My perspective on Mickey may be different from the normal business or academic relationship, as I was blessed to attend Canterbury United Methodist Church with Mickey and his wife Harriet. I was able to see Mickey not just as a kind and caring teacher-mentor. I saw Mickey as a man of servant leadership, and I saw where he got his life basics. Mickey’s ability to see the needs of a wide variety of folks and to be that rare soul who immediately reached out to help was based in his real faith and a driving need to practice that faith. His life basics were built in knowing the love of his Christ, and knowing the need to pass that love on to others by his deeds. And all was done with smiles that filled a room with the light of wisdom, based on whom he followed.
So what are the key lessons we can pass on to future students and peers who will not know Professor Mickey Gee?
First, we all need to remember our basics. While we may or may not share Mickey’s faith, we can share his basic belief in being a servant to those in need. We can all start each day remembering it is not about us, but about a far greater mission to touch the lives of others. I plan to focus on having more “Mickey moments” in my life, those times when I stop whatever I am doing to deal with a human need placed in my path.
Second, we in the academy can remember every day that teaching and mentoring students is the key reason for our being here. Sometimes in the hectic pace of pursuing many other important UAB and personal goals we can lose focus on the impact our attitude and aptitude has on the next generation. While service to our many communities and research are important to the academy, our lifting up of students is critical to building successful communities and future researchers. As Mickey demonstrated, our mentoring of students can include engaging them in our service and research commitments. His work with students on service learning (especially the Wilcox County project) was a clear example of his integration of mentoring and serving.
Third, we can all follow Mickey’s lead as a supporting and encouraging friend. On many a ride with Mickey to Kiwanis meetings on Tuesdays, he would always ask “how are you doing?” This was not casual talk, but a genuine caring question. The ride downtown and back would also usually include a story of some student issue or concern. He wanted me to know student issues and sought my guidance and insights. His level of caring could be a lesson to us all.
Mickey was a valued mentor to us all and he will be missed. I promise that his memory will live on in “Mickey moments.”
