While rain sprinkled outside, a group of 30 faculty, staff and students gathered with anticipation in an empty School of Hotel and Restaurant Management classroom on Sept. 16. Down the hall, Kathleen King was facilitating a headshot and resume writing session for freshmen. Little did she know that an ambush was headed her way.
Equipped with pompoms and buttons, the crew paraded down the hall cheering loudly as they approached King who stood, wide-eyed, wondering what the commotion was about.
Michelle Gardner, co-director of the Community, Leadership, Alliances, and Belonging (CoLAB) Center who has been facilitating NAU’s Homecoming dedicatee tapping for more than six years, spoke after the circle formed around King.
“Every year, students nominate a dedicated staff member to be the year’s Homecoming dedicatee,” she said. “This year, that person is you!”
“SHUT UP!” King shouted as she covered her mouth and burst into tears.
King, a two-time Lumberjack alumna who has worked at NAU for more 22 years, is an associate teaching professor in NAU’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, where she teaches courses on the connections between food, culture and history, as well as guest service management. She primarily teaches freshmen and has made it her mission to help make the transition to college easier. Last year, she was named one of NAU’s 2025 Teachers of the Year.“I absolutely love my students,” King said. “I love when they come in wide-eyed and fresh faced and so eager to learn. I see them at graduation, after they’ve accomplished this really hard thing, and it’s so special knowing I was a part of the beginning.”
Now, King joins a long line of beloved NAU faculty and staff as the 86th Homecoming dedicatee. Every year since 1936, student organization leaders have chosen to honor someone who has made a big impact on campus over 10 or more years. In keeping with Homecoming tradition, King will be honored at a luncheon, serve as a judge for the annual chili cookoff and be acknowledged at halftime during the Homecoming football game against Portland State.
“I am just stunned,” King said. “I like flying under the radar—I live under the radar—and I assumed I was doing that. I read about NAU’s Homecoming dedicatees every year and think they are such amazing people. I never thought I would fall into that category. Never.”
What made the tapping even more special? Her family was part of the cheering crowd.
“I found out about a month ago, and because my mom and I talk every day, it was incredibly difficult to keep the secret from her,” said daughter Victoria Birch, an NAU senior studying physical education. “I am just so proud. It makes me so happy. She is so deserving.”
King said she looks forward to celebrating Homecoming in a different way. In the meantime, she will continue doing what she does best: quietly transforming the lives of freshmen in ways that will impact them for years to come.
View the photos from Wednesday’s dedicatee tapping.
