Ms. Evon, giver of hugs, drier of tears, Lions cheerleader
Great people, great children come through the doors of Saint Leo, said Ephonia
McCobb, or “Ms. Evon” as she’s known to the Saint Leo community. A housekeeper
in Facilities Management, McCobb takes care of the Marion Bowman
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Activities Center and its many student-athletes, coaches, and staff.
No one is a stranger to McCobb. Everyone is greeted with a hug and wished
well with a “have a blessed day.”
At the Marion Bowman Activities Center, where she began working in 2006,
McCobb does more than take care of housekeeping. She takes care of Saint Leo’s
student-athletes as if they were her own children. And she takes care of their families,
too, reassuring them that their children will be just fine at Saint Leo.
“There is one student, Mary, and her parents dropped her off in August,” Mc-
Cobb recalled. “They were in the hallway crying. Her daddy was crying harder than
her mama. I asked why. He said, ‘We’re dropping off my daughter.’ He said, ‘I just
dropped my son off to the Marines last month.’”
“I told them they had done a wonderful job!” she continued. “They got their
children to a good place. I asked if we could pray about it, and we did. And then I
told them to go get their date night back!”
She offers student-athletes advice on life, dries their tears, and gives them
hugs. “I am proud of all of them,” McCobb said. “I tell them that when they leave
Saint Leo, if they see someone who is going down the wrong path, they need to
take five minutes to talk to them about what they need to be doing, and then tell
them ‘have a blessed day.’ Perhaps you might touch someone.”
McCobb’s impact on the lives of student-athletes has not gone unnoticed.
“Ms. Evon is the epitome of our core value of community,” said Brad Jorgensen,
head men’s lacrosse coach. “Almost every young man I have recruited has been
greeted with a hug and a loud ‘welcome to the Saint Leo family!’ from Ms. Evon.”
Nancy Cheek, virtual communicator, career coach extraordinaire
For nearly four years, Nancy Cheek has worked to create a close-knit community
where no physical community exists. As associate director of Career
Services, she helps hundreds of students each year with their career needs—
no matter where they live—most times never meeting face to face.
“What I look forward to is when students tell me they are coming to graduation,”
Cheek said. “After having developed a relationship with them remotely,
it is so exciting to finally meet them in person.”
With a large portion of Saint Leo students attending school online or at
education centers across the United States, Cheek is passionate about ensuring
remote students feel supported in achieving their careers goals. While not
able to physically be with them, she uses email, photographs, social media,
video conferencing, phone calls, and online webinars to build relationships
across the Internet.
“Our goal is to make online students feel like they are part of a community
without ever coming into an office,” Cheek said.
Countless students have thanked Cheek for her support. She recalls the
story of a student who decided to attend Saint Leo after retiring from a 20-year
career in the military. He lived in a remote part of Florida and needed help
assessing career options.
“I just want to say thank you again for all the helpful guidance you gave
me,” wrote the student. “You said I did all the hard work, but I never really felt
like I was doing it alone.” After working together for some time, the student
Cheek helped was able to land a job with a government agency.
“I live for the days when I get an email or phone call that says, ‘Hey, I just
got a job offer,’” Cheek said. “That is why I do what I do.”
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