Jackie Barstow loves her job. As Coordinator of OCC's chapter of international honor society Phi Theta Kappa and Coordinator of the Lillian Slutzker Honors College, she helps guide high-achieving students through their time on campus and plan their futures. "Most places where I've worked have a lot of layers between administrators and students. There are none of those layers here. If a student wants to see me I tell them to come and knock on my door. They email me directly. It's really fun and satisfying. I enjoy it."
Barstow is a native of suburban Chicago and a diehard fan of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs. She earned her bachelor's degree at Southern Illinois University, and her master's at Ball State University. She worked at SUNY Cortland for almost 8 years, then decided to leave higher education and work in academic publishing. "That's when I found out I really missed working with students."
She would return to academia, working at Syracuse University as the Director of Academic Advising and Counseling Services for the College of Arts & Sciences. After she had her second child, she realized juggling life and work was too much and decided to focus on raising her family.
By 2013 she was ready to return to higher education and found the perfect job for her at OCC working with the PTK honor society. "At the time the job was unattractive to candidates with my qualifications. I was hired as a temp. There were no benefits attached to it. It was an hourly job to fill a need at the college, and it's exactly what I was looking for."
When she arrived on campus PTK was hidden both literally and figuratively. The chapter's office was tucked away in a small corridor in Ferrante Hall which is much different from its present location in the renovated Coulter Hall. The chapter also wasn't as highly-decorated as it is now. It's been named top five in the world out of nearly 1,300 chapters in each of the last two years. "We were completely off the international radar as was New York State. It's the standards that Annie brought in with the scholarly aspect of development. I added experience with administration and student development, and we're a good match for each other."
"Annie" is Dr. Annie Tuttle, Faculty Coordinator for OCC's PTK chapter. As OCC's PTK chapter has risen in stature, so has Tuttle. She also serves as New York State's Regional Coordinator for PTK. Barstow works closely with both Tuttle and Dr. Shawn Weimann who is Faculty Chair for the Lillian Slutzker Honors College. "Annie is the face of PTK and Shawn is the face of Honors College. I'm their behind-the-scenes partner and I like that."
Earlier this year Barstow was honored with the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Professional Service. "I was really honored to be recognized for the work I do with students. I really enjoy what I do. The students are here to accomplish something. It's fun to be someone who gets to help them do that and clarify what their goals are."
