“I’m always ready to listen, and I really think that that has made a big difference in my time here,” said Joyce Trent.
Familiar to many students and faculty on campus because of her “open door policy,” Trent is a known as a figure of hard work and loyalty to the campus and to the students, therein.
Joyce has been with Longwood since 1970 and has worked as secretary for the Psychology department since 1996. Trent worked as the advisor to Kappa Delta sorority for 20 years.
Trent is as active in the community as she is on campus. She is active in the Ladies Auxiliary of the Rice Volunteer Fire Department. Trent is active in Pisgah Baptist Church in Rice, Va., participating with co-teaching a Sunday school class and singing in the choir. She also participates in Relay for Life in her hometown of Victoria in memory of her mom and dad.
Having volunteered over the years with various organizations, Trent said, “I’m one of these people that I don’t like to just go home and sit and do nothing.”
She is married, has a son and a 3-year-old grandson who she describes as “the light of my life.”
Before working at Longwood, Trent worked in Richmond, Va. as secretary for the executive vice president of the Bottle Glass Corporation of Virginia for seven years. Describing her position there as her “dream job,” Trent stated that she had aspired to work as a secretary for a top executive in a company since she was young.
Trent eventually moved to Farmville after meeting her husband. Describing Longwood University as “the most appealing place,” she commented that she had friends who had worked here, which further drove her to want to work for the campus.
Discussing what she believes makes a good secretary for Longwood University, Trent said, “What makes a good secretary is someone [who enjoys] dealing with students. Someone that’s friendly to the students, someone that’s easy to talk to.”
Open with Longwood students, Trent further commented that the people enhance her life as well as her job. “They keep me young. They keep my mind set,” she said.
With over 40 years of experience at Longwood University, Trent remembers what it was like for the campus when it first became co-ed.
“Lots of people thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be the worst thing ever,’” she said. “I loved it.”
At the time, Trent worked for the Academic & Career Advising Center when it was called the Placement Office and was located on the second floor of South Ruffner Hall. When the college first became co-ed, the male students were placed on the third floor of Ruffner Hall.
“They were so nice and so cooperative,” said Trent, who further stated, “It was just a really good experience, and I think they have definitely been an asset to Longwood.”
Describing the most major change to the campus she has seen, Trent spoke on the construction of Brock Commons as well as various buildings renovated or torn down. While she noted that the transformation of what once was Pine Street to what is now Brock Commons caused transportation around campus to become more difficult, she said, “I think the campus has grown more beautiful with each change.”
For the future of Longwood, Trent predicts the ratio of on-campus to off-campus students to change dramatically, while describing the campus as “land-locked.”
For her own future at Longwood, Trent said, “I keep saying I’m going to retire, but I don’t think I would do without the interruptions. I thrive with the students.”
“I’ve always felt that if it were not for the students that Longwood wouldn’t need us. You all are our bosses,” she said.
