Kathy Hughes has always told her students that all kind remarks are appreciated. This Friday, when she speaks before an audience of many, she will probably feel that appreciation very much.
But truth be told, she's been feeling that for a while.
Take the comments she has recently received from the students who used her courses in sociology at Henderson Community College to build lives all over the United States.
They had heard she would be speaking at the college's Commencement on Friday as a final bow to her 31-year career there and wanted to pass on words of thanks before she left.
Those were the same reasons a man who now works at St. Mary's Hospital in Evansville pointed out that he still remembers his first day sitting in Hughes' classroom, even though that was years ago.
That's how a good-bye isn't really a good-bye for the woman who came to Henderson when she was a mere 24 years old from Jenkins, Ky., in the eastern portion of the commonwealth near Hazard.
Fresh out of graduate school in sociology at Morehead State University, she needed a job, and the campus here -- it encompassed only three main buildings in 1977-- invited her to accept a teaching position.
She took the job. And in the 31 years that Hughes made her way to and from the college on the hill, culling news reports for her sociology curricula and forming connections with students, Hughes learned some things herself.
"I would say this, too: The community itself is a warm and caring community ... very generous."
In her time here, Hughes said she has noticed fewer non-traditional students and more students who are fresh out of high school. She chalked that up to the faltering economy and the fact that the community college is a good deal financially.
"We are more student centered at the community college as opposed to large universities," Hughes said.
She added that teaching sociology has become even easier throughout the years, partly because of what happens in the daily news. She said she sees a relationship between most news stories to some aspect of sociology -- regardless of whether it's a natural event or something that is man made.
"Especially in areas like ... criminology," Hughes added, "Just like the presidential election. Everything is sociology."
Meanwhile, those same students who listened to Hughes lead discussions on the latest news reports and what they signified for certain segments of society also used their ears to hear other things, too.
If they listened carefully, they might have heard a bit of bluegrass, folk and country music coming out of the hands and mouth of the lady whose talents extend beyond the classroom. For instance, Hughes finds herself greatly involved in playing guitar and singing with her band the Five Hughes' and a Half.
The Half is her nephew with a different last name. Hughes expects to use another of her nephews, manager Adam Hughes, to help the band travel to play "some gigs different places. We are just in it for fun, anyway."
But Hughes may also use her skills in social work to volunteer in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. She received a bachelor's degree in social work at Morehead State University.
Those, at least, are her current plans for retirement. She expects to remain in Henderson for at least another year.
But it's likely that her former students will still run into her at the grocery store or out shopping, where they might have one more chance to share their own views of the world with a woman who made personal stories a part of her classroom.
"They (former students) say they remember the personal life experiences that they learned in my class," Hughes said regarding topics such as child rearing, relationships, the workplace and general issues about living and dying. "It's a great compliment ... (but) I just think I'm doing my job."
