The Navajo County Community College District Governing Board recently honored Kathy McPherson, with an administrative Emeritus award in recognition of her 22-plus years of service to Northland Pioneer College (NPC). McPherson will retire in December after adeptly serving the college in various administrative roles and most recently, as the campus manager at NPC’s Holbrook location. McPherson’s journey at NPC began as a student herself. When her former employer, Basha’s, closed its doors in 1998, the local workforce development group offered laid-off employees tuition vouchers to aid in their search for gainful employment and obtain higher education. She was 36 years old, married, and raising a family. And she became a freshman in college. “I was scared to go back to school,” McPherson relates. “I was worried I would be the old lady there. But that didn’t end up being the case,” she said. “At NPC we have students from all walks of life, all ages, all kinds. I felt welcomed at NPC.” Upon completing her degree, McPherson applied for and obtained a position as the faculty secretary at NPC. She served in that role for five years and then accepted a position as the secretary to the Dean of Workforce Development where she worked before heading back to the front office as assistant to the campus manager until 2016 when she took the role as the campus manager. During the Nov. 21, meeting of the District Governing Board, NPC’s Lead Campus Manager Jessica Kitchens, presented McPherson with the Crystal Eagle Emeriti award. She said, “To know Kathy is to love Kathy. She is compassionate and kind, and although she has faced many challenges during her career, she has always succeeded.”
