Settling in at FSCC helm
Alysia Johnston, 56, assumed the position of the president of Fort Scott Community College on June 1, following 29 years at Coffeyville Community College.
A native of Edna she received an undergraduate degree from Kansas State University in animal science and industry. She and her husband Chuck graduated from K-State in 1981 and moved back to Labette County where he started farming.
"I decided I needed to go back to school because I was working at a bank," she said. "At the time I thought I wanted to be a ag loan officer and did an internship in the Kansas Banking Association."
"I was geographically immobile and couldn't really go anywhere (in that job) because it's hard to get away from the farm. So I went back to school at Pittsburg."
She received a masters degree in biology from Pittsburg State University.
"(Then) this position opened up at Coffeyville. I applied and got it and, I'd have to say, I ended up adoring teaching."
The first years she learned more than the students, she said. But she found she made a connection with her students, especially with students who needed encouragement.