Carol Fitch bio

Carol Fitch, 50, was born in Oxford, Mississippi. She is the second youngest, with a younger brother and three older sisters. Their mother, Jackie, was a part-time bookkeeper for a local construction company, and their father, Benjamin, taught math at Yoknapatawpha High School.

While the Fitch children never lacked the basic necessities, they often yearned for more of their parents' attention. Benjamin and Jackie's work commitments occupied much of their time, and whatever they had left was split among the five siblings.

With limited parental oversight and expectations, mediocrity became Carol's standard throughout school. A passing interest in journalism prompted her to apply to the University of Mississippi, where she enrolled after high school.

After one year at college, however, Carol was forced to drop out due to financial troubles. She kept her student job as an administrative assistant in the English Department and gradually accrued more hours until her promotion to full-time a few years later.

Since then, Carol has remained at Ole Miss, and she has steadily risen through the ranks of the English Department's administrative staff. Fourteen years ago, she was appointed Senior Secretary upon her predecessor's retirement.

Carol's dedication to her work is unwavering. It was one of the few things she was good at, which encouraged her to strive for improvement.

During her time as Senior Secretary, Carol has been instrumental in expanding and adding new programs to her department, displaying a knack for securing funding.

Carol's workaholic nature left little time for her personal life, and she has had only a handful of casual relationships over the years. Friends and co-workers describe Carol as modest, helpful, and highly competent at her job. The head of the English Department says, "Carol's service has been an invaluable asset to this university."

Over the last several months, Carol has been collaborating with English Department faculty members to organize events for this year's Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference. Her efforts on the planning committee, however, faced a persistent roadblock: Douglas Reed. The arrogant young post-doc consistently undermined and rejected every one of Carol's decisions until he was found dead on the morning of April 20.