WTAMU staff member knits her way into students' lives

CANYON, Texas (KFDA) - Berlin McIntosh helped Dave try on some of her handcrafted hats that she makes... and she makes a lot of them!

Just provide her with some yarn, and the hats and scarves are cranked out in no time.

“Well, last night, this is what I made while I was watching TV. So these are three items,” said McIntosh.

Dave asked her, “You did that in one night?”

“Yes! It’s like, in three hours,” McIntosh replied.

If there’s a spare moment in the day, Berlin has the needles out making creations.

“I said, you know, there’s no excuse. While you are at a coffee shop with a friend, you bring in the yarn and knit. While you’re at your doctor’s office, while waiting, you know, it calms you down while you’re knitting. While, at the airport, you do knitting. Even in movies, you can do it, Dave,” said McIntosh.

Working as an administrative associate on the campus of WT, Berlin developed a love for students and blesses them through her gift of knitting.

“Our weather, we are gifted with being in the cold area in the Panhandle. What can you do to, that will benefit the student,” said McIntosh. “And it’s something that they don’t have to pay for. You know, being a student, every dollar, it matters.”

The hats and scarves just keep coming every year.

“I think this year, it’s almost 300 that I made,” said McIntosh.

Doing a little math, that comes to about 10 miles of yarn that Berlin has turned into items for students.

“So I actually have two of her, little hats that she made. I got one for American Chemical Society and one as science representative. So I have two of them right now, and I absolutely love them,” said Jory Winters, senior at WTAMU.

It’s become a WT tradition to drape the campus with Berlin’s handmade items for students to take and enjoy free of charge.

Each piece has a personal message attached, and the students relish the compassion.

“So seeing everybody around campus just enjoy the items that she made for us, it really just it warms my heart,” said Winters.

Seeing her handiwork woven and stitched into the lives of students brings a big smile to Berlin.

“I get tickled when I see them wearing it. It’s like, ‘Oh, those are the ones I made.’ It’s like, ‘I need to make some more,’”

“So you’re gonna keep doing this for a while,” Dave asked.

“I will as long as I’m here at WT, I will keep doing it, Dave,” replied McIntosh.

For Dave and hundreds of students at WTAMU, that’s some Good News.