Three keys retire from West Hills College Lemoore counseling

By Jim Marvin

 

The farewell party at Jasper’s Saloon on May 19 drew about 75 well-wishers to say goodbye professionally to Joyce Smyers, Julie Allvin and Cheryl Stivers – leaving with a total of 34 years of West Hills College Lemoore counseling experience. But many of the fans of the three who enjoyed the camaraderie of the event talked of  the trio’s unannounced plans to remain West Hills College Lemoore boosters. There was even talk about the three spearheading a volunteer movement to promote the college.Amid finger foods, hugs and well-wishes, the friends of the three talked about the changes made during their tenure at the college – and in the case of Stivers – on the base.

Here are comments made by the three:

Joyce Smyers
This week’s retirement, complete with hugs and lots of tears, marked the second retirement for Joyce Smyers, who was director of Disabled Students Programs and Services for West Hills College Lemoore for 8 ½ years.

The retiree who has lived in Kings County since 1962, first retired from Kings County Human Services in 1994 after 32 years with the department. “That’s where I learned how to manage,” she said. And that management experience is what set her up for a successful run for WHCL.

The youthful acting expert in caring and delivering services to students with disabilities says she and her husband plan to “travel, but with no agenda.” But with three grandchildren here to spoil, Smyers may not be too hard to locate.

“My work at West Hills has been to give students with disabilities a chance to compete in the main stream,” she said following The Follies, a year-end event for WHCL employees, on May 26. “I like being behind the scenes – to build the program and encourage students. We have the resources at West Hills to allow students with disabilities to succeed.”

Smyers and her husband, RD, a retired police captain, have two adult children, Kevin, a correctional officer at Pleasant Valley and Eric, the principal at Lemoore’s Liberty Middle School.Smyers graduated from COS and has both a BA and master’s degree in counseling from Fresno State University.

One of Joyce Smyers’ coworkers, and herself a retiree at the end of May, Julie Allvin, credits Smyers with the ability to gather material and expertise. “She’s the heart and soul of the department. She’s great. Almost everything we have she helped to get.”

Julie Allvin
She calls them “my people,” and peers in the counseling department, call her charges “Julie’s Kids,” but no matter what students, faculty and staff call them, Julie Allvin has worked with students with disabilities for 11 ½ years at West Hills College Lemoore.

“My job helps me keep life in perspective,” Allvin said as she closed her office in the administration building on the Lemoore campus for one of the last times. She retired at the end of May after working with students for 30 ½ years. “It’s time,” she said, “it’s been a great run, but it’s time.”

Allvin counts 19 of those years in elementary school teaching, she said. Her posts during that time included Lemoore, Hanford, Armona and Laton. Would she like to return to the classroom now that her run at West Hills is almost over?

“No,” she said, “there have been too many changes in elementary school teaching. The breakup of the (student’s) family makes the job harder than ever.

Allvin, who moved to the new WHC Lemoore campus when it opened four years ago, said she was proud of the new campus and programs. “Change is always difficult,” she said with a smile, “but almost all the changes here are for the better. At the old campus (at 19th and Cinnamon Drive) students had to sit at high school desks, you know, the ones with the arms. Not so any more.  We have great equipment for the college.”

“I’m going to miss my kids,” she said of her job as a counselor in DSPS and as a testing specialist.

Cheryl Stivers
As Cheryl Stivers looks forward to retirement after a decade as an advising specialist for West Hills College onboard Naval Air Station Lemoore what are her big plans? Biking across the United States? Learning to speak Swedish?

“No big plans,” she smiled. “I’ll be on my own schedule on how to spend my time.”

After a full career even before she joined the WHCL staff -- on the base – the busy lady has earned her free time. As the 30-year Navy wife of Capt. Jeff Stivers (Ret.) who finished his career as commanding officer at NASL, she’s packed and unpacked a number of times.

“But I was lucky,” she said, “I’ve lived in Lemoore since 1984 and raised our children here while Jeff was off on other duty. We have two children, Rusty, 37, who’s a law enforcement officer, and Wendi, 28, who’s in the restaurant business. And we have our one-year old granddaughter Emmerson Grace.”

Stivers, of course, plans to spend time with the grandchild – “she’s our only one and may be the only one for quite awhile.”

Before joining the West Hills staff, Stivers was a temporary worker for COS in the Hanford Center. And she worked in counseling at Hanford West for a time.

But retirement is not all roses, “I’ll miss the camaraderie of West Hills – the friendship of the staff. We have a different team on the base because of the way our students – mostly sailors – come and go. We all work at making a difference in our student’s lives.”

Stivers noted the recent changes in enrollment on the base by explaining how many sailors choose to go online for their classes and attend the West Hills College Lemoore. “Many of our students live off the base and when they leave after their duties, they go to class at WHCL. They don’t want to come back out here.”

She also noted the change made by students taking classes online. “They can take their classes in their own time. Some work different shifts and it’s very hard for them to get to class.

“But I going to miss them and I’ll miss my co-workers,” Stivers said. “But maybe they’ll let me visit sometimes.
             

Jim Marvin, marketing
West Hills Community College District
9900 Cody
Coalinga, CA 93210
559.934.2130