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Dear Friends
Nationally recognized educator reflects on Northwest experience My parents drove me from St. Charles, Ill., to Northwest in mid-August of 1987. After spending most of the day with me on campus, I remember walking silently with them in the direction of Dieterich Hall through a new parking lot adjacent to the library. An anxious, awkward feeling came over me while we walked with the gravel crunching beneath us. I stopped, turned toward them and looked up. “You can go now,” I simply stated. Mom immediately started crying. I wasn’t trying to be insensitive or ungrateful, but it was time to let me go. I hadn’t seen her cry that hard for a long time – probably not since I gave her those Spiderman Shrinky-Dink earrings for Mother’s Day in 1975. “You don’t understand…” she started. I looked at my father. He looked as perplexed as me. “Son,” she continued, “that’s exactly what you said to me when I dropped you off at kindergarten.” Being a first-generation college student, I came to Northwest with much trepidation. I didn’t know a soul, and I didn’t have a goal, but all of that changed quickly as a result of the openness of the student body and the high expectations of the faculty. Positive and approachable, the professors and support staff demonstrated high levels of professionalism within their respective areas of expertise. It took a few semesters until I had an epiphany. I was going to be a teacher. Largely influenced by one English professor,
I chose to study English education. Finally driven, I began to study the academic and behavioral expectations, interpersonal styles and assessment techniques of my teachers in all disciplines. I even learned from the few cynical and unprofessional ones, as they taught me how not to act as a teacher and colleague. Regardless, I am grateful for all of my teachers because my experiences with them helped form my classroom cornerstones. Oftentimes I feel uneasy about the attention I have received within the education community, but I remind myself of what I instill in my students – nobody achieves or fails in isolation. With gratification and humility, I understand it’s a privilege to be an ambassador for the most important profession in the world. Education is the interstate to independence, the safeguard against suppression and the antidote for apathy. That’s why I teach. Sincerely,
Darryl Johnson ’92, ’98 2013 National Teacher’s Hall of Fame Inductee 2007 Missouri Teacher of the Year Smithville High School English Teacher
Northwest Foundation Inc. ’13-’14 Board of Directors
Juan Rangel ’91, Kansas City
University Advancement
President Holly Murphy-Barstow ’81, Omaha, Neb.
Paul Schieber ’81, Overland Park, Kan.
Mike Johnson ’85, Vice President mikej@nwmissouri.edu
Kory Schramm ’95, Johnston, Iowa
Brooke Bowles ’02, Accounting Clerk, bbowles@nwmissouri.edu
Vice President Mark Doll ’80, Des Moines, Iowa Immediate Past President Dan Runde ’81, Platte City Board Members Mike Abildtrup ’68, Ft. Dodge, Iowa Virgil Albertini, Fairway, Kan. John Baker, Maryville Jeff Borchardt ’82, Olathe, Kan. Bill Brown ’63, Platte City Betty Johnson Bush ’60, Maryville Terry Day ’65, Kansas City
Ken DeBaene ’81, Long Branch, N.J. Toni Cowen Espey ’83, Parkland, Fla.
Owen Straub ’86, Kansas City
Don Foley ’78, Ames, Iowa
Brad Stephens ’98, Pacific Junction, Iowa
Troy Greenfield ’90, Kansas City
John Teale ’73, Maryville
Jerry Hagg, Dearborn
Gary Thompson ’76, Avon, Conn.
Bill Hedge ’74, ’77, ’89, St. Joseph Paul Jennings ’75, West Des Moines, Iowa Arnold Johnson ’77, Houston, Texas Jennifer Dawson Nicholson ’71, Kansas City Mary Hamilton Purdy ’72, Davidsonville, Md.
Northwest Alumni Magazine
Spring 2014
Darryl Johnson ’92, ’98, who was inducted into the 2013 National Teacher’s Hall of Fame, returned to his alma mater in January as a keynote speaker at the University’s All-Employee Meeting, which kicked off the spring trimester.
Ex-Officio Directors Dean L. Hubbard, President Emeritus, Kansas City John Jasinski, University President Mike Johnson ’85, Executive Director B.D. Owens ’59, President Emeritus, West Des Moines, Iowa
Mitzi Craft ’91, ’09, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations mitzi@nwmissouri.edu Teresa Gustafson ’97, ’05, Director of Strategic Donor Development teresa@nwmissouri.edu Carma Kinman ’85, Executive Assistant, ckinman@nwmissouri.edu Laurie Drummond Long ’92, Development Officer laurie@nwmissouri.edu Bob Machovsky, Interim Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving rmachov@nwmissouri.edu
Scott Nielson ’01, Associate Athletic Director/External Affairs and Development scottn@nwmissouri.edu Lonelle Rathje ’97, ’03, Director of Development – Campaign Coordinator lonelle@nwmissouri.edu Lori McLemore Steiner ’85, Finance Officer and Executive Director of Advancement Services steiner@nwmissouri.edu Steve Sutton ’71, Major Gift Development Officer ssutton@nwmissouri.edu Brenda Untiedt ’00, ’09, Alumni Relations and Advancement Communications Specialist brenda@nwmissouri.edu