Rose Mary Wood, 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

Kalamazoo Valley Community College President L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D., with Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Rose Mary Wood and Carrie Yunker from the KVCC Foundation Board of Directors.

Rose Mary Wood, recipient of this year's Distinguished Alumni Award, took ten years to graduate from college and hasn't stopped learning since. She was enrolled in one of Kalamazoo Valley's first classes and loved her studies and her classmates. "Myself, being very social, loved the opportunity to meet new people and I was always excited to learn new things and ideas that others had," she said. "The instructors were very well versed in their subject material and seemed to really care about their students' success. It took me ten years to graduate in between the births of my children. Since I was interested in everything, I took many different types of classes and finally a special instructor told me to settle and make a decision and go forward."

She earned a B.A. at Western Michigan University with a major in English and minor in Elementary Education. She later earned Special Education endorsements from Nazareth College and WMU. She held teaching certificates in Colorado and Montana and while in Montana she was an evening newscaster. While completing her education and certifications as well as teaching, she and her husband adopted 15 children with special needs. She had 13 children at home during the time she earned her master's degree.

"In all of my past vocations, I was always drawn to those who needed help in some way. I've been a special education teacher and administrator, adoption mentor for the Department of Human Services, executive director for a non-profit and a professional advocate for people with disabilities," Wood said. "When I was asked to teach at Kalamazoo Valley in 2005 by Ron Miazga, my daughter who was a student at the college had been killed a few months before and this new job helped me focus on something other than my grief."

Wood said she learned the importance of helping others as a youngster. "My parents always taught us that we needed to reach out to others in need, so I grew up with the idea of helping. I was married at 17 and my husband and I wanted to instill in our children to live by the words 'how can I help?' Whenever we saw a need we tried to fill it with whatever our capabilities were at the time. We included our children at a young age to follow along and to understand that there were others in need and not to worry about their own needs."

Throughout the years, Wood and her husband and their children received many accolades for their service to the community. She officially retired in 2016 and turned her attention to art and travel. She is also writing a book about the history of Cass County. She entered Kalamazoo Valley's Alumni Art Show in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

She was humbled to be nominated for the Distinguished Alumni Award. "I know there are many people who deserve an award this like for their contributions to their communities," she said. "I love my time at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and feel that from starting as a student and becoming an instructor, I have come full circle." She encourages others to embrace change, keep things fresh and reach out for help when needed. "There are so many people who care," she said. "Seek them out. Don't be afraid to ask for help."