Alumni Spotlight: Marsha Rowley

Marsha Rowley (’10, university studies) is an area supervisor with SUU’s Facilities Management. She worked for 15 years in the Sharwan Smith Center supervising student cleaning crews and coordinating event set-up and take down. This past fall she moved to the Sherratt Library to oversee that student crew, as well as crews and coordinators in other campus buildings.

She recently realized her goal of completing her undergraduate degree. “I feel my degree was mostly for me,” she explains. “I loved the professors and the concern they showed me, a non-traditional student, and the help I received in areas where I struggled.”

Relationships formed and memories made at SUU are important to Marsha and have helped develop her into a better person. “I have enjoyed each and every phase of being part of the SUU community. The good, and the bad, have taught me that I am capable of much more than I imagined,” she states.
Who can forget the students? In her 15 years in the Sharwan Smith Center she worked with hundreds of students and student-sponsored events. “Each day I learned new principles of living and created new memories. The important thing is I loved the students and the lessons that came with each involvement.” Marsha is still amazed as she reflects on how “her” students juggled work, school and social pressures with grace and ease. Whether it was helping with the infamous Halloween Howl, student elections, or watching students spend countless hours cramming for finals, she remains in total awe.

Marsha’s work with students has extended beyond her role with Facilities Management. She served as the advisor to the crochet club, which made blankets for Primary Children’s Hospital, as well as the advisor to the paint ball club.

Graduation is a bitter-sweet time as she watches her students leave SUU. Of graduation Marsha says, “I feel satisfaction knowing that I had a small part in their college experience. I miss each one as they leave, but I am equally excited when I receive pictures and messages from them after graduation.”
What is her greatest accomplishment at SUU? Marsha says building relationships. No doubt that hundreds of former students would agree and would count Marsha as an important mentor and friend during their SUU experience.

Marsha lives in Parowan, UT, and has done for more than 50 years. She and her high school sweetheart Craig have eight children and 15 grandchildren.