Employee Profiles

The most important aspect of my career is being able to help others. At Northwestern, the smaller class size has allowed me to get to know my students and work closely with them. I have been given the opportunity to influence a number of students and to help them achieve their learning and career goals.

"I myself am a product of large schools whose main campuses had more than 40,000 students. I like the opportunity to interact one-on-one with students and really get to know them!"

Northwestern is such a devoted campus. From President Cunningham all the way to the youngest freshman, everyone is working toward a goal of excellence in education. Whether it be educating, learning or simply observing, Northwestern is a great place to grow and experience a quality, affordable education.

Jesse began working at Northwestern in August 2006. Prior to returning to his alma mater, he worked in radio and television. He has served as news director and anchor for the Wright Wradio Network in Weatherford. His television experience comes from being an associate producer at KWTV News 9 in Oklahoma City and a producer/reporter at KSWO in Lawton.

Mike came to Northwestern as an assistant band director in 1983 and now serves the university as its dean for the School of Arts and Sciences. During these 25 years, he believes his bond with Northwestern is pretty strong. “It’s a great place to work, and Alva is a great place to raise a family,” he said.

Dr. Sandra Petree teaches all the American and World Literature classes, including American Literature survey classes, American Novels (19th Century and recent), Introduction to Literature (humanities class), as well as Comp 1 and Comp II.

Sue Diel has taught at Northwestern for 13 years and enjoys it immensely. “When I left to teach in another state, I realized that I missed just about everything at Northwestern," she said. "There is a collegiality among the faculty, a respectful attitude from the students, and a desire for learning that is evident within the faculty and the students. I was so thankful that I could come back home to Northwestern to teach."

Ryan played third base and was a pitcher for the Ranger baseball team from 1996 to 1999 before joining the staff at Northwestern in January 2003. In his job as Sports Information Director, he has fun watching the teams succeed, especially for an athletic program he personally took part in. In fact, his favorite thing about Northwestern today is being involved in athletics because he was a former player.

“Northwestern is a great value. You get a quality education at a reasonable cost with lots of opportunities to further reduce that cost with scholarships.”

The invitation is simple: Become a Ranger and have a major impact upon the world. My favorite things about Northwestern are two-fold. First, after 30 years at Northwestern, the physical changes being made to our campus facilities and landscape already are impacting the rest of the state. Second, my life is much, much richer because of the friends I have at Northwestern. Northwestern is a special place. Northwestern is a significant place. We are not perfect – but we certainly have a lot going for us.

Mark enjoys working for Northwestern and he especially takes pleasure in the camaraderie among faculty and staff. One of his favorite aspects of Northwestern is that it offers personal service to students and has a close-knit community of students, faculty and staff.