By JASMINE BOWEN, For the Northwesten News
Northwestern’s theater students didn’t always do their homework.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a group of students in the Fine Arts Department kept an eye out for Professor Kimberly Weast, whom they knew would scold them, as she entered the building.
They unofficially called it “Weast Watch.”
“As they are all scrambling in the morning, trying to get their homework done before the professor would come up the stairs, they would hear her because she used to wear high heels,” said Mickey Jordan, who was a student at the time.
He’s now a faculty member in the theater program.
As Weast walked up the stairs in Vinson Hall, where the Fine Arts Department was then located, a student would go into the hallway to stall Weast and ask questions about her homework assignments. That gave other students time to finish their assignments. They’d form a ‘W’ with their hands – the signal that she had arrived.
That story lives on with some members of the Fine Arts Department. And for someone like Weast, a teacher and self-proclaimed storyteller, it’s the kind of tale that brings joy for years to come.
‘SHE DEFINITELY GOES THE DISTANCE’
By the age of 17, Weast knew she wanted to work with students.
“I’d always make my little brothers play school with me and that kind of stuff when we were little,” Weast said.
Weast has worked at Northwestern for 19 years and is the chair of the Fine Arts Department, and she’s been in education for 32 years. She spends countless hours working with every aspect of the department and is passionate about working with students, said Dr. Dena Walker, a Northwestern professor who often performs in musical productions.
“Weast puts her job, her faculty and her students above herself, and she definitely goes the distance for every single one of them,” Walker said.
HERE FOR A PURPOSE
Weast’s biggest inspiration is her faith, she said. She said she believes all people are supposed to make a positive difference in the world because God put everyone here for a reason.
Her humility is reflected in that, Walker said.
“She would never take credit for what is done for a play or an activity,” Walker said. “She always puts the credit back on the students and how much work they put into it.”
Weast said one of her goals is to help her students build character and become better students.
“I think what inspires me … is to see students grasp a concept and a new thought,” Weast said. ‘‘I love seeing the lightbulb go off and them go, ‘I get it,’ and apply it and move on. … It makes me want to work harder so I can see them be successful and follow their career choices.”
HER CALLING FINDS HER
Weast said her profession found her; she didn’t find it.
She obtained a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where she played varsity tennis and minored in theater.
She furthered her education in graduate school at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, where she achieved her master’s of arts in communications. Weast received her master of fine arts degree from Lindenwood University in Saint Charles, Missouri.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Weast has worked in the entertainment business, both on stage and off, for many years. Of all the characters she’s ever portrayed on stage, Weast said her favorite was the wicked witch from the “Wizard of Oz.” The most inspiring role she’s ever played was in “The Miracle Worker.”
“The character that I think challenged me and stuck with me … would be Annie Sullivan in ‘The Miracle Worker,’” Weast said. “She greatly impacted not only Helen Keller, but the world, and being someone who did teach a deaf and blind person how to communicate, it impacted me on a personal level.”
Weast was a substitute teacher while working on her first master’s degree.
She has also worked for large churches and organizations, and she was an artist-in-residence in charge of television broadcast and directing plays.
Before coming to Northwestern, Weast taught at Dallas Baptist University and Hannibal-LaGrange University. She also lived in Panama for two years while working as a camp director.
Weast once sang the National Anthem on national television at the NCAA National Swimming Contest in Fayetteville, Arkansas. On Feb. 24, she won the Arts, Music & Theatre Award during the Alva Chamber of Commerce’s annual Citizens Choice Awards Gala.
Her varied experiences make her an interesting person, Jordan said.
“Other things that define her is her sense of adventure,” Jordan said. “She is a lifelong learner and is always picking up new things.”
Weast spends summers volunteering with the Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief program, which helps victims of natural disasters around the world.
When a disaster occurs, team leaders such as Weast are contacted and help organize recovery efforts. Volunteers pull apart damaged homes, clean up trash and debris and help rebuild structures.
“It’s such a humbling experience to be able to go help other people, especially when you know they’ve lost everything,” she said.
LEADERSHIP VALUES
Weast loves to read and learn more about leadership, she said. Weast was one of the faculty members who brought the habitudes class to Northwestern.
Her colleagues say they admire her.
“I think she’s a very empathetic leader,” said art professor Kyle Larson, a member of the Fine Arts Department. “Not only is she so great at teaching students what they need to know academically and performance-wise, she treats everyone with empathy and understanding and as human beings, and she nurtures that side of people really well.”
Lawana Newell, a vocal performance professor in the Fine Arts Department, said she respects Weast’s dedication to caring for students.
“She cares so much that sometimes it takes all of her energy,” Newell said. “She wouldn’t make a big deal of most of the countless hours that she spends. She sends emails at 3 o’clock in the morning. She’s awake that late sometimes, and she’ll be working.”
Though Weast said her position takes a lot of time and hard work, she loves it. As director, she enjoys telling stories through theater and being able to see the audience empathize with a character.
“We’re creating another time period,” she said. “I just love to tell stories and I love to make people think.”
