New scholarship formed by peers in memory of late pre-law professor

Northwest's Political Science Department lost a mentor last year who helped numerous students pursue legal or other professional careers. Former colleagues and friends came together to create a scholarship to offer to students who want to pursue pre-law in honor of him.

Daniel Smith, a pre-law adviser and professor, passed away from cancer May 2, 2022 at 59. Retired Northwest professors and friends of Smith, Dr. Dave McLaughlin and Dr. Robert Dewhirst, funded a scholarship to honor Smith after his passing. The $500 scholarship will be awarded annually to full-time Northwest students in their junior year who have an interest in pursuing a career in law. The selection committee of faculty in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences will determine the recipients, and those who receive the scholarship may have the opportunity to renew it for their senior year.

Dewhirst retired in 2016 as a professor of political science. He spoke highly of Daniel Smith’s teaching, and that he took on many things like pre-law society and was the creator of the mock trial team. Dewhirst said they were more than just colleagues, they were best friends.

“He was exceptional to me, lead a truly heroic life,” Dewhirst said. “Hero is an overused term that can become cliché but in his case, to me, he was a hero. I would put that on his tombstone.”

Daniel Smith completed his undergraduate studies at the College of William and Mary, then further pursued an education at the University of Virginia School of Law and Rutgers University. Smith spent a decade practicing law in Washington D.C., where he specialized in communication law.

Dewhirst said when he saw Smith's application, he knew Northwest needed a teacher like him but wasn't sure Smith would be interested in this position. The moment Dewhirst knew they got him was at the end of the day when he met with students for a campus tour.

“I remember saying to Folkmore ‘I sure would like to have him, he’s wonderful,’” Dewhirst said. “About that time he was in Colden Hall, he came down the hallway with students all around him, and he had two little stuffed Bobby Bearcats cause he has twins, I lean and say ‘folks I think we got him.’”

Their offices were close to each other, and Dewhirst noticed the students loved Smith.

Dewhirst said Smith loved teaching and interacting with his students, he came off shy at first but once you got an interesting conversation going with him, you saw a different person.

When Daniel Smith became sick in 2020, he was very transparent with his colleagues and students. He would come back from a hard weekend, but he maintained a positive attitude even on the hard days around his students. Dewhirst said chemo brought a sense of humor out of him, he would joke around with his students about it, and it was like a game.

Dewhirst and Smith bonded on their car rides to Smith’s doctor appointments in St. Joseph, Maryville or Kansas City, Missouri. They would talk the entire time sharing laughs, memories and always a good political debate. His wife Susan Smith said he loved an interesting political debate, playing tennis, the piano, singing and was a huge fan of the Las Vegas Raiders. Daniel Smith was married to Susan Smith for 34 years, and they have 25-year-old twins Phitz and Benjamin Smith.

Susan Smith said he didn't enjoy his career in the law firm, working long hours filling out briefs, it wasn't the career path he wanted for law. When Daniel Smith came back from his interview in Maryville and told her they offered him the job right away, she wasn't surprised. She said she thought about how different it would be to move from a big city to a small town but agreed that it would be easier to raise their kids in a small town. Daniel and Susan Smith met her freshman year at William and Mary. He was a residential adviser for the specialized living dorms she was looking at. The first time she met her husband was at a meeting she had to attend to determine if she wanted to reside there.

After meeting again at a party her first year, the rest was history. They enjoyed going to open mic nights where they sang together. They then lived in Virginia for a while and then moved

“There’s also a big research standpoint that we went into for each of our shows, the necessary history and the context of the show the actors really need for us to succeed,” Garrigan said.

The Play Fest Company was composed of 32 people. Most students were a part of multiple plays, and some of the actors also directed a play.

“The actors who are in my show, are also the cast of all the other shows, with a couple swapping in and out,” Garrigan said. “We have a ginormous Play Fest Company and everyone is in, I would say, two or more of these shows.” to New Jersey before coming to Maryville in 1999.

The company rehearsed only the day before the performance. It had a quick turnaround, but Garrigan said it was not too much of a time commitment and a good way to get started in the theater program or participate more.

“It’s a crazy time for all these shows because we only get one rehearsal, and then we do it and we're like, ‘is it going to go well?’” De La Rosa said.

As of now, it is unknown if this will be an annual event, but many of the company members are hopeful it will come back next year.

When Daniel Smith became a teacher, Susan Smith said she saw how much passion he had for teaching his students. He would stay past dinner time helping students out, and she would call him telling him to come home to eat. She said that he never really knew the impact he made on his students until he got sick.

In 2020, Daniel Smith won the Tower Service Award for outstanding service to Northwest students. Susan Smith said he was surprised, but she wasn’t. When she found out they were creating a scholarship to honor him, she said she thought it was appropriate.

“I think he would’ve been quite honored by it, I really like the recognition for him,” Susan Smith said. “I was really happy and really happy that a lot of people donated to it.”