Pamela Hosp, office manager for Missouri Southern’s Willcoxon Student Health Center, is more than just a friendly face behind the counter.

Hosp cares for every person she encounters.

Hosp has won awards because of her capacity to care for others. Some of these awards include Outstanding Young Woman of America in 1982 and the Medic Alert Outstanding Volunteer in 1983.

“I passed out brochures and did press releases in the community to inform people about medical alerts,” Hosp said. “It didn’t cost me anything and I was able to help a lot of people.”

After graduating from Joplin High School in 1975, Hosp pursued an undergraduate degree in marketing/management at Southern.

“I always knew I wanted to help people, I just didn’t know how I was going to accomplish that,” Hosp said.

While still attending Southern, Hosp went to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in 1977 to find a job. She was hired as a nutritional technician in food service. Hosp’s responsibilities included talking to patients and calculating their diet.

After 18 months, a secretarial position opened in the public relations office and Hosp applied for it.

“I applied for the job hoping it would turn into something else and it did because PR was perfect for my degree in marketing/management,” Hosp said.

Hosp was in the public relations office as a secretary for six months and was then promoted to editor/media liaison for the hospital.

In 1980, Hosp graduated college and was named the outstanding student in marketing/management at Southern.

At St. John’s, Hosp was responsible for writing press releases for the newspapers, magazines and television and radio stations. She was also in charge of publicity for hospital events as well as being the photographer for those events.

When joining the St. John’s team, Hosp told administration that if the volunteer coordinator position ever opened, she wanted it.

“I remember the position became available in 1988 because I’m giving birth to my daughter at 3:03 a.m. one morning and by 8:30 the following morning I’d had a call asking me to take it over,” Hosp said.

After 27 years at St. John’s, 16 years serving as the Volunteer Coordinator, in February 2006, there was a management squeeze combining two jobs into one and Hosp was let go.

After being laid off, Hosp applied and was hired as a part-time helper in the Spiva Library at Southern.

After six months working in the library, a vacancy for an office manager in the Health Center needed to be filled. Hosp’s supervisor, Wendy McGrane, director of the Spiva Library, thought that this job would be perfect for Hosp and recommended her for it.

“I’ve found something that I love doing more than anything and they are going to have to blast me out of here, because I’m not leaving,” Hosp said.