CWU executive assistant found her calling in higher education

Central Washington University attracts a broad range of people to our campus, from all corners of the world. Some come for an education and others for a career — often both.

For many, the university has been a constant, essential part of the identity of Ellensburg and the Kittitas Valley that infuses daily life with the vitality of a constantly evolving population of students and employees.

Executive Assistant to the President Kim Dawson falls into the latter camp, having grown up in Kittitas and Ellensburg and spending three decades working at CWU.

“I love Central,” said Dawson, who also serves as the secretary to the Board of Trustees. “I’ve been here so long, both at the school and in the community, so it was always a second home to me. The thing I love most about it is all the connections, the friends I’ve made working here who I still talk to 20 years later. All of our current trustees are alumni, too, which hasn’t always been the case, and just goes to show how important this place is to the people whose lives it has touched.”

Dawson’s family has deep roots in Ellensburg, with her maternal grandfather serving as mayor of the town while she was in high school in the ‘80s. Being so familiar with the campus, and having received a scholarship through Ruth Harrington’s scholarship luncheon program, Dawson’s choice of where to go to college was an easy one, and she enrolled at CWU.

“I started out thinking I was going to go into nutrition, health education, or something along those lines,” she said. “Then I got a job working with the campus police, and I discovered that I liked that kind of work: helping people get organized, setting up meetings, and just doing all that organizational type stuff.”

This newfound passion for administrative work led Dawson to join the CWU Office of the Registrar in 1991 before shifting to the Office of Admissions for the next six years. In 1998, a position opened up in the President’s Office, setting the stage for a rewarding career that continues to this day.

“When I moved over to the President’s Office, I knew that this was where my career was going to take place,” Dawson said. “That feeling of learning how a university is really run, and helping to make it happen, just fascinated me.”

Dawson has now worked under four different CWU presidents (Ivory Nelson, Jerilyn McIntyre, Jim Gaudino, and Jim Wohlpart), gaining experience and insight from each of them along the way. While all four presidents had their own leadership styles, Dawson explained that they have all been united in their dedication to serving students first.

“Every single president I’ve worked with, even though they’ve had different approaches to the job, has always been student-centered,” she said. “Beyond a doubt, they have always tried to do what was best for Central, and I feel I’ve learned a lot from them all.”

As she has watched the university evolve with the times, Dawson has noted a trend toward creating unity with the surrounding community.

“It seems like there was always a sort of rift between CWU and Ellensburg back in the day,” she said. “Since then, especially in the last five or six years, it feels as though we’re trying harder to be more involved with our community.”

Outside of work, Dawson still makes time to stay involved with the community that raised her, even if it’s just to stroll through downtown so she can take in the lively atmosphere.

“When I was a kid growing up, the downtown area would just come alive for holiday shopping, with lights and music playing outside,” she said. “It just seemed like one of those towns from a Hallmark movie. I always tell new people to make sure to spend some time downtown getting to know the place, because it is always worth it.”

Through it all, like the presidents she has worked with, Dawson hasn’t lost sight of the fact that everything that happens at CWU is ultimately in service of the student population who come here looking for an opportunity to create their future.

“People really do care here,” she said. “Students are why every one of us comes to work in the morning. I think it’s important that everyone who comes to campus knows that all of the faculty and staff are here for them, and they can come to us with anything they might need help with. That’s why I’ve been here for 35 years now.”