Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself?
A: I’m married. I have two amazing children who are 31 and 24. I grew up in a very small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In sixth grade, there were 20 kids in our class. When I graduated, after consolidation, there were 58. I came to school here at U-M, and it was quite the culture shock, but I fell in love with Ann Arbor, and I stayed.I’ve worked in a lot of different jobs: I scooped ice cream, waited tables, worked in a couple of nursing homes, I was kitchen manager at the Del Rio Bar. I traveled around the country for a while showing 16mm film for an extreme sports company, and we’d go to places like Denver, San Francisco, Chicago. I once showed a 16mm film for the Temptations, and got to meet them. I was stage manager for the Detroit Jazz Festival and the International Freedom Festival. I was one of the stagehands for Pope John Paul II’s 1987 visit to Detroit. I’ve been a spotlight operator for Tony Bennett and the Four Tops. In fact, as a newbie I was put in the number one spot position for a Four Tops gig, so I was the spotlight operator who was going to be on the main singer the whole time. My very first cue was to hit the place where the main singer was entering on the completely dark stage. So that was a lesson in “fake it until you make it!” I started here at the University in 1985 working with Film Projection Service, and through various iterations, we have now become part of Technology Services. In all of these jobs, one thing I’ve learned is that I do not like to work in a hostile environment. And I think Technology Services has developed just a really, really nice culture. And because I don’t like a hostile environment, I try to create an environment that I like for others – one that’s welcoming, one where people can know that it’s okay to learn, okay to make mistakes, and that it’s expected that you’ll ask questions.
Q: What is one thing you wish people knew about your team?
A: That we exist. Part of that is just letting us know in advance what you’re trying to do. Whatever you’re trying to do technology-wise, we can help you do it better. And that’s not just the technology but how you use the technology. Here’s an example from a personal story. One of the events I worked for was highlighting Detroit artists. My job was to show 16mm film by a local filmmaker. Upon receiving the films, I had a lot of preparation work to do to check every inch of the films by hand to insure the projector wouldn’t damage them, then check focus, check sound, etc. All things I had been trained to do by my team at U-M. The event manager was really pushing me so they could let the audience in and insisting that what I was doing wasn’t necessary, and I said, “If I can’t properly prep, I can’t show these films.” And they backed off. You have to understand that this was the only copy of this person’s film. You don’t knowingly NOT do something that will prevent potential damage. Unbeknownst to me, the filmmaker had been in the room and had heard that entire exchange. After the event manager left, the filmmaker came up to me and told me that he’d been listening to that conversation. Apparently he had been reluctant to show the film out of concern for its care, but after that conversation, he had full confidence that it was okay. That’s how I was trained, and that’s what this group does. It’s about the prep, about providing good quality because they know how to do it. This is a group of professionals who take a lot of pride in their work, and they are going to do the preparation and they’re going to make it good. They do the prep work, the communications, the testing, so that when the event happens, it’s seamless. We do hands-on support with the technology and the goals of the person using the technology, whether it’s with an instructor in the classroom or an event planner.
Q: What current project are you most excited about?
A: I’m excited about the Orientation Partners Program we’re working on. There will be members from all the directorates within Technology Services. Our focus is on getting people to understand all of Technology Services. It’s a six-month program where in each month there are meetings designed to introduce people to other areas than the area they’re working in most directly. It’s a way to spread information, make connections, and get better understanding of Technology Services as a whole. One of the things we feel is missing is that understanding of who to talk to about this or that, or who to direct a question to. This will help people have a better idea of what Technology Services can do and where they might start in getting that information.
Q: Outside of work, what would we find you doing?
A: I have a large garden, mostly vegetables and some flowers. I like working on projects where I can see the results. I’ve painted the outside of my house, I’ve done some major landscaping jobs in my yard. I’m never bored! I’ve always got a long list of projects.
Q: What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?
A: When I was younger, I was never on a sports team – there weren’t many opportunities for me in the small town I grew up in. But at the age of 45, after my kids were less involved in soccer, I realized I missed it, so I joined a soccer team. I was really terrible! I’d never played in any sports before that, but I stuck with it. There are many people who know I play soccer, but not many know I didn’t start playing until I turned 45! One of my friends told me, when she turned 50, that people stop learning at 50 and she was done learning. I was just shocked. I said (to myself), “No. You’re wrong!” So that’s something important to me, that I always continue to learn and always continue to grow.
