Where did you
grow up and what was it like?
I was born
and raised in Richmond, VA. I lived in Jackson Ward through the 3rd grade. The
summer before I began 4th grade, we moved to Church Hill. Growing up in both neighborhoods was fun and
adventurous. I grew up in the era when children were told, “Go outside and find
something to do. Don’t come back until it’s time to eat or before dark".
And outside we went. We played games, walked to each other’s houses, and taught
each other all of the words to the latest songs and all of the latest dances. There
were no organized play dates. All of the neighbors were babysitters. Everyone
knew each other in detail—your momma and daddy, your grandparents, your
siblings, etc. Every adult watched out for you and stepped in on the spot if
you misbehaved. Then they would let you know that your parents would be
informed. We played, talked, argued, sometimes fought and made up. I still have
friendships from that time in my life.
How long have
you worked for Reynolds and what
brought you here?
brought you here?
I have worked
for Reynolds for 42 years. Yes, I said it—42 years. Say it loud, 42 and I’m
“proud”. I came here to start my education.
I had a part-time job at the telephone company in my senior year of high
school working after school and full-time during the summer. I was offered a
full-time position. I didn’t think that was the right fit for me. You couldn’t
talk to each other while working, you were timed when you left for breaks and
lunch, etc.—very regimented. It was hilarious watching the full-time employees
find innovative ways to communicate with one another without being caught. A
lot of people, including family members, thought I was crazy. Back then, it was
a big deal to get hired at one of big companies. Reynolds was in its infancy.
An outreach team came to Armstrong High School (Go Wildcats) to talk about this
new “community college”. So I was a student, a work-study student, a part-time
employee and then on to full-time. I
have worked the academic side, the non-credit side and off-campus. I have worked in the School of Business,
formerly known as the Business Division, in Continuing Education, in the
Community College Workforce Alliance, and now, Student Affairs. I have been a
secretary, an instructional assistant, a trainer, an adjunct instructor, a site
manager, and a program manager. I am now
the Testing Center Manager for the DTC.
What is the
best part of your job?
You have
heard this before. I love interacting with people—the students, co-workers, the
public, etc. I get to interact with people from all walks of life, all age
groups, different backgrounds and life experiences, etc. Most of the time, it a
good thing, sometimes it’s not, but it’s always interesting. You never know who
is going to walk into your office, what their needs will be, and how they will
present themselves. You just have to be ready, flexible and open to be of
assistance. I have also developed and
maintained some life-time friendships here.
Tests make
all of us nervous, no matter how much we have prepared. How do you keep
test-takers calm and
relaxed for their test?
relaxed for their test?
Tests do make
all of us nervous. And different people handle the stress differently. Also,
the level of stress increases from the beginning of the semester to the end.
You can just feel it. We greet everyone that comes into the testing center. You
can usually judge their mood and mindset by the response that you receive. We
just try to be low key and friendly, and get the student processed and seated
as quickly as possible. We try to develop a feel for what they want or need and
adapt our interaction as needed. Some people want a lot of interaction and hand
holding and others just want to get to their test. It definitely tests your “people skills”, but
meeting the challenge of having a satisfied customer when they leave, is worth
the effort.
What has been
your greatest challenge in your position so far?
The biggest
challenge so far has been trying to do all that we do with a staff that is
completely part-time. It means a lot of staff turnover and continuous training.
What we do is not rocket science, but the devil is in the details. We proctor a
variety of tests, placement, distance, makeup, Foreign Language Achievement
Testing, Credit by Able Testing for ITE 115 and CSC 155, specialty testing for Nursing
and Allied Health, Culinary Arts, etc. The list goes on. We provide proctoring
services for Reynolds students, those who want to become Reynolds students, and
students from other Virginia community colleges. We proctor internet-based
tests, Blackboard based tests, and paper tests. All testing is offered on a
walk-in basis, so you have to be prepared to go from zero to 60 at a moment’s
notice. Again, that helps keep things
interesting, challenging and fun. There
is a lot of communication with staff from the other testing centers, staff and
faculty from the various Schools and other College areas like Distance Ed,
Middle College, ESL, etc. We reach out to whomever we need to be able to assist
the students. I have been lucky over the years to find qualified and
enthusiastic people to share this responsibility with me. My staff and I
share the good, and not so good, support one another, and make it work.
What is your
favorite food? Why?
I love good,
down-home southern cooking. The basics like fried chicken, baked chicken, fried
fish, baked fish, mac and cheese, collard greens, cabbage, green beans, potato
salad, corn pudding, etc. I judge it all by my mother’s cooking, and most of
the time what I am finding out there now, doesn’t meet her standards. Now, I
also love chocolate—chocolate candy, chocolate cake (preferably Devil’s Food),
chocolate mousse, etc. Is chocolate considered a food?
What is your
favorite Richmond activity outside of your
work at Reynolds?
work at Reynolds?
Well my
favorite activity outside of Reynolds is reading. I know that sounds boring,
but reading relaxes me. I take a book with me everywhere that I go. There is a book laying on my desk right now.
I drive my family crazy, but we are all avid readers. Sometimes I feel the need
to visit places in the neighborhoods where I used to live, especially, Libby
Hill Park and Chimborazo Park in Historic Church Hill. It hadn’t been
designated as Historic when I was growing up there. My husband and I will drive
around and visit the areas where we grew up and met. We spent a lot of time in
Libby Hill Park and Chimborazo Park, walking around and talking about our
future (cheap date). We used to take our children, and now we take our
grandson. He is into statues now. He is really in love with the Statue of Liberty
and the Maggie Lena Walker statue. At his request, one of us or all of us, will
jump into a vehicle and drive around Richmond checking out all of the statues
in the various parks and on Monument Avenue. Do you know that there is a miniature Statue of Liberty in Chimborazo
Park?
If you won
$100 Million in the Mega Millions lottery what would you do with the money?
Okay, you know,
the usual. Pay all the bills, provide for your family, give to charities. I would love to fund locations for kids to go
after school and weekends to get help with reading, homework and tutoring. Then
you would find me at every Dallas Cowboy football game, and at all of the major
tennis tournaments, Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US open.
