Dr. Anika Floyd, director of Student Services for the Co-Lin Simpson Center, holds many titles besides her professional one, including but not limited to wife, mom, grandma, volunteer, and church secretary. And they all share a common theme – love.
She grew up in Magee and graduated from Magee High School – “I love my Trojans!” she said-- then headed to Hinds County Community College. Dr. Floyd quickly added that she would have attended Simpson Center but it had not yet opened. She pursued an associate’s degree in office systems technology and accounting technology. Upon graduation she was hired by Mattiace Real Estate Company in Jackson as an office assistant and began moving up in the ranks.
During her tenure there Dr. Floyd began attending a newly advertised program at Belhaven University called The Aspire Program that required attending one class session a week and one study group session, both of which could be done at night. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Her supervisor at Mattiace decided to leave and move his office closer to Ridgeland, but Floyd did not want to travel any farther than the downtown Jackson area. She left the real estate company and went to work at the Jackson Medicaid Office.
In 2006, she found a job posting in the Magee Courier that drew her attention. “By the grace of God Co-Lin advertised an admissions clerk here at Simpson. I thought, ‘This has to be divine intervention.’ I was so tired of driving to Jackson.”
She and her husband Anthony talked it over, thought about it and prayed about it. “He said, ‘Sometimes you just have to step out there.’” Even though Floyd would take a substantial pay cut, the couple agreed she should take the job. “And God has been good. I’ve moved up from the clerk to admissions coordinator. I was promoted to director of Student Services. Opportunities just presented themselves,” she explained. In the process she has had peace of mind and is happy to be closer to home with only a ten minute drive.
Once employed at Co-Lin she began seeking opportunities to provide community service, especially to young people, working with and mentoring them. They have a special place in Anika Floyd’s heart. She also found she enjoyed teaching and needed only a few more hours to teach, specifically computer skills and basic reading. Again, she returned to school, attending night classes to complete a 30 hour program at Mississippi College giving her a master’s degree in business education. She has also taught community special interest and senior citizen courses for many years.
Interacting with students, co-workers, and parents is her favorite part of the job. Dr. Floyd is especially fond of helping her students. “I love trying to help them find what makes them happy, helping them navigate the possibilities of what they can do or what they want to do. Working in enrollment services allows me to do that.”
Dr. Floyd continued, “I really love the success stories. I love to look in the newspaper and see this person has graduated from nursing school, or this person has this job. I was here when Kristina (Wood) first took classes. Seeing the people you’ve worked with do what they love to do and find their way. It brightens my day.” Wood is now a Family Nurse Practitioner with Miller Family Care, Tuscan Towers in Magee.
According to Dr. Dewayne Middleton, executive vice president of Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Dr. Floyd is a great asset to the students, faculty and staff. “She is committed to the success of our students in every way. Her position is not a job to her: it is a calling, and I believe countless students would agree that no one is better at what she does than Dr. Anika Floyd. I can say without hesitation that she has in some way touched the lives of many students who have walked through the doors of Co-Lin’s Simpson County Center, and for that we are truly grateful.”
Anika and Anthony are parents to three grown daughters: Keyuna Draughn, 30; Ashley Lofton, 28; and Allison Floyd, 22. While her two older daughters live in Magee and Florence, her youngest moved to Texas after receiving her accounting degree. And Dr. Floyd has “five beautiful, lovely, active grandchildren.”
In her youth Dr. Floyd enjoyed playing basketball but those days are over. Now she spends as much time as she can with her family. She is an admitted homebody; however, traveling will soon be added to her list of hobbies since Allison is in Texas. Dr. Floyd especially looks forward to Sundays as her family gathers nearly every week for Sunday dinners.
Dr. Floyd has been at Co-Lin for 15 years but retirement is still a long way off for this professional who is in her 40s. That being said, she is already praying about ways to have an impact on youth. “If we don’t get them at an early age, start steering them to Christ, education, positive behaviors, what does our future really look like? I want to shape minds and steer them to a better course,” she stated.
Her desire is to develop some type of program to help children, beginning small, four or five kids, and middle school age. Dr. Floyd also realizes planning will need to take place and parameters set.
As a young girl Dr. Floyd worked as a grill cook at Zip’s Restaurant in Magee and still has the scar when she burned her hand the first day. But it is where she learned to cook. She also worked at the Mississippi Department of Corrections. She learned skills to protect herself because of required training.
She explained, “Every experience I’ve had in life, they were ordained. God put them in my path so I could learn. I truly believe that the Lord was preparing me for everything I would have to deal with in life.”
She continued, “This job opened for me. There are so many other benefits beyond vacation and sick time. I was able to be off with my kids on holidays and go to their events. I made it to the second best thing to the Promised Land. I just want to be of service in whatever way I can be.”
