{"id":5708,"date":"2021-07-14T18:12:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T18:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/?p=5708"},"modified":"2021-12-08T21:04:26","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T21:04:26","slug":"saying-goodbye-new-adventures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/2021\/07\/14\/saying-goodbye-new-adventures\/","title":{"rendered":"Saying goodbye, new adventures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

University sees 15 <\/em><\/strong> retirees<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As another school year comes to an end, summer arrives and COVID-19 starts to subside, professors and university staff members started officially announcing their retirement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the spring and summer of 2021, 15 university professors and staff members announced their retirement. With a combined total of 422 years of service dedicated to the university between them, there is no doubt these professors and staff members have left their mark on students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve taught American literature and writing and creative writing and that continued all the way through, I was immersed,\u201d Professor of English Dr. Cathy Downs said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downs has been teaching at the university since September 1995. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re writing the challenge is often yourself, so you have to encourage yourself that you\u2019re going to be okay and that you have to keep going, you also have to fight down your pride and say \u2018I make mistakes too, where are they?\u2019 and keep editing until you make it the best you can, so that\u2019s a challenge,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Downs credits working at a small university for her freedom to explore American literature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI wasn\u2019t lazy, so I couldn\u2019t say this year I could have worked harder. Whenever I could publish I did, so I can\u2019t say I should have published more. I gave students tons of feedback, I don\u2019t know if I made them any better but I gave my all. I try not to live my life so that I\u2019m embarrassed or wish I could do it over,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Downs said the decision to retire came naturally.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cMy first day\u202fof class I was so nervous I wouldn\u2019t do a good job. I\u2019m sure I had notes and on the other hand I was young, and I just knew I was great. Now when I go into a classroom, I don\u2019t need that many notes because I know what I need to do and I know what works. I don\u2019t cry when I come into the office, my husband is here now and we\u2019re settled. I have confidence, I didn\u2019t have confidence then. I was overwhelmed then and now I know what I have to do to make everything work,\u201d she said <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downs is currently pursuing a degree in geology and has amassed a total of 20 credit hours towards her degree. She also plans to travel during her retirement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThe travel that I want to do is all about going to look at rocks. I want to go look at a lot of rocks, I already do that in real life, but I\u2019d like to do it some more,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downs said COVID-19 ultimately lead to her decision to retire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWriting is important not because your teacher told you to do it but because it can take you places that otherwise you couldn\u2019t go. It can take you places of the intellect; it can take you places of communication or self-expression and it is a way of exploring the world that\u2019s like science, like in a chemistry lab, but you do it with a pen and paper and anyone can do it so I want to say keep writing, write on,\u201d Downs concluded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Library Director Bruce Schueneman also retired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince 2011, I have served the university as Library Director. The Library Director oversees and manages all library operations. From 1979 to 2011, I served the university in a variety of roles, including Government Documents Librarian, Interlibrary Loan Librarian, Reference Librarian, Head of Technical Services and Associate Director of Systems and Technical Services. For a period in the mid-1990s, I taught the two American History survey courses,\u201d Schueneman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Schueneman was first hired by the university in fall 1979. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI have had a full career from junior librarian to director. Additionally, I earned a second master\u2019s degree while working at TAMUK, and learned to play the violin at TAMUK\u2019s School of Music. I have been privileged to work with great colleagues over the years, both within the library and in the university,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Schueneman lists his health as a major factor in his decision to retire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThough it will be difficult to leave TAMUK after 42 years, after consideration and discussion with my wife, we decided that this was the best time for us. It was not a difficult decision,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Schueneman and his wife Dr. Maria Ayala-Schueneman will stay in Texas while his lung cancer is monitored from a previous surgery in March, but plan to soon move closer to their children and grandchildren. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI would like to thank all the colleagues I have worked with over the years, including the many students that I\u2019ve worked with and for. Knowing that I have helped such students \u2013 even if only to a small degree, is the greatest satisfaction of my career,\u201d he said <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His wife has also retired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cIt has been a great experience, both as a student and as a Librarian.\u202f\u202fI have learned a lot, grown a lot, and met many students and faculty, great people,\u201d Associate Director of Public Service Dr. Ayala-Schueneman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Ayala- Schueneman states COVID-19 was the greatest challenge of her career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI am Associate Director for Public Services and all the departments in the Library that deal with the public are my areas of responsibility: Access Services, Interlibrary Loan, Government Documents, Reference, Bibliographic Instruction, and South Texas Archives,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Ayala- Schueneman says her husband\u2019s health was a big contributor to her decision to retire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cIt is a hard decision.\u202f\u202fA lot of documents need to be filed but most important and hardest is to write that note to my supervisor to let her know I will be retiring.\u202fThat is what makes it final,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 After 37 and a half years Ayala-Schueneman says there is nothing she would change about her time working at the university. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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