For many local students, the first step to higher education is the Cassville Crowder campus.

Cassville Crowder started in 1999, and one face has been present since the very beginning — Angela Seymour.

Seymour started as a teacher at the Southwest school district, where she spent five years before her journey with Crowder.

“When I first went into college, I was going for a biomechanics engineering,” she said. “I decided I was going to make body parts. I was active in basketball and track and I had started tutoring students for math.

“That is when I fell in love with education. I fell in love with that ‘aha’ moment when a student started to understand something.”

Seymour told her father that she was going to switch her major to education.

“I was at Rolla,” she said. “But, they did have teaching classes so I went to Springfield to live with my mother. My dad wasn’t so thrilled about the change.”

That summer her father passed away and Seymour found out he was on the road for Evangel University.

“I decided to go there,” she said. “I did basketball, track and got my degree in mathematics and teaching.”

After graduation, Seymour started interviewing for work.

“When I interviewed for Southwest, I was just so impressed by the in-depth interview process,” she said. “Aside from the regular interview, I had an hour interview just to coach. It was the most thorough interview I’ve ever had.

“I thought, if they are getting to know me this well, they have done the same with my co-workers. I thought that was a great way to tell if we could all work together well.”

Over her five years with Southwest, Seymour continued to fall in love with teaching, but she also endured personal struggles along the way.

“I found out I was pregnant, and I was a single mother,” she said. “I was worried because I knew Missouri was a no-fault state, and I didn’t want to lose my job. I also struggled with feeling as though I had failed as a Christian.”

Seymour persevered and managed to hold on to her career and raise a daughter on her own.

“Eventually the Cassville Crowder campus was opening and they posted a position in the paper,” she said. “My mom really encouraged me to apply for that job. She even went down there and brought a printed copy of the application to me.”

The campus was opening at its former location at 13th Street and Fair Street in Cassville.

“When I got the position at Crowder, it was like God was confirming to me, ‘I love you, and I will use you. You just have to let me,” Seymour said. “I was blessed to be there and I was there to serve God.”

Seymour said she was the tool that God was using to help local students.

“During that time, I would turn to God,” she said. “When I look back, there is no way to explain the journey except that God had a plan.”

Seymour was hired around Christmas.

“I was hired to run the campus and be the a GED teacher,” she said. “I taught evening classes that first spring semester, then I taught day and night GED classes, while running the campus.”

At that time her title was project manager.

“Since ’99 my position has changed titles, but the position never changed,” Seymour said. “As the campus grew, my duties grew. At the old campus, the student population was starting to expand, and we were expanding classrooms as much as we could.”

Seymour said she is proud of many things throughout her career with Crowder.

“I’m proud of my resilience,” she said. “And I am proud of the nursing program and the fire training at the Cassville campus.

“During the first graduating class from the nursing program, the Neosho speaker said that I just wore them down until I could get a nursing program in Cassville.”

Seymour said by accomplishing that goal, she learned the boldness to say, “I want this,” and to go for it.

“To get the nursing program, I had to prove that the Cassville campus could support the program,” she said. “Then, I had to make sure that we had all the classes needed for prerequisites. We also had to show that we had all the equipment needed for the skills lab, as well as a space for a computer lab. Then, we had to have funding prepared for staffing.

“After all of that, we had to make sure we had enough students taking the prerequisite classes who would funnel into the nursing program.”

Seymour said it took years to get the nursing program started, and she is so proud of it and the students.

“After years in the making, we where planning for all the space needed for the program when we built the new campus,” she said. “The hospital donated equipment and funds for upkeep, and we got the Department of Labor grant that supplied the salaries.

“That first graduating class of nursing students were a big deal. I really wanted that, and it took awhile, but we got it.”

Another major development for the Cassville campus was when they brought in Missouri State classes to the campus.

“Seeing what people can do because we have a campus in Cassville is really cool,” Seymour said. “It is an amazing place, and as a staff we know why we are there — for the students. I’ll miss that.”

The first time students walk into the administration office is one of Seymour’s favorite things.

“Seeing them walk from the car to the office is sometimes the scariest thing they have done,” she said. “We see them from the car to graduation. We are teaching them about life, adulthood, professional conversations and boldness.”

While Seymour will always remember her time spent as the Cassville Crowder campus director, she will enjoy getting to spend time watching her daughter’s volleyball games.

“There are so many things I want to do,” she said. “But, I mostly want to to see my daughter’s volleyball games.

“I loved coaching, and I miss having those relationships with players — especially the ones who are driven.”

Seymour’s last day was June 30, and Sarah Smith, the new Cassville Crowder director started on June 6.

“Sarah is so smart and she comes with so much experience,” Seymour said. “She has seen so much of the administration side of things. She is comfortable with numbers and understands data. I am so excited for her.”

Smith is a Shell Knob native who graduated from Cassville and went on to Cassville Crowder for her associate’s degree.

“I couldn’t imagine a better fit,” Seymour said. “It was easy to retire knowing she could do the job. She is nice and easy to talk to.”