MC assistant bursar’s dedication to students earns February DBT’s MVP Award
As an assistant bursar at Mississippi College, Angela Riggs plays a critical role in financial management and administrative support, overseeing student billing and payment processes, managing accounts and collecting tuition and fees, among other responsibilities.
She labors far from the limelight, but she treasures the opportunity to help students.
“Sometimes we get students that are in difficult situations,” Riggs said. “Sometimes they just need someone to care, to listen to their problems. Even if I can’t give them a good answer, I like to let them know that I hear them and I’m going to do everything in my power to help them.
“That’s not always what they want to hear, but it’s how you let them know that they’re valued.”
Two or three times a year, she receives small tokens of thanks from students – flowers, crosses or handwritten notes – that she displays in her office in Nelson Hall.
“I have parents tell me, ‘Please don’t go anywhere until my child graduates,’” she said. “I’m thinking, ‘Oh, I’ll be here.’ I’ll help new students, talk to their parents, see them graduate. I’ve also been able to talk to students about the Lord. That’s wonderful for me.”
Riggs received another gift of appreciation on Feb. 3 when Mississippi College President Blake Thompson surprised her with the highly coveted DBT’s MVP Award for February. The award recognizes staff members who go “above and beyond” for MC students, faculty and their fellow staff members.
As the monthly winner, she received a T-shirt, a parking spot of her choosing on campus for a month, a $50 gift card, a print of internationally celebrated artist Samuel M. Gore, and the right to display a bobblehead of Thompson on her desk.
Laura Jackson, MC chief financial officer and chief operating officer, and Karen Key, MC assistant controller in the Office of Business Affairs, nominated Riggs for the award. Key called her a “team player” who “believes that our students and families are most important here.”
“She puts them first in everything she does,” Key said. “She goes above and beyond to make sure they feel appreciated, respected and important. She has cried with parents and grandparents and she’s prayed with them and their students. She’s given students advice.
“She understands what it takes to get the job done.”
Riggs has worked at Mississippi College for more than 20 years. She initially came to the Clinton campus as an employee of food service company Sodexo, but a chance meeting with MC’s director of financial aid at a local ice cream restaurant altered her career path.
He persuaded her to join his office, then accounts payable recruited her and finally she landed as assistant bursar – all within two years. She’s served in her present position for more than 11 years while she and her husband, Calvin Riggs, raised their three sons, Brandon, Andrew and Lukas.
Riggs said receiving the president’s MVP award lets her know that she is appreciate and valued – the same message she likes to convey to incoming students at Mississippi College.
“To realize that others see you – even though you know you’re just one of many people that do great work at MC – and to be recognized is amazing,” she said. “I am grateful and thankful.”
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