Petersen retirng after 45 years at CCCC
LINDA PETERSEN
On Friday, March 29, 2019, Linda Petersen is retiring after 45 years of service to Cloud County Community College.
"It's time," Petersen said, "but it's also hard. I'm really going to miss all the friends I've made here, and of course the students. Working with the students for so many years and watching them grow and succeed has been very rewarding."
Petersen is currently the Registrar at CCCC, which is a long way from the first job she had when the college hired her in February, 1974.
"I was the switchboard operator," Petersen said with a laugh. "It was like you see in the old movies. I had those cords that you would plug into a slot on the switchboard!"
Petersen soon moved into Student Records, and has remained in that administrative area her entire career.
"For awhile I was a secretary in the records office and Jean Leon was my supervisor. Then I was secretary to the Director of Admissions, Wally Carlson. It just all kind of evolved over the years."
Petersen has seen a lot of changes at the college in nearly a half-century of employment. Technology has been the most dramatic difference.
"When I started here we did everything with typewriters. Even the student transcripts. We'd have 400-500 students here, and all their records had to be typed on card stock. Our first computers were those key-punch machines. It's just amazing what we're able to do now."
For Petersen, it's always been all about the people - especially the students - and she counts them as the biggest evolvement at the college over the years.
"It's really remarkable the number of international students that come to the college now. It's been wonderful to get to know all of them over the years."
The students, and the friendships, are what Petersen will miss the most.
"The friendships I've made, the relationships that developed - those things stay with you the rest of your life. There are still students who stay in contact with us, and it's always exciting to see what they've accomplished and all the things they've achieved in their lives. Sometimes we'll get a letter from a student who tells us of the positive influence the college had on them, or how we helped make a difference in their life. Something like that really fills you with pride."
But there are some things Petersen won't miss once she retires.
"The drive!" she said with another laugh. "Especially when the roads are bad. I live by the Jamestown Game Preserve, so there were many days when that became a really long haul."
Petersen also won't miss the mindboggling rules and regulations that come with operating an institute of higher education in the modern era.
"There is so much government oversight now," she said, "and of course much of it is necessary. But some of it does go overboard, and the rules and regulations are always changing. You need to make sure you don't miss anything, and sometimes the paperwork involved is overwhelming."
Petersen will turn 65 soon after she retires, and is looking forward to some relaxing time mixed with a little travel.
"I have four granddaughters, so I want to spend as much time as I can with them. Maybe some longer trips, too - maybe even a cruise. But right now I'm just looking forward to renewing some old friendships and simple things like getting together for morning coffee or lunch."
Petersen is not only proud of what the college has done for so many students, and the town, but she is also humbled by what it has meant to her on a personal level.
"I really appreciate the opportunity to have been a part of CCCC for so long, and in some ways it helped me become the person I am today. Through the years it has helped me grow, and it's been a big influence in my life."
Cloud County Community College will always have a special place in Linda Petersen's heart. There are hundreds - if not thousands - of former students and faculty and staff who feel the same way about her.