CLASS NOTES
CLASS NOTES ACTIVE LEARNING Retired faculty member returns to earn theatre degree at Northwest
Dr. Mike Wilson ’75, ’22, set a new example for lifelong learners when he graduated this spring from Northwest – nearly 50 years after receiving his first degree from the University and a decade after he retired from it as a faculty member. A teacher of accounting, economics and finance at Northwest for 27 years, Wilson retired in 2011 but returned in 2019 to be a student again and – at age 70 on May 7 – completed a bachelor’s degree in theatre performance. He became interested in acting a few years ago as a way to share an activity with his granddaughter, who was taking a class offered by the Rubidoux Resident Theater in St. Joseph, Missouri. Wilson enrolled in a class for older adults and caught the acting bug while performing in a Rubidoux production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” His interest in theatre was enough that he decided to pursue a degree in it at Northwest. “It was one of those things where I was getting in some plays in St. Joseph and I didn’t feel like I was really that good,” he said. “I wanted to try to get better.” Although, Wilson had the unique perspective of being a retired faculty member when he returned to the classroom – and in some
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cases having former colleagues as his instructors – he wanted no favors and asked to be treated the same as his classmates. “I said I wouldn’t give up my faculty parking place,” he joked, before adding, “I was a student. I did everything that the students did. I said from day one that I was going to be a student.” Joining the long-standing tradition at Northwest, Wilson participated with other first-year theatre students in the Freshman/Transfer Showcase to open the 2019-20 academic year. Among other productions, he appeared in “A Memory of Spoon River: A Tribute to Edgar Lee Masters,” a film the Department of Fine and Performing Arts produced last year when the COVID-19 pandemic limited live theatre. For it, Wilson filled three roles, wrote two monologues and was a location scout. Now with his newly earned degree in hand, Wilson says he intends to not only continue acting at the Rubidoux Resident Theater but wants to try his hand at more directing. “Northwest has taken good care of me and my family,” Wilson said. “The theatre department was a revelation to me. All of the faculty there are just superb. You won’t find a department anywhere that cares for the students like they do. What a dedicated group of people they are. I learned so much about theatre and life from them.” To read more of this story, visit nwmissouri.edu/alumni/magazine.
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NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SUMMER 2022
Dr. Mike Wilson stood to be recognized at one of Northwest’s spring commencement ceremonies in May after completing his bachelor’s degree in theatre performance..
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