Daryl Leigh Miller

Daryl Leigh Miller
11/17/75 – 1/8/18

My most profound memory from boyhood in rural Pennsylvania was being outside, a gentle breeze blowing, and I was pulling a little red wagon behind me. I recall looking around at my surroundings and somehow, deep down, even at the tender age of four, I knew I was destined for bigger adventures, that I had light to share elsewhere.
After graduating from Mitchell High School in 1994, I became the first person in my family to attend college: Colorado Mesa University. While in college I met my future husband, Thomas Wilson. We both knew we were it for each other. He is the most loyal person I’ve ever known and always encouraged me to grow.
During and after getting my Masters in the Counseling program at UCCS, I worked in the Office of Campus Activities (2002-2007), and then at the Matrix Center (2008 – 2012), where I learned about social justice and equity, and met great activists fighting for change. While teaching for the UCCS College of Education’s Student Affairs in Higher Ed Masters program, I also taught in Women’s and Ethnic Studies, and in the psychology program at Pikes Peak Community College.
From 2012-2017, I taught at Walla Walla Community College in Washington state. There I received mentorship, guidance and unconditional support from world-class faculty, and was awarded tenure.
I have done my best to live my life with gratitude, and there are so many to thank in my 42 years! I hope all of you who supported me know what you have meant to me. I take with me the light of all of you. I leave behind my spouse, Thomas; our dog, Maynard; and the family of dear friends that we built together.
And with my little red wagon behind me, I salute you and say “I’m grateful for the experience, and now, I’m outta here!”