A memorial celebration was held on Friday, March 25 to commemorate the life of Dr. Judy Wilson, who died on March 19.
Dr. Wilson retired in the Fall of 2015 after learning her cancer had returned. At that time, she used her personal experience to teach her students about death in her Personal Growth class.
That’s the kind of person she was, according to Dr. Dillon Emerick, “she was wonderful with her students” and she was “a real force for good.”
Her colleague, Dr. Kathy Young, was on the hiring committee when Dr. Wilson was hired, and has maintained a personal relationship with her since. She spoke at Dr. Wilson’s memorial saying, “Many students have said that Judy’s courses have changed their lives for the better. I know that Judy has changed my life for the better and I am grateful to have had her as a colleague and a friend.”
Dr. Wilson received her bachelor’s in psychology from Cal State San Marcos in 1997. She went on to earn her master’s in psychology from Cal State Bakersfield in 2003. In the summer of 2004, she was hired part-time at Palomar College; while still managing to continue with her educational process.
In 2010, Dr. Wilson was named an Associate Professor in the Behavioral Science Department. Committed to education she decided to continue with school. She received her doctorate in Education Studies in 2012.
During her time at Palomar, she also served on several committees, including being the Assistant Coordinator on the Learning Outcomes Steering Committee, Basic Skills Initiative/Hispanic Serving Institution Co-Chair, and Service Learning Coordinator.
Dr. Wilson’s doctorate addressed the challenges of Latinos completing their education. She and her husband, Al, established a scholarship for Multicultural Psychology that will give Latino students ,who are first-generation college attendees going on to a 4-year school, a financial boost toward a higher education.
