NW Missouri Times

Retired employees of Northwest Missouri State University, having dedicated decades of service in their varied roles to helping students succeed, are maintaining that covenant by establishing a scholarship to support student leaders.

In partnership with the university, the retirees recently established the Northwest Retiree Leadership Scholarship and are now raising funds to endow it. “Leaders determine the course for change in the world, whether they are officially labeled leaders or leading by example,” said Dr. Christine Benson, who retired in 2020 after 23 years of teaching mathematics and statistics at Northwest. “Leaders also come from all major programs. Since the membership of the Northwest Retiree Association comes from many different departments and were both faculty and staff, focusing on leadership was a logical choice.”

The scholarship will be awarded to a full-time Northwest student serving as an ambassador of Lead Green, a non-credit, co-curricular-based program at the university designed to develop leaders who will impact the greater campus community. Lead Green students develop knowledge and skills through a multi-tiered program that includes a leadership module, workshops, and a mentorship program. Through this program, students cultivate skills to succeed personally and professionally.

Students serving as Lead Green ambassadors may mentor up to 50 aspiring student leaders during an academic year. As their impacts multiply, positively influencing their peers and student organizations, the university hopes the program enhances retention and student success.

“Having the support of the Northwest Retiree Association is a testament to their commitment to Northwest – not only during their careers but even during retirement,” said Dr. Matt Baker, Northwest’s vice president of student affairs. “Mentors can come from any academic discipline and from any student organization. This scholarship fund will have both short- and long-term benefits for students and the university to achieve our leadership development and engagement goals.”

Creating a scholarship has been a goal of the Retiree Association since its founding in 2018. “We want to promote Northwest and help students,” said Rosalie Weathermon, the organization’s president. “As employees, we did that during all of our tenures at Northwest, and we want to continue to give back.”

The Northwest Retiree Association serves as a resource to assist university employees with transitioning to retired life while maintaining a connection with Northwest and providing a community for social and intellectual activities. Any former Northwest employee along with spouses or partners are invited to join.

More than 50 individuals are active in the group, accounting for nearly 1,200 total years of employment at the university.

Weathermon retired from Northwest in 2015 after 15 years of employment in Career Services and has been a member of the Retiree Association since its inception. She is also an alumna of Northwest Missouri State University with both bachelor's degree and Master of Business Administration credentials.

“It’s such a transition from working life to retiree life,” she said. “There are also emotional transitions as you move from being an employee into retirement... so we want to be able to help each other connect...and support each other.”

The association hopes that establishing this scholarship will contribute significantly towards developing future leaders among students at Northwestern Missouri State University.

“We want to support...students...employees," stated Dr Bob Dewhirst who retired in 2016 after serving on political science faculty for over three decades adding: "Our loyalty doesn't end with our last day."

For more information about supporting this initiative or engaging further contact details were provided including visiting relevant pages or contacting via email/phone numbers listed therein.