Lindsey Fields joined Butler Community College (BCC) as a professor of biology in 2014. Eleven years later, she was the chair of the biology department at BCC and the president-elect of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT).

Her rapid rise to prominence exemplifies what her coworkers and students described as a strong work ethic and innovative approach to education, a passion for biology, and most importantly, a kind heart that cared for everyone around her.

“She was so vibrant,” said Martha Sager, a professor of general biology at BCC. “She was a force of nature, in the best way to use that terminology.”

According to the NABT, Fields was traveling to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29 “to represent the NABT community and advocate for excellence in life science education.” She booked American Airlines Flight 5342 to ensure she wouldn’t miss a single biology class.

She died when the flight collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, leaving behind a void in the BCC and biology community that won’t be replaced.

“Everyone’s heartbroken,” Sager said. “If you knew her, your heart’s broken, and it’s just a weight you can’t explain, and a measurable loss.”

Fields, who was 40 years old, is survived by her husband, Mark, and 3-year-old daughter, Avery.

Inspiring educator

Fields grew up in Forgan, Oklahoma, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in zoology at Oklahoma State University. She taught at the University of Mississippi and Northwest Mississippi Community College before arriving at BCC.

Her passion for biology quickly inspired her students. Joseph LaForge arrived at Fields’ general biology class in 2016 as an English major who didn’t care much about science. He left having changed his major to biology, inspired to go on and become a professor of biology at BCC — a position he holds today.

“Her teaching style was so engaging,” LaForge said. “She always gave time for the students to put in their input and also to work together in small groups. She just really knew how to work the room and keep everybody awake and active.”

Fields was a staunch advocate of hands-on, innovative teaching strategies. John Simpson, a professor at Butler, served with Fields on the faculty development team. He said she had a variety of “brilliant ideas” that inspired him to be a better educator.

“The dedication that she showed to help people succeed … was just very inspiring,” Simpson said. “I’ve been here … almost 20 years, but she inspired me after being here for, like, seven years and … made me a better instructor. Because she was just, I don’t know, infectious is a good word.”

Brooke Woolery took Fields’ Majors Biology 1 class in 2022. Now at WSU, she said Fields’ teaching style still stands out.

“She was just very hands-on,” Woolery said. “She would come around the class to each group and make sure that you were understanding what was going on, what your assignment was, just looking for all the ways to make sure that everybody was succeeding in her class. And she was just a very nice person in general.”

LaForge said he appreciates Fields as an educator even more in hindsight. Whether it was conducting multiple choice reviews on whiteboards, connecting the material to real-world examples or making sure no one fell behind, Fields always found a way to keep her students engaged.

“When I was in her class, I was never bored,” LaForge said. “She wanted the students to feel like they were her peers, rather than her students. And so she always came down to their level and brought them up, brought me up with her. She really wanted to see everybody succeed.”

Fields had a passion for biology that shined in her classes. LaForge remembered her rushing to the podium while she was lecturing to take a quick gulp of water before rushing back to the whiteboard to continue teaching. 

Simpson would often walk past Fields’ morning classes, full of students who were not biology majors but were still actively listening to her teaching.

“And if you can make a room full of kids who aren’t interested in biology sit up and listen at 8 a.m., that says something,” Simpson said.

Constant presence

When Anne Gillis was first hired as a physics professor at BCC, her office was a storage room. Gillis said she was “surviving” to get by in the small space. Fields noticed the situation and, unprompted, offered to move Gillis into an empty room.

“(Fields) made sure I got a key for it, looked after me,” Gillis said. “It was marvelous. It was just so thoughtful. And she didn’t have to do that.”

As a department chair and a person, Fields’ peers described her as kind and helpful. Sager said Fields was great at the big picture, like always being open to new ideas on how to teach classes and listening to feedback, or at the little things, like making sure each classroom had the supplies it needed.

“She wanted you to love teaching as much as she did,” Sager said. “She wanted faculty to get excited about teaching. She wanted students to get excited about learning.”

Sager said Fields had the same level of enthusiasm for everyone, whether it was teaching students or inspiring faculty. She also had a smile that could “light up the world.”

“It was like it was in her DNA, right?” Sager said. “She just did it naturally … It wasn’t put on. It wasn’t, ‘Well, I have to do this because I have this position.’ No, that was just … her. I think she could have taught at any four-year college in the country and risen to the top.”

LaForge said Fields kept in touch with him at every step of the process of becoming a professor, from writing letters of recommendation and grants to helping him through his master’s degree program at Emporia State University.

By chance, she was also present for his interview at BCC. LaForge described walking into a room full of eight people and immediately seeing Fields’ “huge smile.”

“And I knew right when I saw Lindsey that this interview was going to be awesome,” LaForge said.

Despite not teaching on the same campus — LaForge teaches at El Dorado while Fields was stationed in Andover — LaForge said Fields was “everywhere.”

After she died, one BCC student who never took her class left a note on her door about how she found him on the first day of class and helped him out, something the student never forgot.

“She was always in the hallways,” LaForge said. “It didn’t seem like she ever just hunkered down in her office. And I think that made a huge impact for all the professors. (It) was (like), ‘Okay, if I need to talk to Lindsey, she’ll be around to talk.’”

Woolery said Fields made a point to tell her students that she was always available at her office. Those conversations weren’t just about biology — Woolery said they bonded over both being mothers.

“Just making that connection with students, to make them feel like a part of the college more, and to feel included,” Woolery said. “So I would say that she really was, like, (an) open door to her office all the time.”

Simpson bonded with Fields over being some of the first people to show up every day at BCC’s Andover campus. Each morning, they’d briefly talk. Throughout the day, they’d acknowledge each other in the hallway whenever they met. Over the past week, Simpson said he keeps expecting to see her car.

“It’s weird to pull into the parking lot and not see it,” he said. “You know, it’s like there’s just a piece missing.”

Rising phoenix

Sager and Simpson expressed the belief that Fields would have risen to the top of whatever she chose to do. Sager still described her as having “assurance without being arrogant.” Despite her success, she never advertised herself or bragged.

“She didn’t go around saying, ‘Hey, look at me.’ But you did … because she was just that kind of person,” Sager said. “People were drawn to her, and she drew the best out of people.”

Simpson said Fields was “very bent on making the world a better place.” He thinks she did — within her own family, at BCC and on a national scale.

“She had very high standards without being condescending,” Simpson said. “She would tell you, ‘This is how high I want you to jump, and you’re going to jump that high.’ And she would help you get there … And if you failed, she would not be condescending in any manner. She would help you pick yourself up. The world’s a little worse today than it was a week ago.”

LaForge compared Fields to a phoenix that springs forth every 10,000 years, rising to the top and making a difference everywhere she went.

“She was constantly involved,” LaForge said. “She never let an opportunity escape her, which was another reason why she was on that plane. She constantly wanted to improve. It was like this person, this once in every 10,000 years person, that had sprung forth, and there she was.”

Gillis’ last conversation with Fields was about her pride in the success of one of their mutual students. Sager’s last interaction with her happened the day Fields boarded her flight to D.C. She said Fields was excited about the opportunities she was going to have with the NABT.

“I have that memory of her standing in my doorway,” Sager said. “And she was so excited about that, and it was so well deserved. I mean, she worked herself up to that organization as well.”

Campus reaction and impact

When Fields’ peers at BCC heard about the crash, their first reactions were denial and shock.

“Here at Butler, we’re really close … We’re a pretty small family, and to have something like that happen, to have somebody ripped away in just a heartbeat, it just kind of, kind of really kicks you in,” Simpson said, trailing off.

In the aftermath of Fields’ death, an impromptu memorial was set up at her office door in Andover. People left flowers, notes and seeds. 

On Monday morning, a campus-wide moment of silence was held in her honor. Sager said a group handed out commemorative pins. So many students wanted one that they ran out and had to make more.

An “Empower Future Scientists” scholarship was established in Fields’ honor. Simpson said many professors plan to donate to the scholarship’s GoFundMe. As of Wednesday evening, more than $42,000 had been raised.

In the aftermath of a loss of this magnitude, it’s impossible for Sager not to feel slightly bitter. She relayed a comment from another faculty member about how the world got “cheated” out of having Fields around for another 40 years. But on the other hand, Sager is appreciative of the 40 years she got, and that their paths crossed at BCC.

“I don’t know how we got so blessed to have her, but I’m really glad we were,” Sager said.

Sager said someone asked her why she showed up to teach in the days after Fields died. She responded that it’s what Fields would have wanted.

“She would want us to make our students fall in love with biology or whatever they were taking,” Sager said.

Simpson said while BCC will continue on, Fields won’t be forgotten.

“Lindsey’s going to be around in our memories for a long time,” he said. “I don’t think that hole will ever be really filled, to be honest.”

LaForge said people on campus are “a lot more loving” than they were prior to the crash, knowing that every interaction could be their last. Seeing the memorials, he’s glad to know that Fields touched so many lives but sad that she can’t impact more people.

“I literally wouldn’t be sitting in the chair that I am without her,” LaForge said. “And if I would have taken a different class, or let’s say that I never met her, my whole life would be different. And there aren’t many people you can say in your life that you say, ‘Yeah, they distinguish my entire timeline.’”