Three former students of Trenton Junior College or North Central Missouri College were recognized as distinguished alumni at the NCMC Foundation Pirates Ball on March 13th. The Distinguished Alumni Class of 2020 included Doctor Jamie Hooyman, John Sturdevant, and Donovan Thompson.
Jamie Hooyman attended TJC from 1981 to 1983 and received her Associate in Arts Degree. She served at NCMC from 2006 to 2017 in multiple capacities, including vice president of institutional effectiveness. She currently serves as the provost at Northwest Missouri State University.
Hooyman said she grew up at the college because her father, Bill Ausmus, had been the dean.
Education was important to her father and mother, and TJC had “amazing faculty that helped her get started.” Hooyman noted she was taught to put God, family, and work in that order. She was also taught to work hard and “give it 100% all the time.”
Donovan Thompson attended North Central Missouri College from 2001 to 2004 and received his Associate of Applied Science in Information Technology. He was also a member of the men’s basketball team and received All-Conference honors during the 2003-2004 season.
Thompson is the chief executive officer of the digital marketing agency New Millennium Technology and was the co-founder of the cell phone repair and sales store BahamaSmart. He has worked as a software engineer for companies such as Spotify, ESPN, NBC Sports, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online, and the University of Kansas. He has also received a Sports Emmy for Outstanding New Approaches—Sports Coverage.
Thompson said that he did not have a goal to get to where he is today but credited NCMC with helping him to get his start.
Thompson also remarked that he is very glad his parents had faith in him and allowed him to go to NCMC.
John Sturdevant attended Trenton Junior College from 1970 to 1971. He had a 45-year career in architecture. He worked for 40 years at the consulting engineering firm Heitmann and Associates and retired in 2017 as senior vice president of technical services.
Sturdevant said he got to see all of the United States and work with distinguished architects during his professional career. He recalled that one thing he learned at TJC is that “there’s a strong work ethic in a small community.”
Sturdevant said he is proud of what he has done, but he could not have done it alone.
NCMC Foundation Board Member Chad Boyd introduced each distinguished alumni honoree. He noted that the first distinguished alumni class was in 2004 and had seven honorees. Sixty-four alumni have been honored since.
The NCMC Foundation Pirates Ball was a fundraiser for the Voyage Fund, an annual giving campaign to raise unrestricted gifts.
Live and silent auctions were also held to raise money for the Knowledge Fund, a general scholarship fund for NCMC students. Auctioneer Mike Witten announced that $2,920 was raised from the live auction alone.
