The Focus Is You.

My dad enrolled at Southwestern Oklahoma State University and began as a freshman in 1982. After graduating, he left for one year before it was time to go back and make it his forever home. He's stood firmly on the hilltop since 1987, and as of today, he will be retired from his alma mater.

Todd was great at his job at SWOSU.

My job is to look at data, so I did my own collection of data on Todd.

Between 1987-2021, there were approximately 31,000 freshman that came to SWOSU. Each of those students would have probably been welcomed to campus at an orientation session (had they attended like they were supposed to!) by my dad.

35 Interscholastic Meets.

238 President Leadership Class Members.

Over 200 New Student Orientation Sessions

Hundreds of pancakes flipped at the president’s pancake dinner before final exams.

No way to know for sure, but I would venture to say Todd attended thousands of SWOSU sporting events. (And he stood and clapped for the fight song at every one!)

 

I don’t think you can actually quantify the number of lives that were changed because Todd helped them choose SWOSU, or helped them get involved on campus, or just provided them with a safe space to talk. As I’ve spoken to many of his former students over the last few weeks, the one thing that stood out to me when they spoke about my dad was how he made them feel like they mattered. Like he actually cared about what came next for them, and wanted them to attend SWOSU. They never felt like a number. Todd truly abides by the mission of SWOSU: the focus IS you.

 

So, whether you want to look at it by the numbers or not, Todd was great at his job at SWOSU.

 

But Todd was even better at being my dad.

 

He never missed an event, a ballgame, a concert, a field trip, or windy middle school track meets where I attempted to pole vault. He has been one of mine and tanner’s greatest supporters. He showed us a work/life balance that we both try to emulate in our own careers. He modeled how to care for people we work alongside. He taught us how to be intentional with people we interact with. And he instilled in us a very deep love and appreciation for SWOSU.

It is not lost on me to know that Tanner and I are in our chosen career fields because of Todd. We both picked higher education.

We watched dad weather the ebb and flow of college enrollment, the variations of many administrators, the trends of orientations and camps and recruitment events and tours and tshirts…. But we still chose Higher Education. We saw, that even on the bad days, higher education is valuable. College radically transforms lives. Whether you’re a teacher, a pharmacist, a lawyer, a doctor, or a park ranger… SWOSU helped you obtain that dream.

A college degree opens doors to a brighter future & I’m positive my dad helped thousands of students navigate towards through those doors.

 

And as the late, great Cindy Dougherty would say...

Upward and Onward, Dad.

Congratulations on a successful and impactful career.