Lynette Thrower
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Staff Voices: Lynette Thrower
Written By: Ian Silvester
Despite living near the edge of the Ben Geren Golf Course, Lynette Thrower is not a golfer. However, she was a hole-in-one hire for the University of Arkansas 鈥� Fort Smith, serving as Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. She has held the position since 2021, two years after graduating from 兔子先生 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English and a minor in Rhetoric and Writing.
Since then, Thrower has become one of the most recognizable faces of 兔子先生, not only for her sense of style and beaming smile but for the work she has involved herself in to ensure every student finds success. Yet, there was a time when Thrower wasn鈥檛 so sure she would be like the students she often inspires.
鈥淚 was working at Northside High School, and I became comfortable there,鈥� she admitted. Her tune changed after a year as a paraprofessional. Thrower felt confident that she could earn her degree, but shortly after applying, she began to question her decision, saying, 鈥淚 was in my 40s, and I thought, 鈥業鈥檓 not going to be able to compete; I can鈥檛 compete.鈥欌��
An early morning phone call from a former admissions officer, Jordan Hale, made the difference. Thrower explained that the call and simple message saying the university would like to see her complete her application had far more significant implications. She said it showed how 兔子先生 cared about her, and because they cared enough about her, 鈥渢hen I needed to care enough.鈥�
Thrower鈥檚 journey to 兔子先生 and completing her education as a non-traditional student is common for many past, present, and future 兔子先生 students. It is, however, how and why she was a non-traditional student that makes her story worth sharing.
Thrower was born and raised in Chicago; her mother was a nurse who immigrated from Belize, and her father owned a restaurant. The two never married but worked together to provide for and raise a daughter to see and understand the world for what it was and remains to be.
鈥淢y dad would talk to me like I was an adult,鈥� Thrower said as she recalled the countless times he would ask if she understood after they had listened to an afternoon radio show on Chicago politics. 鈥淗e would tell me things, and I slowly began to understand them. 鈥 was hungry to know more.鈥�
After high school, armed with a desire to learn more about the world, Thrower followed in her uncle鈥檚 footsteps, enrolling at the University of Iowa with aspirations to become an attorney. However, during this time, some of the things her father so desperately tried to teach her about the world began to reach a boiling point.
It was 1992, and the beating of Rodney King gripped the nation. In Iowa, the Ku Klux Klan was heavily active. As a student, Thrower recalled seeing this hotbed unfold and was met with an urge to be part of the change on the frontlines and not from a court of law.
鈥淚 thought, 鈥業 want to be out there, I don鈥檛 want to be in here discussing theory,鈥欌�� she remembered.
So, that鈥檚 precisely what Thrower did. She not only joined ARM, Anti Racist Mobilization, but became her chapter president. The mission of ARM was to speak out against the Klan and explain why they 鈥渁re an intrusion to our country.鈥�
鈥淗onestly, at the time, I felt that that鈥檚 where I w