Two weeks ago I told Jim Hayes, the head of staff here at MCL, that I wanted to write a “Top 5 Bands of the 70s”. That means he’ll probably be very surprised when he reads this and discovers that that’s not what I wanted to write about at all. Instead, I’d like to use this as a chance to write him a thank you note.
I first met Jim during the Media Intensive program back in August. He was one of the first people to welcome me and my peers to campus and was definitely the first to calm our nerves regarding college. Right from the beginning, he made MCL a home. He made it a place that we could always come back to at any point during the year and created an environment that he promised would always be there for us. He asked only two things of us: the first being that we get our assignments in by Tuesday at noon, and the second being that we never call him “Mr. Hayes”. Apparently that’s his dad’s name or something. During Media Intensive’s opening group meeting, he presented himself as a resource for us – someone whose time and advice would go beyond the realm of student media. I was amazed at his genial personality, all-encompassing knowledge of the student body, and the range of snacks which he supplied us with throughout the year. I have always remained in awe of his professionalism and efficiency. In every staff meeting that I attended, Jim was invariably respectful of our time and schedules, running through our assignments with ease and order. He consistently showcased a type of class that I one day hope to achieve in my own career. The best part is, though, that after Jim’s nearly 20 years in service of Vanderbilt student media, I know I’m not the only one who’s gotten the privilege of getting to work in his orbit.
In all honesty, he and I had (maybe) 4 or 5 actual conversations this semester. Because of my schedule, MCL’s weekly staff assignment meetings were unfortunately hard to make, and, as a result, our interactions were few and far between. Despite this, his influence still reverberated in my so-called “creative process”. He was never judgemental of what I chose to write about, even though I picked some pretty peculiar subjects to touch on. I saw this as a pure form of encouragement, as validation that whatever I was doing was something not entirely as deranged as I thought. It is largely for his acceptance that I will remain forever grateful to Jim– as a mentor, leader, and friend.
I’d like to conclude with this: Jim Hayes is exceptional in every sense of the word. He is every bit the superlative which I describe in this article, and is one of the most authentic people you could possibly have the pleasure of meeting. Week in and week out he inspired, motivated, and held MCL together through the chaos of each of the staff members’ schedules. I feel that he truly understands the importance of creative freedom, and allowed us all a space to find and cultivate our individual voices . I know that at least personally, his ability to foster each of our unique domains of originality has been admirable. He turned something that I used to run from – writing – into one of the highlights of my freshman year.
Thank you Jim.