May issue.pdf - Wingspan

10Wi n g s pa ncampus newsPersonality profileMay 4, 2009lccc.wy.edu/wingspanAlbany County Campus faculty member retiresBy Tiffany RazoCo-EditorAfter years packedith volunteer work,orldwide travelingnd dedication to stuents,retirement mayound well-deserved;owever, to one AlanyCounty Campusmployee, retirementeans more time toive to her community.After 22 years oforking full time athe Albany Countyampus (ACC) ofaramie County ComunityCollege, Dr. Joyurdam, coordinatorf student services athe ACC, said she iseady to embark onomething new. “It’lle a new chapter of myife that will give meore flexibility to grown a different direcion,”Surdam said. Butt has been the otherhapters of Surdam’sife that have led her tohere she is today.Born in 1943uring World War II,n San Pedro, Calif.,urdam had no ideahe majority of herife would be spent inyoming.After her childood,spent in SouthrnCalifornia, Surdamaid she attended theniversity of Califoria,Los Angeles, maoringin internationalelations and minorngin Spanish.After that, Surdam’sife was interwovenith her career,erforming volunteerork, starting a familynd furthering herducation.When she movedo Wyoming—afterer husband got a jobs a geology professort the University ofyoming—she startdteaching Spanish ataramie Junior Highchool.CourtesyA new beginning:Dr. Joy Surdam, coordinator of student services at the AlbanyCounty Campus, said she is ready to embark on something newafter 22 years of working full time at the ACC.She earned hermaster’s degree inboth Spanish and inpolitical science fromUW (which she saidshe chose her master’sin political science becauseshe was very opposedto the VietnamWar and “protested thewar like many otherpeople did”).But Surdam said itwas not until she wasa teaching assistant atUW that she realizedshe loved workingwith college students.“I really enjoyedworking with that agegroup,” she added.She continued hereducation and earnedher doctorate of philosophyin counselingfrom UW, and shebecame a licensedsociologist.Surdam thenexplained her next jobwith laughter. “I got ajob which I really enjoyedat the universityas the acting assistantto the vice presidentfor academic affairs,”she said. “What atitle.” She said the jobentailed a lot, but “itwas very fun.”She then spent fiveyears working as a psychologistat her privatepractices in Laramieand Cheyenne andfound a place at LCCCteaching psychology asan adjunct instructorin Laramie.However, Surdamsoon found her fulltimecareer at the AlbanyCounty Campusof LCCC.“A full-time positionopened up in Cheyenneas coordinatorof the Adult CareerEducation System,and I applied for it andgot it,” she said. A fewweeks later, the sameposition opened inLaramie, so Surdamasked if she could workthere instead. “Laramiewas home,” she said.“So that’s how I cameto be here.”Up until three yearsago, Surdam’s title remainedas coordinatorinstructor of the teachingand learning centerat the ACC—a sisterprogram to ACES atthe Cheyenne campus,she said. She explainedwith that programshe worked at helpingpeople obtain their(GED) and worked withstudents who werefrom other countriestrying to learn English,which is called “Englishfor Speakers of OtherLanguages.”But her time workingat LCCC was by nomeans limited to oneposition. During theyears she served onand off as an adjunct inSpanish, education andpsychology. She alsoserved as coordinatorof student services atthe ACC.Currently, shehas spent a lot of hertime doing academicadvising and workingwith the internationalstudents on campus.“Since I worked atUW, internationalstudents have alwaysbeen an area of interestfor me,” she said.She also hasworked with the LCCCFoundation on developmentactivities.Lynn Stalnaker,dean of the ACC,worked with Surdamtwo-and-a-half yearsand said she alwayshad a lot of good ideasfor the college. “Joy isa very caring person,”he added. “She alwaysgoes to great lengthsto make sure the studentsare successful.”Surdam said, “Thewonderful thing aboutworking here is it hasprovided the opportunityfor professionalgrowth.”But one of Surdam’sfavorite parts ofher career was simplyhelping students onan individual basisreach their dreams.“It’s helping someoneget his GED. It’s helpingstudents figureout financial aid andgetting them enrolledin their first collegecredit class. It’s helpingan internationalstudent plan his orher program,” shesaid. “Those are theparts I have enjoyedthe most.”The president ofWestern NebraskaCommunity College,Dr. Eileen Ely, whowas previously thedean of the ACC, saidSurdam was one ofthe most dedicatedemployees she’d everhad. “Her heart is asbig as they come,”Ely said. “Her mainconcern was alwaysstudent success.”Although retirementis nearing for Surdam,Stalnaker said onewould never know it. “Ireally respect her andhave a lot of admirationfor her. I wish everyonewas as passionateabout their jobs andstudents,” he said.“She’s just as passionatetoday as she was whenshe was first hired.”As she looked back,Surdam said some ofher fondest memorieshave involvedtwo huge parts of herlife—volunteer workand travel. “Lately,it has been excitingworking on ServiceLearning—it has beena joy,” she expressed.“I have also been aKellogg Fellow, whichgave me the opportunityto travel and dowork in Latin Americaand develop my Spanishskills,” she added.On the trip she metwith educators andleaders of other countriesand learned aboutinternational communitydevelopment.However, volunteerwork hasnot been limited tomemories of work.Surdam said shehas been an activevolunteer all of herlife. She has been amember of organizationssuch as theschool board, libraryfoundation and theWyoming Children’sSociety (which doesadoptions and counselingfor families).Ely said Surdam’sinvolvement was notlimited to the campusbut extended into thecommunity.“I could go onand on about what aremarkable woman[Surdam] is, andI’m very proud andhonored to call hermy friend,” Ely said. “Iwish her all the best.”Looking back laughing,Surdam said, “Notwo days have everbeen the same.” Butshe said had one lessonshe hoped peoplelearned from her andwould continue tounderstand. “As contributingmembers ofthe global community,we all have dreamsand skills we can giveback to our communities,”she said. “ServiceLearning is an excellentopportunity to do that.”With her plans ofspending time with herfamily, continuing herfriendships with herLCCC colleagues, travelingaround to evenmore places, readingsome books, volunteeringas much as possibleand possibly teachinga few classes, she saidshe always keeps oneof her favorite quotesin mind, including thisone from anthropologistMargaret Mead:“Never doubtthat a small, group ofthoughtful, committedcitizens canchange the world.Indeed, it is the onlything that ever has.”