Young adult life can be difficult to navigate. New challenges are presented frequently – new settings, financial instability, loneliness, an overwhelming wave of new responsibilities and duties – and not every student is equipped to deal with them.

For a lot of students, help may come from an encouraging professor, a counselor or a good friend.

For some students at St. Edward’s University, help may have meant something as simple as an encouraging smile, an enthusiastic “good luck” or a sincere consultation with beloved faculty member Dana Mazur, who has left the university after 20 years.

Mazur was the testing administrator for Student Disability Services, and she worked with students every day, ensuring that their needs were being met and that they felt welcome in the stressful environment of the testing room.

Mazur’s responsibilities varied widely.

She did everything from setting up appointments and filing paperwork to advising and consoling students who felt they were struggling or sinking.

Even students who didn’t get a chance to know Mazur attest to her kindness and grace.

“(Mazur) was very helpful. Even though I didn’t know her, she was nice and willing to help me out,” freshman Meili West said.

For students who went through the testing office, she represented a trusted individual who encouraged them to do their best and made them feel that they were going to be fine.

“She was the kind face that met students before they entered the stressful testing environment,” Kendall Swanson, director of Student Disability Services, said.

Swanson has only positive impressions of Mazur, and she specifically stressed how important a figure she was to the university over the last 20 years.

“Dana had a huge impact on students, and faculty loved her. The space is not the same without her,” Swanson said.

Her coworkers describe her as a very private person, but one who was always open with and willing to help students.

“She was really involved and loved helping the students. She always made sure they had what they needed,” junior Yarelyn Perez said. “She took care of the little things that most people overlook.”

Perez, who is a proctor at the testing center, worked closely with Mazur, and she fondly recalls her sunny disposition and “old-school” fashion.

“Dana had a typewriter that she loved,” Perez said. “She even made a pretty cover for it by hand.”

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