EMPLOYEE PROFILE

Name: Mary Cyril Bledsoe

Title: Director, Student Life and Recreation

Major responsibilities: To provide comprehensive co-curricular programs for student activities: student leadership training, student organizations, and Student Recreation Center and to offer students opportunities to connect and learn outside the classroom with each other and with faculty and staff.

Length of service at the College: 3 ½ years—and 23 years in student life at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming!

Place of birth: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Family members: Two cats who still live at home even though they are of the age to be out of the nest and my backyard bird buddies.

Something no one knows about you: The summer before ninth grade, I taught myself how to stop stuttering—I guess that can be considered my very first “self-help” book! The other thing that most people don’t know is that I am half Hispanic.

Greatest achievement or proudest moment: I have two: being selected by the students to be the 1994 commencement keynote speaker at LCCC, and being presented a “real deal” cowgirl belt buckle by the Block and Bridle Club (Ag and Equine) when I retired from LCCC in 2003. (It had been a dream of mine to “win” an official belt buckle. J)

Favorite things outside work: Bird watching, cooking, watching the Denver Broncos, experiencing the spring and fall in East Tennessee.

Most rewarding part of your job: Giving out free food and free T-shirts…. Okay, seriously now. I enjoy learning from and connecting with students and colleagues. Being a part of the Foundations of Excellence program has enormously expanded my professional development and passion for working with community college students. I am very fortunate and grateful to be involved with so many people at Pellissippi State who care so deeply for the success and well-being of our students. It is a privilege to be a part of an exemplary institution. And yes, giving out free food is a rush!

Most influential person in your life and why: Billie Jean King, because she had the courage and tenacity to fight for equality in women’s sports.

Favorite quote: “Success is not a destination, a place you finally arrive and relax. Success is the quality of every moment of your journey. The source of that quality is your interaction with Life!”—Jennifer James, author and cultural anthropologist