Tocarra Williams, TRIO Director, has been selected as North Central Missouri College’s Outstanding Employee for June. Tocarra, from Trenton, MO, has worked at NCMC for eleven years. Tocarra, an NCMC alum, holds a master’s in public affairs.
Tocarra describes her job as “ rewarding, challenging, and transforming.” When asked her favorite thing about NCMC, Tocarra said, “Community. We truly take the ‘community’ in community college to heart—when students come to NCMC, they quickly learn they can count on caring staff and faculty at every turn. So many of my colleagues are natural rapport builders, and it shows in our students’ comfort and sense of belonging. I like to think TRIO plays a big part in making this happen, too.”
During her time at NCMC, Tocarra has faced continued level funding for TRIO programs, restructuring budgets while seeking additional funding, ensuring TRIO programs are able to provide a high level of service to our high school students in Upward Bound and college students at NCMC in Student Support Services. In the future, Tocarra would like to continue to write successful grant applications for NCMC’s TRIO programs that include more innovative ways to reach students. Tocarra sees her department growing by expanding to connect students with even more opportunities to network with successful community members, both in informal and formal ways, so students can see their futures more clearly and believe their futures are within their reach.
From the nomination, “She constantly is going above and beyond for TRIO, advocating for our programs, and contemplating what our students need and what barriers we can help them overcome. She works late to make sure that our department is running smoothly and is very passionate about what she does.”
When not at work, you can find Tocarra wrangling her cats and dogs and spending time with her family. Tocarra also enjoys design, reading, and attending author events.
Each month, nominations are submitted by faculty/staff members for an outstanding employee they feel is hardworking and dedicated, and has made NCMC overall a great place. To learn more about North Central Missouri College’s employment opportunities, visit www.ncmissouri.edu/jobs.
Photo: Tocarra Williams