The Wyatt family was honored as Northwest's 2021 Family of the Year. Left to right in the front row are Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski; Mitzi Marchant, the vice president of university advancement and executive director of the Northwest Foundation; Mirissa Corbin; Joslin Wyatt; Alpha House; Erica Wyatt, Paula Rector Davis; and Student Senate President Bailey Hendrickson. Left to right in the back row are Calvin Davis, Vincent Wyatt, Marcellus Corbin and Northwest Director of Campus Dining Spencer Martin. Zerryn Gines and Briona Monroe are not pictured. (Photo by Todd Weddle/Northwest Missouri State University)

The Wyatt family, of Independence, Missouri, is Northwest Missouri State University’s 2021 Family of the Year, a recognition bestowed each fall during the University’s Family Weekend festivities.

Sponsored by Campus Dining, the Family of the Year recognition comes with a $750 scholarship and other prizes. The family was introduced Saturday during halftime of the Family Weekend football game.

The family includes Joslin Wyatt, a senior majoring in digital media with a content strategy emphasis. Wyatt, the daughter of Vincent and Erica Wyatt, has been active on the Northwest campus through her involvement with Summer Orientation Advisement and Registration (SOAR), the Homecoming parade, Tower yearbook, The Northwest Missourian, AdInk, Student Activities Council and Campus Recreation. She is employed on campus with Campus Recreation as a front desk attendant supervisor.

Off campus, Wyatt participates in activities sponsored by the Black Alumni and Friends Chapter and the Northwest Alumni Association.

“My favorite part about Northwest is the teachers are hands-on, and they helped me get opportunities,” said Wyatt, who plans to seek a career in advertising after completing her degree at Northwest. “I’m just happy that I have a support system here.”

Wyatt’s cousins are Northwest attendees Zerryn Gines, Michelle Williams Gines, Corey Graham and Briona Monroe and 1991 Northwest alumna Paula Rector Davis.

Gines was active with Student Senate, residential life, the Northwest Financial Markets Organization, the National Association of Black Accountants, and as a student member of the Black Alumni and Friends Chapter.

Monroe was active with residential life, the Black Student Union and as a student member of the Black Alumni and Friends Chapter.

Rector Davis has served as a member of the Northwest Alumni Association Board of Directors and Northwest Foundation Board of Directors. As a Northwest student, she was active with Harambee and the Alliance of Black Collegians, Geography Club, Psychology Club and the Homecoming parade. She also was a Bearcat track and field athlete, serving as a co-captain, and participated in campus recreation activities.

Rector Davis said the family atmosphere at Northwest and the opportunities provided by the University are important reasons the family stays connected.

“We’ve always been close and this is really cool for (Joslin) to be recognized for her hard work, too,” Rector Davis said. “I’m grateful that I have family members that actually want to come and support Northwest and be a Bearcat. This is our first step, as in many, to continue our support of Northwest, continue our green drive and try to recruit others to come and attend our school.”

Each year, Northwest recognizes a family who best represents the “Bearcat family” and demonstrates a strong commitment to Northwest. The Family of the Year is selected from submitted applications and announced during Family Weekend activities at the University. Recipients shall maintain a 3.00 GPA, be involved in at least one student organization at Northwest and a second organization through the student’s community, and demonstrate family legacy through generations of involvement with Northwest.

For more information about the Family of the Year award and to nominate a family for future consideration, click here.