My Job

I haven’t talked about my job yet.  I should tell you about the reason I moved so far away.

So far I really like it.  The people are nice and the work is worth getting up for!  I don’t stay very busy yet as I think they are trying to get me acclimated.  As the days move on, I get more responsibility.  What do I do?  I am the liaison between the College of Science and the OSU Foundation.  The foundation is not a department of the University, but their own entity.  Each college at OSU has their own Director of Development to help raise funds for scholarships and research.  I make sure we’re communicating effectively.  Already I can see a disconnect and am hopeful once I learn a little more, I can fix that disconnect.

I do a lot of data entry/analysis when it comes to scholarships.  I make sure people are getting paid whether the award be for a scholarship or for research.  I also promote the college internally and externally.  I will be working with the various media outlets pitching interesting stories from the College of Science.  The College of Science is competing for funding, and keeping them in the forefront of funders’ minds is important. 

I also get to do a lot of event planning.  The next event is the College of Science Faculty and Staff Awards in September.  It’s what it sounds like it would be.  It’s when we recognize the outstanding faculty and staff in the college.  There will be more opportunity to plan events to coax donors to give to the College of Science.

I really like the staff in the office too.  The Dean, Sherm as he is known as, is very nice.  He just got back from a trip to Guam studying something or another.  I think rocks.  I didn’t really get the details….sciencey stuff.  He’s my Big Boss, but he’s not bossy at all.  So far I haven’t really done anything with him, but I am sure that will change once school starts. 

The Associate Deans are awesome!  Vince took me out for coffee on Monday and I thought it would be all work blah blah blah.  Nope, he just wanted to get to know me.  Anytime I would try to bring up a work question, he would change the topic.  Found out he played Rugby at Virginia Tech, so we have something in common.  Janine, the other associate dean, is really funny too.  She makes herself known when she walks into the office!  I don’t have to strain my neck around my giant computer screen to see who came just walked in, because I know it’s her by her boisterous entrance!

Kelly is the captain of this ship, sort of like the main Office Manager type person.  She’s really sweet and a wealth of information.  She’s really easy to work with.  Judy is an office assistant here and she’s very helpful too.  When I first met her, I thought she was really quiet and reserved.  She is still sort of quiet, but she’s funny.  She gave me a good recipe for “spiked watermelon.”  I never would have thought her to be the spiked watermelon type, but the more I get to know about her, the more I believe she definitely is!  Bonnie is the receptionist.  I like her because she likes hearing stories about my cats.  She’s from Ohio too and is actually out there with her mother who is getting hip surgery this week.

The science advisors are super nice as well.  Mary Anne, the head advisor, has been very helpful when working with the scholarships.  She heads the committee that selects who gets what scholarships for the College of Science.  Chere is the Pre-Med advisor.  She is an avid gardener and keeps the office smelling and looking wonderful with fresh flowers from her garden.  She brought me a small bouquet my first week here.  Claire may be my favorite.  She is closer to my age and has a fun personality!  We should get along great.

Now Anne over at the Foundation is awesome.  She cracks me up and is very good at her job.  She’s so easy to work with and always has something funny to say.  We get along really well.  She’s a “go-getter” and really does get things done.  She knows all the right people and has helped me make some great connections already. 

The hard part is that there’s not really anyone to train me.  I have to figure things out on my own by going through files.  So far I’ve only had one snafu.  Apparently I filled out a form incorrectly and was snapped at by someone at the foundation saying that she can’t do her job if I don’t do mine.  I politely responded to her email saying it was my 4^th day and I filled out the form just like the example given to me.  Whatever…I was warned that this particular lady is grouchy, so I didn’t take it personally.

Week 3 is coming to a close.  I still have the rest of August and most of September until the halls are crowded with students.  It was a good time to start.

I’ll continue to keep everyone posted on my adventures.  I doubt I’ll go out this weekend.  I’ve been sick with some sort of bug I assume.  (I’ll spare you the details about what is or is not being digested.)   I plan on staying home and resting….and staring at things that still need to be unpacked. 

Cheers!

My desk and GIANT computer screen.  To the left you'll see the flowers from Chere.  Orange for OSU!