Ernestine Moore
When the Chalk Dust Settles

Ernestine Moore advises students
during new student orientation

When this semester ends and the chalk dust settles, the last sentence in the 27-year Ernestine Moore legacy will be written. People will no longer see her teaching at NMJC as she has done since 1977.

This legacy has not only had an effect on her life – she was an NMJC graduate in 1972 – but throughout her immediate family. “My three children have all graduated from NMJC, and their three spouses have graduated from here as well. My husband has even taken welding classes here,” says Moore.

“While I have a great admiration for everyone here, the person I feel that I was closest to was my mentor, Mary Hagelstein. She was a close friend as well as a co-worker. But, I would have to say that I love working with everyone at NMJC,” said Moore.

“Now I get up at around 5 to 5:30 am and get ready for work and now that I’m retiring, I’m afraid that I’ll get lazy and not want to get up,” she laughs. “But everyone keeps reassuring me that once I’m retired, I’ll wonder how I had time to get everything done.”

“I’d like my husband and I to do some traveling. I’ve already traveled to all 50 states and in east and west Canada so I’d like to travel abroad sometime. Not with the world in the shape it’s in right now though, but sometime. For now, she’ll be content to curl up and delve into a good book. I’ve really been slacking on my reading during the past few years, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” says Moore.

“I would like to spend time with my family also, because we have a very large family and we enjoy being together. Family is of great importance to me.”

When asked what she loves most about NMJC, she gets a somber expression on her face and says, “I love NMJC, it is probably one of, if not the largest asset that Lea County has. I am really going to miss this place.”