1. Growing up, I had the most curly, red hair and looked a lot like Shirley Temple. Everyone used to ask my mom if she permed my hair.
2. I attended my first Siena employee Christmas party when I was three. My aunt and uncle were longtime professors, and they brought me with them. The party was in the now UHY Center, and there were covers placed over the court. My foot found its way in between the cover, I tripped, shattered a plate that was in my hand and the entire party stared at me. Thankfully, I haven’t done anything quite as embarrassing at a Christmas party since.
3. My first job at Siena was as a summer student worker in Admissions. In my first week on the job, there was a department-wide retreat, and I was left in charge of the front desk. I quickly realized I had no idea how to transfer a phone call, and I’d be shocked if even 10% of the calls to campus that day got to the right place.
4. I was in attendance for one of the most talked about Siena basketball games when we played Ohio State in 2009. I was a freshman on the cheer team, and not only did I attend my first NCAA tournament game, but it was also my first time on a plane. While traveling for my first professional job a few years later, I was shocked and disappointed to learn that pulling up to a private plane on the runway is not exactly how normal plane trips worked.
5. For that job (above), I audited non-profits who had received grant funds from the government. It was a great experience because I got to fly all over the country. However, on my first trip, I went to Seattle by myself on about five hours of notice, and I was completely overwhelmed. I got off of the first flight in Detroit, and immediately ran into a guy who had graduated from Siena with me and played on the basketball team. Running into someone I knew was a huge sigh of relief, and coincidentally, I ran into him again on a trip to Texas for work a year or so later.
6. After cheering for 12 years in middle school through college, I started coaching. Nine years later, it is still one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My nights and weekends were quickly consumed with practices, games, and competitions. We won many local and regional competitions, and even came in 4th at High School Nationals in Orlando.
7. When I started coaching at Siena in 2015, the basketball player I ran into at the airport (see #5) reached out to congratulate me. Six years later, and we are now married!
8. We had a very large, formal wedding planned for March 28, 2020 but COVID had other plans. Thankfully, and with the help of a few amazing people on campus (Fr. Mark Reamer, Dr. Madden, and Andy Murphy) we had the best ceremony in the Grotto with our parents and siblings. The only downside is that I still haven’t gotten to wear my actual wedding dress!
9. I love to travel. One of my favorite trips was to Costa Rica. We spent the week in the rainforest, and our adventures included the largest zipline in South America, kayaking and horseback riding.
10. I am not the only one in my family that works on campus. My sister, Julia, works in our Communications and Public Affairs office and we often get each other’s emails. We now both have new last names (our maiden name was Hess), so hopefully that no longer happens!
