MARTIN MOVES OUT JOETTA MARTIN RETIRES DORM MOM 18 YEARS AS AFTER WORDS Jessie Smith I I PHOTOS Abigail ooper After serving 18 years in the women's dorm Pattie Cobb Hall, Residence Life Coordinator Joetta Martin retired in spring 2018. Martin first started working at Harding in 1985 as a financial aid counselor, but she resigned to raise her two children. She returned as a dorm mom in fall 1998, and, after one year in a student aparunent complex, she moved to Pattie obb, where she stayed for 18 year . "I love the girls because I get to know them,' [artin aid. "I get to talk to them every night. They're my kids, my family." fartin knew that she ~ ould miss the resident the mo t. he loved getting to know them and watch them mature and grow. enior Emilie hannon and BrianneJohnson started as resident assistants (RAs) in Pattie Cobb during the fall semester of their ophomore year in 2015 and worked with Joetta for three years. "I'm really sad she' leaving, but I'm also super excited [for her]," hannon said. "She ju chas such a good attitude and a fun personality." Johnson viewed 1artin not only as a boss but as a mother figure. "I got really sick my freshman year," Johnson aid. "I didn't have a car, and I was in a really bad roommate ituation. My RA found out I was really sick, and she told Mrs. 1artin. fr . Martin came in and brought me juice and food and made sure I was taken care of, and then she took me to the pharmacy to pick up my prescriptions. After that, she would check up on me every week." Shannon and Johnson agreed that Pattie Cobb would not be the same without Martin as the dorm mom. "Wben I'm coming home to Pattie (Cobb], I'm coming home to Mrs. Cartin," Johnson said. Though she retired as a dorm mom, Joetta wanted to continue to stay do e to Harding. Her husband, teve Martin, worked on campus as the director of the George . Benson Auditorium technical services. Their children, alumnus Jacob and senior Brittany Martin, both attended Harding. ''You're supposed to learn from the older, wiser adult in your life, but I think I have learned so much in these years from the girls," fartin said. "I hope they've learned from me as I have from them." I Steve, Joetta arid Brittany Martin reflect on their 18 years spent in Pattie Cobb Hall, where Joetta was the residence life coordinator. She became a second mother for many of the women who lived in Pattie Cobb and ensured their well-being through countless caring acts.// Photo by Abigail Cooper 77 )> 0 C ~ Cf) -i )> 77 77
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