Dear Colleagues:
President Martin forwarded this letter from Susan Campbell, a parent of several U of M students. He asked that I share this with the U of M community. Ms. Campbell describes in wonderful fashion the impact one person can have, impact that reaches well beyond a single student and family, impact that continues to ripple across Memphis and beyond. Steven’s passion, commitment and energy are inspiring. He is, without a doubt, a very bright light at the U of M. I find it comforting to know that not only is Steven here, but there are many, many stories like this on our campus and in our community. Thank you Steven. And thank you to our faculty and staff who work hard each and every day sharing the great things happening at the U of M and the opportunity to build a great future.
Best Regards, David
Hello, President Martin.
I wanted to tell you about an amazing employee you have in the Admissions and Recruitment Department at the University of Memphis.
His name is Steven Mizell.
Our family first met Steven when we were having an issue regarding the level of scholarship that our oldest would receive; our fantastic counselors at White Station High School told us to contact Steven. We did. He met us, told us he would take care of our issue, find the answer, and fix any problem we were having, and he did just that, very quickly.
He made us feel at ease about this overwhelming process that is “college.” That alone is an incredible skill and we began to see that the possibility of having three students at the University within three years might just be possible….even though we are a “normal” family with little means to send one….let alone three.
Our eldest, Luke, is now a sophomore at the University and has thoroughly enjoyed his time at school. He has gone to Steven with questions and Steven either has the answer, finds the answer, or sends Luke to the person who knows the answer.
Our daughter, Jesse, is now a freshman at Memphis. She had narrowed her search to two schools. She was invited to a basketball game by the admissions office. After that game, which Steven attended with her, she said, “If I had been on the fence about which university to attend, these people would have convinced me to attend Memphis.”
Jesse has gone to Steven several times with questions and he makes her feel like he is always ready to help her.
He set up a personal campus tour day for her, where she met with the Admissions, Scholarship, Honors, and Nursing departments; she also was able to go to lunch with a student. He made that happen.
After moving onto campus, Jesse wanted to find a job on the campus and each time Steven knew of an opening, he told her who to contact. She is now working in the recruitment offices, talking to potential students.
Our youngest, Anna, is a senior, and has already established a relationship with Steven. When he visits White Station, she usually gets to see him and talk to him there. Because her brother and sister have had such good experiences at the University of Memphis, she is planning to attend there in the Fall of 2014. Steven already sent her on her personal campus tour and he has answered her questions and helped her along in the process as well.|
Steven has helped us, as parents, by supporting the well-being of our children, not only in the admissions process, but also as they walk through this adventure, deciding what to do “next,” from overseas study to interning. He is a part of their journey at the University and their experience has been so much richer because he is.
Steven has been such an advocate for our children and such an incredible help to us as parents. We, along with most families, want to, but do not see how we can “make college happen” for our children. We know, bottom line, that we can’t “make it happen,” but we do see that the blessing of knowing people like Steven Mizell makes the process much more clear, much more simple, much more feasible…and through amazing grace, our kids are there, enjoying college like they never imagined.
Steven should be celebrated.
Thanks for your time.
-Susan Campbell