New Campus Life Coordinator Has Connection to ECC

Carson Mowrey is no stranger to East Central College, and on Feb. 1, she began a new relationship at the institution.

Mowrey was recently was hired as the ECC Campus Life and Leadership Coordinator on the Union campus.

She graduated from Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO), Cape Girardeau, in December 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in small press publishing.

Prior to that, Mowrey earned an associate of arts with an emphasis in humanities from ECC in May 2019. Mowrey, who originally is from Salem, Mo., attended classes at the ECC Rolla site and she was the president of the Beta Omicron Phi chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society.

“ECC did so much for me, and when I attended SEMO, I loved talking to other students about two-year colleges,” Mowrey said. “ECC is so special to me because it has prepared me for my future in many different ways.”

She said two primary goals as the campus life and leadership coordinator are to strengthen communication between the Union campus and Rolla sites and build student engagement.

“A community college is just as valid of a college experiences as a four-year school,” Mowery said. “I want students to see how valuable the experience can be.

“I want to give ECC students the experience to feel that they belong to a community and be proud to say that they graduated from ECC,” she added.

According to Mowery, a great college experience also will increase student retention.

“When they know we are concerned with their wellbeing, they are more interested in coming back,” she commented.

Family Connection

Mowery’s father, Ray Mowery, is an economics adjunct instructor at ECC Rolla and her stepmother, Tracy Mowery, is a full-time instructor who teaches biology, anatomy, and other courses at ECC Rolla.

As a child, Mowery would come to the ECC campus for events in which her father or stepmother participated.

“ECC has always been a family thing for us,” she said.

Mowery further added that she has had a lot of great experiences at ECC, including a trip to London with ECC faculty members and students, and while she was employed as a Student Success Center specialist tutoring students in English, writing and speech.

“ECC has always been something in my life,” she said, “whether as a child of an employee, an employee or as a student myself.”

As Campus Life and Leadership Coordinator, Mowery also serves as the Student Government Association advisor.

Students who would like more information about activities at ECC, or student government can contact Mowery at 636-584-6583 or carson.mowery@eastcentral.edu, or stop by her office near Café Central in the Donald Shook Student Center