Joey Linn, registrar and associate vice president of student affairs, won the Diane Barnes Mentoring Excellence Award at the 2014 Kansas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Conference Sept. 24-26 in Lawrence.
The Diane Barnes Mentoring Excellence Award was established three years ago, and is named after Linn’s own mentor.
“Diane took me under her wing,” Linn said, “She was a mentor of mine.”
Diane Barnes died in 2009, and had an impact on many lives throughout her lifetime, including his own, according to Linn.
In 2000, Linn was president of KACRAO, with the help of Barnes, who held the presidency the year before. Linn followed Barnes’ footsteps through the “Three Year Plunge,” which consists of president elect, president, and then past president.
Linn associates his success with Barnes, and said that Barnes told him he would be president and, because of the motivation she gave him, he could not tell her no.
Individuals from around the state are nominated for the award, and a committee selects the winner. Because of the influence Barnes had on Linn, and how well-known that influence was, he was chosen to present the award in her memory the first year it was instated, as well as the years following.
“It was tough,” Linn said, remembering his close friend and how involved she was with KACRAO and with members from all over the state.
As with every year, Linn explained the background of the award before it was presented to the winner, talking about Barnes’ successes and the inspiration she had on so many lives. This year, after he finished his speech and was waiting to present the award to the new winner, Linn’s name was announced as the winner.
Linn graduated from FHSU in 1987 with a degree in Public Relations. He worked one year as an admissions recruiter at Newman University in Wichita. Then, in July of 1988, Linn was asked to come back to Fort Hays State University, where a brand new president, Edward Hammond, created a new position for him. Linn has been at FHSU ever since.
“I’ve always loved it here, so why leave?” Linn said.
Some advice Linn gives not only to students, but to everyone is to be active and get involved with professional development. His own involvement has led him to become a mentor to others, in a similar way that Barnes was to him.