Serving others personally and professionally, whether through mentoring or civic involvement, is where Gavin O'Connor focuses his efforts.
The assistant dean of sciences at Ozarks Technical Community College says he seeks to "foster a progressive aura" among the people within his sphere of influence.
"I have been fortunate to see some of my peers and subordinates move forward in their personal and professional lives and achieve some of the goals they had made for themselves," O'Connor says. "Some of these individuals had placed these goals on the backburner of life, and I would hope that my leadership and encouragement played a part in them changing their mindset and striving to fulfill their potential."
O'Connor is proud of his role in advising and mentoring students, and one instance in particular stands out. A nontraditional student had returned to school for nursing to support her family but hadn't done well in prerequisite courses. She was thinking about abandoning her goal and staying in a job without much advancement opportunity.
O'Connor discovered the student had once been interested in accounting and encouraged her to pursue that.
A year later, O'Connor ran into the student, who reported she was on track to graduate and had gotten a job in accounting.
"She indicated that I had been the main catalyst in her obtaining a career in an area that she completely enjoyed and looked forward to working in that field for many years to come," he says.
Much of his professional career relates to leadership in civic affairs. O'Connor is especially interested in promoting cultural diversity at OTC, the Ozarks and nationally.
"I am promoting the need for students, faculty, staff and the community as a whole to become more aware of and accepting to the diverse cultures that permeate not only our local community but the interconnected world in which we live," he says. O'Connor has worked with the United Nations on sustainable development issues, and he was a research assistant in 2006 in the Galapagos Islands through University of Missouri-St. Louis. Locally, he works with Greene County 4-H, Ozark Plateau Chapter of Quails Forever and Missouri Equine Council.
"Each of these organizations has a mission that ... works to educate individuals, especially youth, about nature, conservation and the world around us," he adds.
O'Connor is pursuing a doctorate degree in educational leadership and policy studies at University of Missouri-St. Louis.[[In-content Ad]]
