Our School is grateful for talented and dedicated staff, who contribute greatly to our teaching and research excellence. This "Get to Know" series highlights our staff, sharing their friendly faces and stories of professional success.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Mahomet, Illinois.
What year did you begin working for the iSchool?
I started working at the School on January 2, 2018.
Where did you work prior to the iSchool?
On March 24, I celebrated my twelve-year anniversary with the University of Illinois. I worked at Grants and Contracts, Engineering Shared Service, and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) before joining the iSchool. Prior to coming to the University, I was in banking for fourteen years.
What do you do at the School?
I work in Research Services, assisting faculty/researchers with their proposals, ensuring that grants are spent appropriately, and helping answer questions regarding post-award activities. I am part of the Research Development Community (RDC) on campus and serve on the Professional Development Networking subcommittee. I enjoy collaborating with other research administrators on campus, brainstorming ways to make research development more streamlined and to identify colleagues who have expertise in certain areas that you can reach out to. I am also a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators, which gives me the opportunity to collaborate with others outside of our campus.
What do you like best about your job?
My favorite part is when the principal investigator (PI) lets me know a proposal was awarded! All of the hard work of preparing the proposal, reviewing all of the documents, putting together the budget, and submitting to the sponsor is fun, too—but knowing it became funded is the best!
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Let me Google the definition of spare time . . . oh yes, I enjoy hanging out with all five of my kids, who range in age from six to twenty-four! With that span of ages, I can do sidewalk chalk with one—and have a nice cold beverage with another. Life is good.