Oftentimes, when long-time employees are nearing retirement, their schedules will lighten, at least a tad.
Try telling that to Roberta Nickell.
As her retirement beckons on June 30, Nickell will be working up to the last day in helping Allen Community College shape its 2023-24 operating budget.
“I promised them I’ll work up until 6 p.m. on the 30th,” Nickell joked.
Truth be told, Nickell, whose career at Allen has spanned the past 35 years, already has done much of the prep work for next year’s budget.
“We’re waiting on valuation numbers, and then we can go through the processes,” Nickell said. “Bruce (Moses, ACC president) will lead those discussions at the board meeting. I’ll have things ready for him.”
Officially, she’s leaving her post as Allen’s interim vice president for finance and operations after holding that title in addition to being the school’s chief financial officer for the past two-plus years.
IT’S NOT a stretch to say Nickell walked across the graduation stage at Allen and straight into the college’s administrative office.
Upon graduation, the Colony native accepted an offer to work under Kay Mitchell when Mitchell was ACC’s business office manager.
“I knew I wanted to do something with numbers,” Nickell explained. “I was always good at math.
“I’m not for sure I thought that at the time, but it was a great opportunity, and everything has worked out,” she continued. “I’ve worked with a lot of great people throughout the years.”
Nickell worked under Paul Cairl, who was hired as ACC’s vice president for finance. His departure put Nickel under the authority of John Masterson, who also served as vice president for finance before he was promoted to college president in the early 1990s.
Masterson’s promotion brought Steve Troxel on board.
“I really consider Steve my mentor,” Nickell said. “I learned an abundance of things from him. If I didn’t know how to do things, he was there with the answer.”
He wasn’t the only one.
