Northwest awards influential women

The Influential Women’s Award recognizes women who have made an impact on lives throughout the Northwest campus. Women’s History Month is celebrated in March to recognize and honor the contributions of women throughout history.

Women’s history month was officially recognized by the United States government in 1987. This year’s theme for the month is “celebrating women who tell our stories.” The Influential Women’s Award allows students, staff and faculty to tell their stories.

This award has been given to students and employees since 2007. In the past, it has recognized many women from students, staff and faculty. This year they will only be awarding one student and one employee member due to a new structure of the program. Originally, these awards were set up by the Womxn’s History Month Committee. This year, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be partnering with them, and this created different ideas and time matters that led to the decision on the number of award winners.

The Womxn’s History Month committee members are Ashlee Hendrix, Terry Immel and Jacquelyn Loghry. Assistant Vice President of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Justin Mallett said he is excited to hear the stories from the recipients.

“I am a huge believer in recognition, and if we have employees and students that are doing great things, I think we should honor and acknowledge them,” Mallett said.

Mallett and the Womxn’s

History Month Committee will both be a part of the selection process, and Chelli Green is putting together a panel discussion for the event.

The campus was asked to fill out a form nominating women they thought deserved the award. The questionnaire asked why they should be nominated and how they have influenced you or others. Nomina- tion forms have closed, and winners will be recognized March 21 at 3 p.m. in the Agricultural Learning Center.

Winners will be given a certificate and plaque. They will also participate in a panel discussion on women’s empowerment with Green. Mallett said topics will be about who influenced the recipients in their role, how they got to where they are now and shar- ing their stories.

In 2021, Rebecca Moore, a professor in early childhood education, received the Infl uential Women’s Award for a faculty member. The Influential Women’s Award gave Moore validation in her work, she said she saw her work was creating change. It lit a fire in her to want to do more for her students to inspire and empower them. She said she hopes the impact she made on others is reciprocated through their interactions with others.

“My goal is to make sure they can see themselves at the next step when they graduate from college,” Moore said. “It’s very rewarding to see them come full circle and seeing the growth.”

When she received her certificate, there were quotes listed on the certificate from what others said about her. One of the comments was “Dr. Moore is the most genuine, selfless and caring person you will ever meet, she will always make you feel loved and recognized.” These comments made her feel accomplished in the support and sources she provides to her students in the classroom every day to help them mentally.

The Influential Women’s Award allows the community to learn more about what women are doing on our campus to make changes in their fields. Mallett said it hopefully inspires other women to keep working towards change and empowering others.

“This award is a way to continue to work, to realize that as a campus and as a community, that we are recognizing all our intersexual identities,” Mallett said.

Athletes’ mental health needs to be prioritized as games ramp up

This is an exciting time of year in the sports world. Division I basketball March Madness is on the horizon, the NBA is officially in the second half of its season and the MLB’s preseason is underway.

The excitement doesn’t stop at the professional level either. For college and high school, the winter sports’ championships are coming up soon. The Editorial Board wants to embrace the excitement and competition but also believes fans should be more cognizant of athletes and their mental health more than ever.

A study in 2015 found suicide was responsible for 7.3% of college athlete deaths from 2003-12, according to the National Library of Medicine. Five college athletes committed suicide in spring 2022, according to Psycom. Both of those numbers are too far away from zero. Fans can do their part by remembering to be supportive and respectful, rather than toxic.

Some of these athletes are about to head into the toughest part of their season. Northwest men’s and women’s basketball teams are set for the MIAA Tournament March 1-5, and both track and field teams are preparing to send athletes to the national championships. Maryville’s basketball teams are in the Class 4 District 16 Tournaments, and the Spoofhounds will

“There’s a lot of stress factors that go into being a studentathlete too. To find that balance between the sport and school. So, staying on top of mental health and making sure that everythings good there definitely helps us compete at our best level and then get our best grades that we’re capable of.” start baseball, track and field, boys golf and boys tennis within the next month.

Fans should enjoy all of the sports happening in their area and should support the local teams, but spectators have to be mindful of how they act. It’s perfectly acceptable to be a passionate supporter, but there’s a difference between wanting to see your favorite team succeed and berating athletes for their play, whether it be good or bad.

These athletes know better than anyone what’s at stake. They’ve worked all season, and now it’s “make-or-break” time. The pressure rises in the postseason, and this can be especially hard for athletes still in school.

Aside from constantly keeping their bodies in the best shape possible, going to practice everyday — sometimes early in the morning or late at night — and traveling across the state or country for days at a time, high school and college athletes also have to keep up with their school work. Some college athletes won’t see their professors for a week, but they still have to keep their grades up because bad grades means no scholarship.

While these athletes have to keep up with their work at school and in their sport, they now have the added pressure of their season potentially coming to an

ENRICO CAVAGNA Track and Field Graduate Student

“I would say that one week before a big event, conference, nationals, whatever it is, all my way of thinking and my way of behavior changes completely. So, for example, school is less important for me, so I focus more on what I’m going to do, and I try to think of my race and how I will compete and everything. So, mentally wise, I would say that I have way more focus on track and less focus on maybe people, school and other stuff. I wouldn’t say that I’m more anxious because I’m not like an anxious person. It doesn’t bother me though. (It) actually motivates me to be ready for the meet.” end. The stress can take a toll on their mental health, and fans should think of this before they insult a player for their performance.

They want to win, they want to try their best and they know when they mess up. Damaging an athlete’s mental health is never acceptable. Instead, fans should aim to support and lift their teams up. Positive feedback, or even constructive criticism, will help more than insults.

It’s also important to remember to be respectful outside of sports. Whether physically or not, athletes wear their uniforms wherever they go. If it’s in the classroom, at the store or in the lunch line, athletes are constantly connected to their sports. The stress and anxiety is always there too. Just because they’re an athlete does not mean it’s OK to be rude.

The same goes for anyone. Whether they’re on your favorite team or not, they’re still just as deserving of respect as anyone else. There’s no question Maryville and Northwest have proud fanbases, but fans shouldn’t get lost in the pride.

Fans have plenty to cheer about, so there’s no reason to insult or berate officials and opposing teams. They’re still people, and they’re also trying their best. The best fanbases have the best sportsmanship.

“I would definitely say toward the end of the season mental health for me is a slippery slope. It can get really bad towards the end just because you feel like everything is kinda caving on you. Like school, you’re still trying to perform well for your sport, and you obviously want to win in your sport … but then you’re also getting down to crunch time in the classroom. It definitely feels like everything is caving in, and your mental health does go down a little bit, but knowing that everybody else is in the same boat as you definitely helps you stay up and knowing that there is resources to help you get through that is nice too.”

“(It was) indoor conference (last) week, and it’s also time for midterms, so it always lines up for outdoor conference too. We always have finals that week so it’s really stressful, and we just have to make sure that we’re really organized with school and getting our homework done before the weekend starts because it’s a long weekend – it starts Friday and ends Sunday. With finals at the end of the week, it’s just making sure that you have everything in line.”