Transforming Families
Continue to main contentSoutheast is absolutely transformational.
Bruce Skinner ended up at Southeast Missouri State University by accident, but it's entirely shaped the rest of his life.
Skinner is the associate vice president for Student Life at Southeast. Thirty years ago, he followed a friend on a campus tour. Things fell into place after that visit.
With motivation and support from his own family, especially his grandfather, Skinner became a first-generation college student. He dove into campus activities and immersed himself in student life. During his time at Southeast, he met countless friends he's still close with today, including his wife of almost 30 years.
After graduating and moving to Kansas City, Skinner and his wife made the decision to come back to Southeast. He took a graduate assistant position and continued his education. That decision opened the door to numerous opportunities, keeping him on campus and eventually leading him to the career he has today.
Without that first visit to Southeast, nothing would have been the same in Skinner's life. Skinner is connected deeply with Southeast, still working daily with students and their college experiences. His education has given him opportunities to travel the world and do the things he enjoys, like scuba diving. He's exceptionally proud about his past with Southeast, and the path he took led him to his family and his future. These experiences transformed his life. For the better.
“ You know, I owe a great deal, a debt to my grandfather. He had a sixth grade education. He was the one that stressed to me education because it can't be taken away from you. You can lose all your money, you can lose family, you can lose all kinds of things, but your education is yours forever. And probably the single most important person in my life in terms of stressing education was the man that had the least education. To this day, he is buried with a Southeast lapel pin because he meant that much to me. ”
