as Mrs. Mickey, was a staple of Northwest. Most of the Northwest residents know and love her. She was one of the first people to interact regularly with incoming students. 

Having a faculty member that treats you like a person with feelings makes the transition easier. Mickey is the most prominent example of this, but all over campus there are faculty and staff members making a positive impact on the students. 

The first year of college is a weird experience. Having people to rely on and be there for you in the transition makes it feel a bit more normal. The Editorial Board wants to recognize the faculty and staff members that have impacted the students. 

It is important to students that there is somebody that makes them feel welcome and like they have a safe space. 

No one really talks about the impact faculty members have on people’s lives. Most assume that the faculty members that make an impact are all professors. People don’t think about the janitor that started a simple conversation or the cook that complimented an outfit. They are just as important.

While we are adults attending college, it is still nice to have an older adult figure in your life as you are trying to figure out how to be independent. We want the faculty and staff to be recognized for making Northwest home for students.

Who is a Northwest professor or staff member that has impacted you?

Shelby Godding

“I think Dr. Mallett because he comes and talks to all the sororities, and he says really good stuff about diversity and DEI, and I think he is really making an impact on campus.” 

Cooper Sharp

“Jason Offutt has been pretty cool. He has a lot of fun in his classes and lectures.” 

Josephine Payne

“Dr. Green, he’s just so kind and he’s always smiling. He just makes such a positive environment.”  

Abby Fritz

“I would say Damon Leiss. He’s just a really funny professor and makes class so entertaining and fun to go to.” 

Libby Anderson

“I think Dr. G or Dr. Goswami, he was my freshman seminar teacher, and he really opened me up and now I take another class with him.”  

Briana Chapman

“I have Dr. Ford this semester for class, but I want to do conservation of documents and artifacts, and so she was the one that was like, ‘Yeah even with the chemistry major you can do this.’ So it was fun because I was able to combine both my interests of history and chemistry and then she's been really fun having in class this semester.” 

Noah Jaggars

“I would say a Northwest staff that's affected me would be Dr. Strickland because she’s an amazing teacher, and she’s just very inspirational.” 

Alora Bucey

“I would say I really like professor Cline. She’s honestly really a joy. It’s really interesting to have a teacher that I have two classes with. She’s really lovely to be around and honestly she’s fun to talk to outside of class.” 

Bailee Tomney

“A faculty or staff that has affected me would be Michelle Vaught in the Leet Center. She’s just also been there for me during work and even outside of work, and I just know I can count on her for anything.” 

Leah Trumble

“One teacher that has affected me would be Dr. Sue. She always comes to class happy, and you can tell she very directly cares about her students and their success. She made me want to show up to class everyday.”

Wyatt Hallock

“Alyssa Striplin, she was my composition one professor. She just gave me a whole new outlook on English in general. She made me actually enjoy English, which has always been a problem for me.” 

Jessica Davidson

“I would probably say Dr. Naramore has really helped me break down my research process for a lot of my historical research papers, which can kind of get a little overwhelming at times.”

Abigail Milhan

“I would have to say Mrs. Mason, she’s my cooperating teacher for practicum. She’s just been really great at helping me get through all my lessons and stuff.”

Kayla Shelton Torres

“It would actually be my advisor Dr. Brenda Rourke. She helped me out with my org. Last semester, we were dealing with some financial issues and some stuff happened with our bank account. She was my main support through it all, for being president, I had to handle the situation, I had to get the police involved. She was just there backing me up and making sure that I knew my worth and when I needed to take time for myself. I really appreciated knowing that I had her support through it all.” 

Devyn Phillips

“Professor Dimmitt, I had her for a class, intro to counseling. She was just really involved in our success and making sure we were doing well mentally and stuff and ready for class and everything like that.”

Nora Paulson

“A faculty or staff member that affected me was Dr. Toomey. He helped me to change my major and find the path that I really liked. I was actually in the biology department and then after his class in general chemistry II, he convinced me to switch over to general chemistry, which I find really suits my personality and my future interests a lot more.”

Blake Rizner

“I would say, definitely Will Murphy. He’s the reason I came here and he just seems to know everything. Anytime I come to him with a question he can either help me figure it out or he knows the answer to it.”