Carrick-Lee
Life experiences have helped shape Don and Stacy Carrick’s interests in education, and so has their strong connection to Northwest. Because of those experiences, the couple has established a scholarship to assist future students who are interested in furthering their education at Northwest.
The Carrick-Lee Scholarship provides assistance to Northwest students who are considered “caught in the middle.” Recipients must be enrolled full-time and will be chosen based on Northwest admissions and financial assistance policies and standards, with academic achievement and financial need as leading criteria. It is named in honor of the Carricks as well as Stacy’s mother, Joyce Lee, and in memory of her father, Wayne Lee.
Stacy, a 1988 Northwest graduate, earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting while minoring in computer science. Her husband, Don, was employed by Energizer Battery and transferred to its Maryville plant from Cleveland in 1974. While Don did not attend Northwest, he, too, feels a strong connection to the University, and both of his children, Don and Kim, are Northwest graduates.
Stacy’s parents impressed upon her the importance of education while she was in her youth. While the Lee family lived in Maryville, Stacy’s mother began pursuing her elementary education degree at Northwest. Later, the family moved to Bethany, and Stacy watched her mother commute to Northwest to finish her degree. Stacy’s father enlisted in the military and was unable to attend college but encouraged her to earn a college degree. He instilled the importance of a dedicated work ethic, which Stacy saw him model as vice president of operations for the P.M. Place Company.
As a student at Northwest, Stacy was involved in Cardinal Key and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She also worked in the president’s office, was an Alpha Kappa Lambda “little sis” and volunteered to assist individuals with their income taxes through the University VITA program. She worked with former Northwest administrator Dr. Bob Bush, and she was the student selected to give then-Governor John Ashcroft a demonstration of Northwest’s computer network when the University switched on the Electronic Campus in 1987.
After graduating from Northwest, Stacy accepted her first job at KPMG Peat Marwick in Florida. She later served in a variety of capacities for Heartland Health in St. Joseph before returning to Northwest in 2010 to become the University’s vice president of finance.
Based on their own experiences, the Carricks established the Carrick-Lee Scholarship with “caught-in-the-middle” students in mind.
Scholarships associated with Carrick-Lee