People with Purpose: Kim Coy

After 40 years in the Kansas State University Department of Physics, Kim Coy knows that the moments people remember most are often the simplest: a warm welcome, a listening ear or someone who takes the time to help.

As the student program coordinator for the physics department, Coy helps connect students with scholarly and research opportunities while creating a welcoming community — finding her purpose in turning everyday interactions into lifelong connections.

Q: What drives you to support students?

Coy: What drives me is the belief that family is everything. Since I first walked through the doors of Cardwell Hall in 1985, the K-State physics department has been my family. I've cherished the lifelong connections I've made here, and my goal is to make sure every person who walks through our doors feels that same sense of belonging. For me, supporting our students doesn't end at graduation; I try to build relationships that last a lifetime. I stay in touch through simple, personal gestures — like reaching out on birthdays and holidays — because truly I care about them as individuals and want to know how they are doing. When students feel they are valued, I hope they want to stay connected to me, our department and K-State long after they leave.

 

Q: How does your work fit into the larger strategic plan of the university?

Coy: I believe my work aligns well with K-State's strategic plan because the values it emphasizes are the same ones that have guided me throughout my career. I strive to build trust and meaningful relationships with everyone I meet, and I work to support students by listening, adapting and advocating for their needs. Above all, I want everyone at K-State to feel welcomed.

One example that stands out happened last summer while out on my noontime walk when I noticed a family that looked a little lost on campus. After 40 years at K-State, you learn to recognize that look. Rather than simply pointing them in the right direction, I walked them to their destination, shared what makes K-State special and encouraged the prospective student to connect with our department. To me, that's what living K-State's values looks like — taking the time to make people feel welcome, helping them feel connected and representing the university in a positive way, whether it's part of my job description or not.

Q: If you had to highlight one time you felt most successful in your role, what would it be? Why?

Coy: I felt particularly successful during a recent full-circle moment this past spring, when we hosted an outreach event for high school students in conjunction with a visit from Eric Cornell, a 2001 Nobel Prize winner. That morning, a mother and her son arrived who weren't on my attendee list, and it turned out that one of our department alumni, now a high school physics teacher in Topeka, had sent them to us. While chatting with the mother, she remembered me helping them during their campus visit the previous summer.

Because my day-to-day role focuses on our graduate and summer undergraduate research programs, stepping in to help when prospective students visit isn't typically part of my responsibilities, so it was rewarding to learn that our brief interaction had stayed with her. The student is joining us as a physics major this fall. Knowing that an alumnus I had worked closely with trusted us with one of his students, that the family felt welcomed during an important decision point and that this connection later led to a newsletter feature highlighting our alumnus' continued love for our department was especially meaningful. It reminded me that even when we step outside our usual responsibilities, the care and dedication we invest in our community can have a lasting, positive impact.

 

Q: What is your favorite way to serve your profession and community? Why?

Coy: I see service as removing barriers so others can be successful. That can mean answering a question, connecting someone with the right resource, advocating for a student or simply taking the time to listen. I don't think service is always found in big projects; it's often the everyday interactions that make people feel welcomed, supported and valued. If I've helped make K-State a place where students, colleagues and visitors feel they belong, then I feel I've served the community well.

Q: What do you hope your K-State legacy will be?

Coy: I hope my K-State legacy will be that I have strived to do my job to the best of my ability. More than anything, I hope I am remembered for helping students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors feel welcomed and valued at K-State and for consistently advocating for our students. They are the reason we are all here, and if I have played even a small part in making their experience better or helping them find a place where they can succeed, then I will consider my time at K-State a success.­