Theresa Grout, lead support staff for the Student Affairs Division. She has been at MCC for 22 years starting back in 02, and for the past 9 years has worked in the student affairs office.
Q. How long have you been at CT State Manchester?
A: I came to MCC 22 years ago and started off in the Campus Police Department and was there for 6 years. Then I transferred to work in facilities in 2008 and was there for 7 years. And then a position opened up in the Dean’s office and I have been here since 2015.
Q. How has the college changed through your eyes?
A: People need to realize, change is inevitable. You need to embrace and grow with it. I find it difficult as well as rewarding to see the change here. I hope that my contributions have made a difference for those I have worked with and the students I have helped and guided throughout my Manchester career.
Q. Do you have any plans once you are retired?
A. I have six grandchildren and I want to have the opportunity to spend more time with them, though three of them live in Missouri so I can’t see them that much. I’m also going to work on some arts and crafts projects. I am currently in the process of is making six afghans, one for each of the grandkids. In a few years my husband and I are going to fully retire and we hope to do more traveling.
Q. What will you miss about Manchester?
A. I will definitely miss the friends I have made and the community that has been built here. I will also miss the excitement of the many events Manchester holds, including Commencement Day. I also like welcoming the new students, whether it’s the new class fresh out of high school or returning students that went to other colleges in the past. I like helping at the welcoming tables on the first couple days of the fall and spring semesters, seeing students’ faces and curious minds as they learn their new classes and schedules. Manchester has done a lot for the students and the community here since its establishment and I know we’re going to continue to make lasting impacts within future school years.
Q. What will you not miss?
A. Like every college Manchester has its ups and downs, you really just have to see the outcome for yourself. I won’t miss the contentiousness of the budget cuts and trying to get better wages. I won’t miss the workload when it is too heavy and hectic and you can’t really breathe, even when you complete everything within your to-do list, there is always more, and the list always goes on, which can be very stressful.
Q. Any notable student stories you will take with you?
A. Working in the Dean’s office I do come across some amazing students. You’re always going to get those ones that you really feel for, and they really touch your heart in a way. No matter what those students know they can come into the office and talk to me, grab some candy, and just tell me what’s going on. It means a lot that they know they can open up to me like this, because a lot of people judge but I try my best not to be judgmental at all.
Q. What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started?
A. What I realized and tried to focus on over the years is that life isn’t always a straight path and it can take you in so many different directions but when you grow and mature as you get older you realize the things you can accomplish and what you can’t. When I first came to Manchester I was so idealistic and wanted to make such a big difference, and in some ways I did and in others I did not. But if you focus on what you know you can accomplish then you will have no problem.
Q. What do you want people to remember about you?
A. I hope that people remember that I always tried my best to be helpful in any way I could.
Q. Any advice for students?
A. Ask questions, that is the best thing I can tell you. I still ask questions…you’re only going to learn when you ask questions and there are no stupid questions, except the ones that are not asked.
Q. Anything you’d like to add that we didn’t ask?
A. Be kind. Every action, every word, every inaction affects the people we encounter. Life is like a spiderweb intricately woven, and every thread intersects and leaps into another thread and everything we do causes a vibration along those strands that transfer to the next thread adding them in. Each filament has strengths and weaknesses, and we always need to try and ensure our action or apathy is not responsible for causing a thread to snap and the thread to unravel for someone who just needs you to be there for them and with them. Be kind and helpful to…those who cannot help themselves, be the hand that reaches out, the ear that listens and be the one that hears what was not always said.
