By Brittney Mangum
bmangum@clarkecountytrib.com
“I’d encourage people to just spend some time to read a book and enjoy life when they get the chance to,” advised Roxanne Rich. “I know every day is hustle and bustle and you’re just moving around everywhere, but every once in a while just take the time to smell the roses.”
Roxanne Rich enjoys each day and does her best to take time out to enjoy life and all it has to offer. She has always enjoyed reading and taking time to experience each moment.
When she attended Quitman High School, she made sure to participate in a variety of different of extracurricular activities.
“I used to be part of the SADD club at the high school, the Students Against Destructive Decisions. On Red Ribbon Week, the SADD club was always the ones in the dunking booth getting dunked or getting the snacks passed out for the kids. We would have a dead day where throughout the day we would get taken out of class and would get our face painted and couldn’t talk throughout the day, and everyone would try to make us talk,” Roxanne reminisced. “I was part of the Library Club at Quitman High School, too. My friends talked me in to going into the Library Club, and I had fun with it. We actually went to see Disney on Ice in Jackson, and it was Beauty and the Beast. It’s the only time I’ve ever been to a Disney on Ice show, so it was very memorable. I loved it. I got the little snow cone even though it was freezing. I got an actual snow cone in the Chip cup with a straw and a spoon with Lumiere attached to the straw.”
Clubs aren’t the only things that Roxanne enjoyed doing in school. There was something else that she enjoyed doing and even continued after graduating high school in 2006: band.
“I loved being part of band. I went from sixth grade throughout college. Band actually helped me get through college. My scholarship helped me pay off a good chunk so I was able to continue my degree,” explained Roxanne. “I went from Quitman High School to Jones County Junior College. The chorus and band would flip flop, and each year one or the other would go on a trip. With the band for the year that I got to stay, we got to go to New York City and Washington D.C. and march in the Veterans Day parade. We actually came to do a band show over in Meridian. I believe that was the year we were doing the honor to Michael Jackson. We danced to Thriller, and it was fun.”
When she left JCJC, she continued her education at a university. Not only did she study at the university, but she also maintained a job there.
“I went to Delta State University, home of the Fighting Okra and the Statesman and Lady Statesman,” recalled Roxanne. “I loved it there. I actually kind of worked my way up there because I worked through college. I started as a desk assistant just checking guests in and out of dormitories. Then, I went to a resident assistant, keeping a hallway with people moving in and out. Then, I became basically the hall director—the dorm mom for Cleveland Hall.”
While she was working as the hall director, a major event took place on the campus, causing her to use training that everyone hopes they never have to use.
“I was actually there during the school shooting when we had it,” remembered Roxanne. “I was an acting hall director at that time. I was in the housing office at the time, and all I had to do was cross the street over a building and I’d be in my dormitory. We saw the campus police car go from this end of the street to turn right, U-turn and speed off to the left with sirens going off. We had no idea what was going on. We got the text message a few minutes after I entered the dorm building, so we had to go on lockdown. I was running through the building making sure all of our doors were locked and going up and down three flights of stairs to make sure no one left the building. Throughout the day it was a lot of craziness because people were being evacuated throughout the buildings going to the gymnasiums, or if you were in the dormitory staying where you were at until everything was confirmed.”
While they weren’t able to leave the campus during the crisis, they made the best of a bad situation.
“They closed the campus, and by the end of that night, those of us who couldn’t leave wound up gathering up our junk food, pulling out a bed sheet and a projector, and we watched movies in the middle of the lobby,” recalled Roxanne.
She was able to graduate from Delta State with her degree. She had to make a slight change to her major, but she still chose to do something that she truly loves.
“I started out in music education and was going to be a band director for the longest time. Then, I got carpal tunnel in both my hands, and it was hard to get my hands working like they needed to to play my instrument,” expressed Roxanne. “I changed course to elementary education. I can still teach music up to high school, actually. I can also do that with history.”
Once she graduated, she attained a job where she was able to teach and prepare children for school.
“I wound up teaching for a bit for preschool at the daycare in Enterprise,” informed Roxanne. “I did my student teaching at a public school with kindergarten, but I decided I preferred a smaller setting. I wound up with the preschool age kids and only had four or five kids depending on who came in and out of the class. It was great because I was more personal with each one of my students. I loved it. By the time I was out with my kids, they knew a good chunk of the 100 plus sight words you’re supposed to know for kindergarten. We actually had this book that had all the sight words they used except for one in it, and they would read it to me all the time. They would read the entire book to me because it was all their sight words. I just started out with small sight words and went on from there to numbers and colors. Then, I’d even write sentences using the sight words they knew on the board and then draw a picture to go with the words.”
Although she is now one of the librarians at Quitman Public Library, she continues to encourage reading and enjoys working with children when they come into the library. She also still works with children at her church.
“I teach Sunday school. I take turns with my mom with our Sunday school class at church,” explained Roxanne. “We have the 6-12 year old class, and of course she and I like to go to Sunday school too. We switch off between two weeks between us so that we can get two weeks of Sunday school and teach for two weeks. We get into deep discussions, and it’s great.”
There are things that she enjoys doing in her free time. In fact, she tried starting one of her hobbies when she was a young child and learned more about it when she was in college.
“Some of my favorite hobbies are crocheting. I’m working on some blankets for my friends and my mom right now, so that’s good,” declared Roxanne. “My grandparents tried to teach me how to do it when I was in like second or third grade, but I couldn’t quite get it. I didn’t have the dexterity in my fingers to work it, but I remembered how to run a chain and whatnot. It wasn’t until I got in college at Delta State where we had a group of friends that was interested in crocheting and teaching us how, and we learned how to crochet together. We would go sit in the student union, and we would start crocheting chains for starters and then learning how to make stuff like scarves. I can do a scarf, dish towels, and blankets. I’m pretty good with the square rectangle shapes basically. I’m still a little shaky doing anything circular right now. I just recently learned how to do that a couple months back, so I’m still kind of in the beginning phases on that.”
No matter what she does, Roxanne makes sure to enjoy each moment. She spreads joy around everyone she meets as she offers an encouraging word and bright smile to those she sees.
If you would like to nominate someone for Person of the Week, contact Brittney Mangum at 601-776-3726.
