Why We Went to College and Built Our Careers in Joplin, MO
Joplin, MO, is full of opportunity; it boasts Missouri Southern State University (MSSU), careers in a range of industries and an affordable, high quality of life that avoids the hustle and bustle found in larger cities. Many students who attend MSSU are choosing to build or further their careers in Joplin, MO, including husband and wife Isaac and Randi Norman. Isaac is originally from Tulsa, OK, and Randi’s hometown is Urbana, MO. The Normans met in 2007 at MSSU, where he played football and majored in psychology and business, and she played basketball and majored in biology. Today, Isaac is a business relations manager at Commerce Bank and Randi is a physician assistant at Mercy Hospital Joplin. After graduation, they moved to Springfield, MO, but returned to Joplin in 2013. They have two sons, ages 9 and 4. Read on to learn about why they returned to Joplin, MO, to plant roots and build their careers.
What made you want to return to Joplin after living in another city?
Isaac: We were in Springfield while Randi was in graduate school, but we still traveled back to Joplin every Sunday for church. Shortly after Randi graduated PA school, the company that I worked for promoted me to the Joplin office. I call it divine intervention; others might call it fate, but we were led back to Joplin. That was in 2013, so we’ve reacclimated, built careers in Joplin, MO, and are building a family here. For me, it’s been important to have a good network. Having those ties to Joplin, having gone to college here and having those relationships definitely helped me grow my career.
Randi: I think our decision to come back to Joplin and our relationship always stands on our faith. I feel like God definitely plays a huge role in that. When we were at Missouri Southern, a lot of the community came to the games and helped build relationships with student athletes. You start to feel comfortable as an adult as you’re trying to start the life you always dreamed of. Joplin felt comfortable because you have those “linebackers” in the community that you hope to raise your children in someday. Joplin is a small-town community, so that’s definitely something that led us back.
How did your college experience prepare you for the careers you have in Joplin, MO, now?
Isaac: I would say my experience at Missouri Southern helped a lot to get to the role I’m in now. I think about my athletic experience there and learning to work as a team and take direction from different coaches who have different coaching styles. That’s helped me when I’ve worked for different companies and different management and leadership styles. We still see a lot of people professionally who we once had different relationships with, whether that was a friend, one of the “linebackers” who helped us out when we were in college or different faculty at Missouri Southern. It’s always helpful to be able to lean on those relationships that we’ve had for almost 20 years now. Overall, it was such a great experience.
Randi: Missouri Southern’s biology department is top notch. They really get you ready for graduate school or med school or veterinary school, whatever it is. They definitely helped pave the way, and it’s been a blessing to have some of my professors see me grow in my career. Some of them are not professors now; they’re deans. It’s a testament to them.
What do you love about living in Joplin?
Isaac: For me, I think it’s really cool to live in a city you feel you were raised in. I’m not from Joplin originally, but I was 18 when I moved here, and I’m 37 now, so I’ve spent nearly 20 years in a community where I feel like I grew a lot. I love that aspect. I also love the community feel. I’ve seen friends we went to college with become working professionals with families, and that’s really neat. Just being able to go to the campus where we once walked, showing our 9-year-old where we went to college and planting the seed that it’s an opportunity for him, too, I think is really important.
Randi: Joplin is growing and expanding – a lot of good things are happening. The community in Joplin is so great, even outside of Missouri Southern. I think people try to help one another. Having a tight-knit community is hard to find in a lot of places, so to have it in a city the size of Joplin is very nice.
Outside of careers, what’s next for you in the Joplin, MO, community?
Isaac: As far as community involvement, I’ve been able to reconnect with the MSSU alumni board. As a former student athlete, I’m now on the other side trying to support current and former student athletes. I intend to dive deeper into that. And, of course, just doing the best I can to raise two boys in this day and age, showing them how to love people well and how to communicate and respect others and work hard for what they want to go after. I don’t intend on moving; I’ll be here for the long haul.
Randi: The only thing I’d add is that both of us got some sort of scholarship, and now, I’m at a phase of life where I realize someone gave me money to have an opportunity. We’re trying to give back however we can to the community that gave us something really special.
This article is sponsored by Choose Joplin, which is actively supported by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Joplin.
