Through more than three decades as an English instructor, Chris Cox has quite an array of special memories at Southwestern Community College.
However, none quite make his eyes light up so much as reflecting on one particular trip to the Business Office years ago.
“I’d lost a travel check for something like $11, and the business office kept calling me and telling me I had to come pick up a replacement check,” Cox recalled. “It just seemed like too much trouble to walk over there and do all that, but they wouldn’t stop calling. So I finally just walked over, and goodness … there she was …”
His voice trailed off recalling the moment he met the woman who would become his wife, Tammy Cox.
It’s among the cascade of stories Cox shares in “We Didn’t Miss A Thing” – his third collection of non-fiction essays, all written during his tenure at Southwestern. He’ll hold a reading and signing event from 3-5 p.m. on Oct. 15 on Southwestern’s Jackson Campus – where he’s shared his passion with countless students over the past 34 years.
Through his witty, folksy and unique writing style, Cox even shares a few tales from the classroom – always being careful to change the name of students to protect their privacy – in his latest publication.
“I write the same type of essays as I ask my students to: They’re things I know about, things I care about,” Cox said. “SCC is so much a part of my heart. There is nowhere I can go on this campus that doesn’t have memories for me. I’ve had such a blessed and amazing career. I really never could believe that I got paid to do this – teaching others how to write.”
In an unrelated development, this will be his final semester as a full-time instructor. He was among soon-to-be-retirees honored at a reception recently on the Jackson Campus.
“It’s gratifying to realize how many people working here have had my classes, or who’ve got children who have taken my classes,” Cox said. “It means a lot to know they told their kids: ‘This is the guy you want for English; you’ll have a good experience.’ It’s also amazing to still be in touch with so many of my former students, some of them from the 1990s. That is pretty special.”
Cox’s previous books were “Waking Up In A Cornfield” (1999) and “The Way We Say Goodbye” (2014).
As much as Cox will miss Southwestern, college officials know it’ll be difficult to replace someone so ingrained in SCC’s culture and history.
“There’s no way to measure the impact that instructors like Chris Cox have on our students,” said Dr. Barbara Putman, Executive Vice President for Instruction & Student Services. “What a blessing it has been for our students to learn from such a gifted storyteller who has a tremendous passion for teaching, a rare talent for the written word and unselfish dedication to helping every single individual in his classes.”
