Featured Colleague — Marjorie McKillop
ShareBy Joy S. Jones
Watching students overcome challenges to achieve their educational goals is the number one thing Marjorie McKillop likes about her work at Valencia. That the College doesn’t shy away from growth and innovation and strives to build relationships with local employers and the community also ranks high on her list.
Marjorie is a part-time student services advisor on West Campus, a position, she has held since 2004. Prior to that, she worked as tutoring coordinator since gaining employment with Valencia in 1999.
During her time here, she is proud of having been the first tutoring coordinator at the Osceola Campus, where she established an in-depth tutoring program to support all subjects. According to Marjorie, Osceola was the first campus to implement a form of supplemental instruction. Under her tutelage, she has trained several Answer Center advisors over the last decade.
“Valencia’s open access is an opportunity for all students to receive an education and its large size contributes greatly to the regional economy,” said Marjorie. “Working with the caring faculty and staff whose main focus is serving and supporting students is a delight. And the small class sizes give students personal attention that helps them to succeed,” she said.
“The term ‘student advocate’ falls short when describing Marjorie’s approach, as she is a student champion and has built lasting relationships with students who depend on her consistent and timely advice,” said Manager of Student Services Jennifer Mezquita, her supervisor. “Her commitment to our College, inspiration to us and our students is one that is worth knowing, and as I think about Marjorie’s role in my department, I can sum it up in two words — ‘all knowing.’ She has taken on the task of training all (more than 10 employees) of my new advisors, both full- and part-time, and has served on an interim basis as the student conduct coordinator.”
Marjorie has also established somewhat of a reputation and is well known for her holiday spirit. She can be counted on to don herself in the garb, theme and colors of the seasons. The most memorable, said Jennifer, was Veterans Day.
“We honored her courage and service to our country on Veterans Day and we are fortunate to work with such a wonderful and caring individual.”
Marjorie served in the U.S. Navy from 1979 – 1998 in the training and administration of reserves. She earned a bachelor of arts in sociology from Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy Massachusetts, and a Master of Arts in national security and strategic studies at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.
Know of someone doing great work at the College, who has been an employee for one year or more? Send the colleague’s name to us at The_Grove@valenciacollege.edu. He or she might be one of our featured colleagues, subject to supervisor’s approval.
