Northwest Mississippi Community College is pleased to announce that the college has welcomed Dr. Tommy “TJ” Walker to the role of district dean of Student Services.
Walker arrives at Northwest with 13 years of experience, most recently serving as the director of the North Mississippi branch of Get2College, a nonprofit program that helps students and their families plan, prepare and pay for college. He also previously worked with the program as its assistant director of outreach. Prior to his employment with Get2College, Walker worked as an admissions counselor at Mississippi State University (MSU), his alma mater.
A native of Prentiss, Walker is a 2003 graduate of Prentiss High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from MSU, a Master of Science in Leadership degree from Belhaven University and a Doctor of Education degree, with an emphasis in higher education, from the University of Mississippi.
As a student at MSU, Walker’s focus was in kinesiology, and he planned a future working in fitness management. However, becoming an orientation leader midway through his college years opened his eyes to another possibility and eventually changed the trajectory of his career aspirations altogether. Through interacting with incoming students and working with admissions counselors, he got his first look at what life might be like working in higher education.
When he graduated in 2008 and entered a brutal job market, he ultimately decided to accept a position as an admissions counselor working under someone he describes as his “higher education inspiration.”
“He took a chance on me,” Walker said. “Fast forward 13 years, and here we are.”
In his new position, Walker is looking forward to getting back to the amount of student interaction he enjoyed as an admissions counselor at MSU.
“I’m going to have some opportunities to build relationships with students for a year or two, so that’s an aspect that I really look forward to,” he said.
According to Walker, his main objective will be to further the college’s reputation as an institution that cares.
“Every time I’ve interacted with anyone from Northwest, even in previous roles, there’s something I call a ‘care culture,’ where the people here are so willing to help,” he said. “I want to keep that going, cultivate it and even elevate it. I want students to feel like we care, and you want students to hate to leave when it’s time because they’ve had such a good experience.”
Walker is an active member in the graduate chapter of his college fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma, and a member of Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven.
For more information about Northwest, visit northwestms.edu.
