Student Activities and Organizations’ Margie Jones wins 2025 MaPSAC Excellence Award

From their first days on campus as freshmen to their final semester as seniors, Purdue students often need someone they can lean on for insight, support and guidance. And for many, that person is Margie Jones.

Her role as a steadfast advocate and guiding light for students, alumni and staff alike was recently recognized by the Management and Professional Staff Advisory Committee, which presented her with the 2025 MaPSAC Excellence Award during a June ceremony.

Given annually, the award honors a high-performing, full-time management or professional staff member who serves as a university ambassador by taking initiative, leading by example and providing exemplary customer service. Recipients receive a plaque and $1,500.

As senior associate director of student involvement in Student Activities and Organizations, Jones advises students through their journeys leading student organizations like Old Masters, Rising Professionals and Tri-Alpha, helping them navigate challenges, celebrate big accomplishments and develop the skills necessary to grow and thrive along the way.

Throughout her 20-year Purdue career, Jones has made a huge impact on those around her and is praised for her extraordinary ability to meet stress with tranquility, replace confusion with clarity and relieve feelings of failure with words of affirmation.

“Margie’s colleagues would describe her as a team player, and that terminology quite honestly falls short of explaining the myriad ways she pours into SAO staff and campus partners alike,” one nominator wrote. “SAO would not be the resource it is without Margie, and its staff would not be the people they are without her as a phenomenal role model, confidant and friend.”

Jones doesn’t just tell her colleagues and student mentees that she cares; she shows them. Most days, she’s the first person in the office and the last to leave, and when she finally does, it’s often with a cart in tow, loaded with items for her next meeting or event. As one might imagine, Jones and her trusty cart arrive early and stay late for those as well.

Her unwavering commitment to student organizations shines through in huge undertakings, like her recent hand in assisting Old Masters leaders with restructuring the 75-year-old organization and merging it with Rising Professionals. But it’s also apparent in seemingly small, frequent actions, like delivering handwritten notes of encouragement to students or scheduling a quick chat over coffee.

Crafting those intentional, growth-oriented relationships is what drives Jones, who strives to ensure every student’s voice is heard and valued. But she never shies away from the tough, honest conversations, often turning those moments into lessons in problem solving and conflict management.

Four student nominators described Jones as a caring, kind and thoughtful leader whose presence continues to enhance their time at Purdue.

“Her knowledge of the organizations at Purdue consistently helps students find their home away from home,” the nominators wrote. “For the four of us, her office has become a pillar in our Purdue experiences, and we find ourselves stopping by to share our latest news with Margie.”

In those meetings, she gives them the tools to act on their big dreams, setting them up for success both within the organization and long after they leave the university.

“One thing that we take the most from her is that she always has belief in our ability to succeed, even when we doubt ourselves.”