Momentum 22: An Educator's Passion
JuliAnn Mazachek’s roles as vice president for academic affairs and associate professor at Washburn University blend her personal and professional passions to help students reach their potential. A member of the Momentum 2022 executive council, Mazachek has been tasked with overseeing the plan’s cradle to career efforts.
“When Momentum 2022 got underway, I knew that at the core of any vibrant community, there must be a highly qualified workforce to support job growth in the business community,” she said. “Education, whether it’s high school or Washburn University or Washburn Tech, has to play a role to make sure we have the strongest workforce possible.”
Initiatives to address all facets of education delivery were underway when the pandemic upended childcare, after-school programs and classroom education across the board.
But even during the pandemic, Mazachek said the team was able to bring people together for conversations and make progress.
“Through our discovery efforts, we were able to determine what organizations were doing and how their work complemented or duplicated services available in the community,” she said. “We were able to pool resources and accomplish more together to address factors that can influence a lifetime continuum of learning.”
An outgrowth of those discussions was a comprehensive inventory of all day care organizations available in the community and establishment of a central listing of resources for job seekers.
“We thought it was important to create a central resource with links to all the organizations available to make the process easier,” she said. “Now the information is available on the Greater Topeka Partnership website so anyone already in the community or considering relocating here can have access.”
Mazachek said one area that the group will focus on next is making sure students have “a seamless pathway in our community regarding information about careers they want to pursue.”
She cited the opening of Washburn Tech East as a solid example of Momentum 2022’s efforts to provide post-secondary education opportunities in an underserved area, facilitating both economic development and educational opportunities.
“What we found during this process is that there are certain goals that appear in multiple pillars,” she said. “You can’t discuss goals in isolation. When talking about education, you also have to talk about social services and housing because not having a warm coat or shoes or food can impact learning. It’s all intertwined. Our partners are helping us meet those needs too so we can ensure students across the entire spectrum of backgrounds, P-20, can get an education and know about opportunities available when they’re old enough to join the workforce.”
At the university level, Washburn leverages its extensive relationships with the business community to offer internships, operates a robust Ichabod Student Success program focused on freshmen and offers a food pantry to students who may be stretched financially. Washburn also works closely with local high schools to support and ensure clear pathways to further students’ educations and prepare them for careers.
One of the things Mazachek has enjoyed most about participating in Momentum 2022 initiatives is the diverse composition of the steering committee and community partners.
“We all have a different perspective and experience to bring forward and we’re all passionate about Topeka and Shawnee County,” said Mazachek.
In particular, Mazachek is excited that so many young people are taking part in the process.
“I’m fortunate in my role that I get to work with young people all the time but that is not the case for some,” she said. “I’m in the back half of my career, along with others in the group, and we recognize it’s critical that young people are involved and have the opportunity to significantly influence what happens to shape our community. These next generations must share how they want to live and what they want to see here in the future if we want our community to continue to thrive.”
Mazachek said that Momentum 2022 established “audacious goals” that will continue through the next five-year plan.
“When Momentum 2022 first rolled out, many people were skeptical and even doubted that we’d be able to accomplish much,” she said. “I knew that I wasn’t going to stand on the sidelines and let that happen, and so many others felt the same. While there will always be more to accomplish, we’ve made tremendous progress. The important work we’re doing to create a thriving community where people want to live, work and play will continue and we know it is inevitable that Topeka will be even more amazing in the future.”
