Preble, Numerous Others Call it a Career

Peggy Preble, an assistant professor of sociology, joined the ranks of Thomas Nelson retirees.

Chalk, a photo of her and an IBM Selectric typewriter, grades from 1982, and memories, lots of memories. Those are among the items sociology professor Peggy Preble found as she was cleaning out her desk and office following a college teaching career that spanned 42 ½ years, the last 38 at Thomas Nelson.

"It was really hard to let go," she said. "I loved every minute of it."

Preble retired after the fall semester, one of more than a dozen faculty, administrators and staffers who retired from the College between April 2019 and March 2020. At more than four decades as a state educator, she was the longest-tenured instructor on the list. Sandra Dashiell, an assistant professor of mathematics, was the second-longest at 41 years. Three more employees - Steve Bass (Trades Technician), Mary Howard (Associated Professor of Nursing) and Hattie Turner (Law Enforcement Officer) - each had more than three decades of service.

Unlike many lifelong educators, Preble wasn't one who grew up with the goal of becoming a teacher. Luck and timing put her that path.

She was a teaching assistant in graduate school at Virginia Tech when she faced a question: What do you do with a graduate degree in sociology?

"I really did enjoy it, even though you did all the grunt work in those massive, 100-plus student classrooms," she said of that first teaching experience.

As graduation time neared, a former Virginia Tech colleague who was at Old Dominion mentioned that school was hiring.

"I said great. So that's how it began," she said of her teaching career. "And I had a knack for it. It's not to say I always said, 'I want to be a teacher.' It was just like what do I do with this sociology stuff. I love it. It was just perfect timing. I've never looked back."

That was in 1977. Five years later she joined Thomas Nelson's faculty and never left, although she said she did have opportunities.

"I enjoyed my colleagues. I just enjoyed Thomas Nelson, and its mission. It was all about the students. I just love that student orientation," she said.

She said her father was a proponent of community colleges, and she attended Northern Virginia Community College before going to Blacksburg. She knows the value of community colleges.

"I thought I got a good education, transferred, never lost a credit, never had a problem," she said.

Preble said it was like coming full circle that she ended up at Thomas Nelson. She will miss her students and colleagues the most.

"I enjoyed interacting. I enjoyed the teaching," she said, adding she really enjoyed it when students came to her years after they graduated to give her updates. "It's very rewarding."

What she won't miss after 38 years at Thomas Nelson is the commute from her home in Virginia Beach, especially going through the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.

"I think I've been through that tunnel since I retired once," she said.

The biggest changes she saw in her career were related to technology, which she said for an old-school dinosaur like herself, was sometimes a challenge.

"It's all for the better, of course," she said. "It's hard for us to constantly keep up and retool and retrain. I had a fit when they went from Blackboard to Canvas."

She will have no problem staying busy in retirement. Her husband retired a few years ago and they plan to do a lot of traveling. They have one son, who lives in Northern Virginia and is engaged so there will be a lot of trips there. She's buying a horse (she's been riding since she was 5 or 6), and plans to spend time in her yard, just relaxing. She and her husband also are active in their church.

"The busy list is super long," she said.

She said she even might return to teaching in the fall with some online classes. If not, that's okay with her.

"I had a great career. I have no regrets," she said.

This year's other retirees: Jo Ann Barbour (Education Support Specialist, 13 years), Ron Berkheimer (trainer and instructor, 20 years), Dr. John T. Dever (President, 44 years), Lisa Draper (associate professor nursing, 26 years), James Holmes (Printing Technician, 15 years), Debra Hudgins (Information Technology, 19 years), Clarence Hundley (English professor, 25 years), and Darlene Putnam (Associate Professor/Administrative Support Technology, 25 years).