Never forget where you came from
03/31/2026
Every day, dedicated staff members across Jax State play a vital role in shaping the experience of our students, faculty, and campus community. Our new Staff Spotlight series highlights those individuals whose work often happens behind the scenes but makes a lasting impact. If you know a staff member who goes above and beyond and deserves to be recognized, we invite you to submit a nomination and help us tell their story.
‘Never forget where you came from’
From Night Shift to Leadership: Windy Vanover’s 23-Year Commitment to Jax State
By Brett Buckner
For 23 years as a housekeeper — and eventually supervisor — in the Building Services Department, Windy Vanover has been quietly responsible for helping prospective students and their families choose Jacksonville State University by ensuring first impressions create lasting impacts. Though she never aspired to be a student herself, she has spent more than two decades helping shape the student experience.
“God has given me a passion to clean, Vanover said. “It’s like how students come here and love it so much that they basically stay in school their whole life. That’s how I feel about my job at JSU. I love to clean and have made it my life’s work.”
No one is prouder of Vanover’s years of service than her older sister, Amber Strickland, who, as fate would have it, graduated from Jax State in 2002 just before Vanover joined the staff. Strickland has been a teacher for 24 years, spending the last three teaching sixth grade in Pell City.
“My dad laughs all the time about how Windy’s been in college all these years, and we can't get her out,” Strickland said. “She doesn’t want to leave. God showed her a different path. She’s found the place she’s supposed to be. We don’t all get that.”
Vanover has also earned the respect of her peers. Dusty Christopher, Director of Capital Planning and Facilities, has spent 29 years at Jax State. He knows dedicated staff like Vanover are indispensable in maintaining the university’s standard of excellence, which serves as a recruitment tool for potential students. If there is a campus event, Vanover is almost always present.
“As an employee,” Christopher said, “Windy’s work ethic is unmatched, and she consistently goes above and beyond in her service to the institution.”
Vanover exemplifies the ideal employee by being deeply dedicated to her role, her department, and Jax State. “In a time when complaints are often the loudest voices, Windy stands out for her consistently positive attitude,” Christopher said. “She is the first to provide a smile, a card, or a kind and supportive email. She approaches her work with professionalism, a genuine smile, and an optimism that makes her a true joy to work with and be around.”
‘Get to know your toilet’
During the summer of 2003, Vanover was working full-time cleaning rooms at the Victoria Inn (now the Hotel Finial) in Anniston. Her father, Rick Burgess (not the radio personality), worked for Monday's Pest Control, and his customers included professors, secretaries, and other Jax State employees. One such customer worked in housekeeping and mentioned a job opening on the night shift. Burgess knew his daughter would be perfect for it.
“God has given me the ability and the heart for cleaning,” she said. “It’s what I’m meant to do.”
It was a revelation for Vanover - not the job, but the existence of Jax State.
“When Dad started telling me about the university, I was confused. ‘Where are you talking about?’” she said, laughing. “He was like … in Jacksonville. There’s a college in Jacksonville.”
Vanover’s grandparents, whom she visited often, lived in Jacksonville and managed the Cottonwood Apartments. Yet she knew nothing about Jax State. Her perspective would change drastically when she interviewed and was hired to work there in August of 2003. The first time Vanover went to campus as an employee was like someone who’s never seen a football game stepping into a packed stadium for the first time.
“I had no concept,” she said. “There were so many buildings, so many places. It never ended. From a housekeeper’s aspect, I was beyond overwhelmed.”
Working the night shift in Martin Hall, Vanover learned to group the building into smaller sections. She did that for about a year before moving to the day shift.
“That was … you talk about going from daylight to dark,” she said. “When I transferred to the day shift, I had five buildings to myself, and I had to maintain those five buildings. I cried, and I cried, and I cried, thinking ‘How am I going to do this?’”
When the job felt like more than she could accomplish to the level she demanded of herself, Vanover found comfort and confidence in something her father often said: You’re going to have bad days in your job, but you’ve got to push through it.
“Listening to my parents’ advice helped me get to where I am today,” Vanover said. “There were days when I was like, ‘How am I going to get all this done?’ And being a housekeeper, when someone goes into a building, they expect it to be clean. Always.”
While also making it fun – for herself and others.
“You gotta laugh,” Vanover said. “That’s why I tell my people, ‘Get to know your toilet.’ You might as well name it because you’re gonna get down and dirty with that toilet. When somebody goes to sit on it and do their business, it's got to be spotless. It sounds weird to some, but I’m passionate about it. That's who I am.”
Housekeeping is not a glamorous job. It’s mostly thankless and generally gross because college kids, by their very nature, aren’t known for cleanliness or giving much thought about those who have to clean up after them.
There was the time on Crow Hall, when Vanover, who was assigned to Dixon Hall at the time, was called in for an emergency. Some of the students had sprayed the fire extinguisher all over the hallway. They had also squirted dish detergent and water down the floor, creating a homemade Slip ‘n’ Slide. Oh, and there was toothpaste spread from the top of the stairs to the bottom. Housekeeping had to clean it up.
“Just be respectful to them,” Vanover said of how she treats the students. “No matter the situation you go into, be positive. Plus, the way I see it, when they make a mess, it's job security for us. I just had to put a smile on my face and go at it…You have to love cleaning to do this job.”
Though she’s now a supervisor with 15 employees under her, Vanover is just as likely to be spotted pulling trash as she is sitting in a conference room with other Jax State leadership weighing issues that impact the entire university, such as the recent decision to open campus two hours late because of a looming ice storm.
“One thing is to never forget where you came from just because you're in a leadership role,” she said. “Always remember what it felt like to be working under somebody else and treat them the way you wanted to be treated.”
When asked to describe Windy Vanover, Christopher answered simply, “dedication.” Christopher remembers a late-season football game last year when the weather was bitterly cold. While most people, including himself, were focused on staying warm, Vanover was on the top deck collecting trash as if it were a perfect, 70-degree day. “That moment captures who she is,” he said. “Dependable, committed, and willing to do whatever is needed without hesitation.”
But it goes beyond professionalism.
“I am continually amazed by how she balances her responsibilities as an exceptional employee with being a deeply dedicated mother and wife,” Christopher said. “Despite the demands of both, she consistently provides Jacksonville State University with exemplary service.”
Jax State was recently ranked by Forbes as the top-ranked employer headquartered in Alabama on its 2025 list of America’s Best Employers by state. Among Alabama-based companies, Jax State earned the top spot, followed by Baptist Health (Montgomery), UAB (Birmingham), the Alabama Department of Public Health (Montgomery), and Books-A-Million (Birmingham). The university was one of only four in the state to be recognized in 2025, ranking ahead of UAB (12), the University of Alabama (25), and Auburn University (32).
Vanover’s long career stands as a testament to what makes Jax State a great place to work.
“I would say the friendships that you make when God puts you in a place, you've got to embrace it with everything you’ve got,” she said. “You may not know it at the time. I didn't know 23 years ago that this was going to be my home, but JSU gave me a chance to succeed.
“I watched this place grow and was a part of that. It just has a special place in my heart.”
Vanover’s son is currently a Jax State student. In fact, on his first day of class, his car wouldn’t start. So, he called mom. She picked him up and drove him to the Stone Center. And just like every first school day since kindergarten, she got out of her car and walked him inside.
“But I didn't hug him,” she said. “I didn't embarrass him, but he had a smile on his face, and that was enough. I’m lucky for a lot of reasons, but having my son here and safe … proves God’s plan for me.”