Soon
Flyn

Soon Merz Flynn has served in higher education for over 38 years, working in community colleges and universities and on coordinating boards and boards of regents in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, and Massachusetts. Soon also served as a data coach for Achieving the Dream, supporting Tribal and community colleges. She was active in the Association for Institutional Research, serving on the board, and in the Texas Association for Institutional Research, serving as president. She retired as vice president for effectiveness and accountability at Austin Community College in December 2019, after serving for more than 15 years. After retirement, Soon continued to serve as an ATD data coach for a short time, after which she decided that she was flunking retirement and decided to fully retire in 2021. After a few years of full retirement, in which she did a lot traveling, both in and out of the U.S., she decided to come out of retirement and reengage in student success efforts as an ATD data coach. Soon continues to be actively engaged in the development of the Retiree Association at Austin Community College and is currently serving as the co-president of the Austin Branch of the American Association of University Women.  

How has education changed your life/your family? 

My mother was an immigrant from Korea who had never had any schooling, was a single mother, and raised three children on minimum wage and tips. My mother instilled in me the necessity to have a good education to improve our lives. I was the first in my immediate family (we had no family here in the U.S.) to finish high school and graduate from college. Education has allowed me and my two brothers to make a good life for ourselves. It has also given me the opportunity to give back by helping other students, like me, succeed in life.