Your future, our focus
Learn more about what makes Northwest college’s faculty truly excellent!
In collaboration with The Committee on Faculty Development and Morale and the office of College Relations, the TLC is excited to showcase the great work of Northwest College's educators! In this faculty spotlight series, we will feature members of our faculty that are recognized by nominations from their peers based on demonstrated excellence in teaching, mentoring/advising, service, or scholarship. Spotlights will also be promoted by the Marketing, Communications & Web office in a variety of media.
It could be said that Jason Horton was born to be a college agriculture professor. While he was raised in the Mississippi Delta, a long way from the vast openness of Big Sky country or the Bighorn Basin, teaching and agriculture were pillars of the Horton family, and Jason now combines both as Associate Professor of Agribusiness at Northwest College.
Growing up in Cleveland, Mississippi, Jason’s mother taught English and literature at Delta State University for more than 30 years and his father owned and operated the well-known Big River Grain. With that type of family influence, it’s no surprise that Jason’s career path was a merger of sorts. He started by earning a BS in Agribusiness from Mississippi State University in 1998, and a MA in Agribusiness Management from MSU before spending 10 years as an agent with the Farm Bureau.
However, there came a point when Jason realized he didn’t want to do that for the rest of his life and started to think about teaching instead. With a possible career change in the works, it was Jason’s wife who discovered the perfect place where that could happen.
“She came in one day and said look what I found on Google. It was a job description for Northwest College. So we looked at it, thought about it, and the next thing you know, we were out here interviewing and decided to take it. This is home now, and I’ve never looked back.”
Jason’s teaching career at NWC began in 2010 and includes a role as faculty advisor to the school’s Block and Bridle Club, a chapter of the national fraternity in the field of animal husbandry. It was one of the drawing points for Jason, who’d been vice president of the Block & Bridle Club as a student at Mississippi State, and one of the many things he finds appealing at NWC. Living on 196 acres outside of town, he’s embraced the Wyoming lifestyle and the time he has to enjoy hiking, hunting, and camping with his family or coaching baseball.
“I love teaching at a community college. We have smaller classes and I’m here to teach, not do research or get published. I get to know all my students and spend more time with them. I wouldn’t like teaching at a larger university where you have a class of 300 students.”