Annual event recognizes ‘Influential Women’ of Northwest

Northwest Missouri State University continued its commemoration of Women’s History Month on Wednesday by recognizing four individuals with its annual Influential Women Awards.

Dr. Joni Adkins

Grace Stephens

Ryleigh Lindsey

Vanessa Parsons

A Women’s History Month tradition at Northwest, the University community is annually invited to nominate female students, faculty, staff and community members who have demonstrated outstanding dedication to supporting, advocating for and establishing equity for others.

This year’s award recipients were Dr. Joni Adkins, director of Northwest’s School of Computer Science and Information Systems; Grace Stephens, a coordinator in Career Services; Ryleigh Lindsey, a senior mathematics education major from St. Peters, Missouri; and Vanessa Parsons, vocal music director at Maryville High School.

Adkins, a Northwest alumna who joined the faculty in 1998 and was named director of the School of Computer Science and Information Systems in 2021, has overseen record enrollments in her unit and helped facilitate the development of a cybersecurity laboratory in Colden Hall, in addition to advising more than 100 graduate and undergraduate students while teaching no less than six courses annually. She also supports the biannual Missouri Iowa Nebraska Kansas Women in Computing Conference (MINK WIC), serves on the national board of the Delta Mu Delta international business honor society and serves on the board of the Wesley Student Center at Northwest.

“Her work in diversity and inclusion focuses on the growth and development of women in computer science through planned focus groups within the school each term,” her nominator wrote. “Not only does Dr. Adkins work incredibly hard, but she supports her faculty, staff and students with the time and resources needed to meet the high needs in computer science. Although she expects much from her colleagues, we believe she provides the necessary framework and guidance to do it well.”

Stephens joined the Northwest staff in 2022 after graduating from the University with her bachelor’s degree in communication with a public relations emphasis. As a coordinator in Career Services, she helps develop student employees and facilitates Mock Interview days, in addition to serving as a member of Northwest’s Student Administrative Services Committee and Staff Council. She also is a graduate of the Leadership Maryville program.

“Grace models the way for others in the office through her kindness and willingness to collaborate,” her nominator wrote. “She also makes an effort to demonstrate self-care by balancing her work, recreation and study so that she can bring her best to the office every day. She is willing to show others that having good mental health habits is an important priority. Grace, being true to her name, makes gracious service seem effortless.”

Lindsey is the recipient of this year’s Lonnae Young Influential Student Award, which is named in remembrance of a Northwest student who died unexpectedly before being recognized with the University’s Influential Women Awards in 2019.

Lindsey is the president of St. Jude Bearcats, which raises funding and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in addition to working as a peer advisor and tutor in the Student Success Center.

“She is helping students succeed in math – college students and local high schoolers,” her nominator wrote. “She always has an uplifting attitude.”

Parsons, an alumna of Northwest, received this year’s Community Champion Award. She directs the Spectrum show choir at Maryville High School, the Maryville Young Players summer musical theater program and the chancel choir at First United Methodist Church in Maryville. Her family also hosts two female foreign exchange students during the current academic year.

“Mrs. Parsons supports all children but is an exceptional role model for young women,” her nominator wrote. “She opens her classroom to discussions that go well beyond vocal music. She fought cancer last school year but was still there for her students. She was brave and persevered even on her hardest days but was open and honest about her battle. Vanessa is like a second parent to all of her kids, and she accepts each of them for who they are and supports them in all their endeavors.”

Northwest presented the Influential Women Awards Wednesday in conjunction with a daylong Women’s Leadership Summit themed “Inspire, Connect and Empower.” The summit brought together women in leadership roles and women who aspire to be leaders for learning sessions, discussions and a keynote address by Dr. Karen Kassenbaum, the inaugural Global Inclusion Lead at Hudl and founder of “Athlete2Athlete,” an organization that provides transitional mentoring and leadership development for student-athletes.

The event was sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth School of Business, the School of Computer Science and Information Systems, the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and the Ally Affinity Group with additional support from Mosaic Life Care and local businesses.