BreAuna Dobbins

Lessie Haney poses with her degree in sociology from Texas Wesleyan University.

The air inside the Eunice and James West Library is always cold, but a little nook beside the Maker’s Lab emits warmth. Lessie Haney, the disability accommodations coordinator at Texas Wesleyan University, smiles as she plugs in an audio recorder. Her preferred method of documentation fails, but she’s happy to improvise. At the end of a mangled, clogged iPhone microphone, her voice remains steady and kind as she begins to share a story of faith, love, family and service.

From an early age, Haney knew she wanted to help people. Her life experiences and the people she’s met along the way continue to fuel that desire.

In Pennsylvania, a few commercial buildings stood tall among family homes in a small, quiet suburb. Inside one of those houses, a young girl sat in front of a television, immersed in the wonderful world of “The Waltons”.

James and Ben Walton have a habit of neglecting their responsibilities. This remains true when they’re tasked with fastening a pile of loose logs. Their youngest sister Elizabeth has selfish moments but is sweet. This nature is highlighted when she climbs the log pile to return a fallen baby bird to its nest. On her way down, the pile buckles and she becomes trapped. Both her legs are fractured as a result. Unbeknownst to Haney, watching James encourage Elizabeth to walk again was like looking in a mirror.

“He felt guilty but, in the end, he was the one that encouraged her to walk, and she was able to walk to him,” Haney said. “It showed, you know, people helping others.”

Inside her red-brick childhood home, the sweet smell of a home-cooked meal often filled the air as Haney’s mother prepared food for others.

“My mom was also a giver,” she said. “She would make meals for people. I gleaned that stuff from my mom… she was not a taker at all. She looked to make sure that everybody else’s needs were met at all times.”

After that pleasant smell faded, she would step out of the kitchen, right into family members who had emotional and psychological needs, and a friend with down syndrome. “Being able to help them out at different times gave me great joy,” she said.

When she wasn’t helping others, she loved to read. Her favorite book was, and still is, the Bible. “As a child I normally kept my Bible close, either on a nightstand or on my desk in my bedroom, so I could readily read it,” she said.

The same spirit of giving followed her into adulthood. Instead of pursuing higher education right after high school, Haney chose nurture and motherhood, raising five daughters, one of whom has an intellectual disability. To better meet her daughter’s needs, she decided to return to school after 33 years.

“I started out at TCC wanting to get answers, and so I took a lot of psychology courses,” she said.

Her pursuit of understanding led her to Texas Wesleyan University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in criminal justice. It was on this campus that she met Eddy Lynton, associate professor of sociology and criminal justice. According to Haney, Lynton is another spark in her lifelong passion for helping others.

“He’s a phenomenal professor; he’s a phenomenal person,” Haney said. “He was always a giver in the classes; he was always ready to give to his students.”

Eddy Lynton sees teaching as a calling and his students as his legacy. He believes learning and life are deeply connected.

“You can’t separate the academic from the personal,” he said. His mix of compassion, humor, and realism creates a space where students feel supported and inspired to serve others. That mindset resonated deeply with Haney and helped strengthen the compassion she now shares through her own work.

Lynton remembers Haney fondly. “I’m embarrassed to say I couldn’t get her name right at first. I kept calling her Lizzy or Leslie, and she would smile and say, ‘You’ll get it,’” he said.

Her name may have been confusing, but her gentle nature was unmistakable.

“She didn’t just do the assignments; she looked for ways to make what we were learning matter to people,” Lynton said. “She cared about her classmates, asked thoughtful questions and always brought empathy into the room.”

For Lynton, true service means selflessness. “Do it because it is right and not because you expect something in return,” he said. He believes that Haney has given herself in many ways. “She’s given of herself as a student, mother, grandmother and now as the disability accommodations coordinator.”

One elevator ride away on a floor right beneath Haney’s office, Emely Lopez, a Mass Communication senior searches the halls for a potential story source. Her uncertainty this day parallels her feelings when she first sat down with Haney, to discuss disability accommodations. “I have ADD, or now pronounced ADHD, and I’m on the spectrum of autism.” To combat feelings of anxiousness and confusion in classroom settings, she received an accommodation letter. It was signed off by someone else, but Mrs. Haney constructed it.

“These accommodations have really helped me a lot,” she said.

After reviewing an early draft of this story, Haney sat once again in the warm nook beside the Maker’s Lab, smiling as she reflected and gave notes. When asked about Lopez, she laughed softly. “I’ve met with her many times,” she said. In that quiet corner of the library, her kindness and patience filled the space; a reflection of the same spirit she shares with everyone she helps.