I’ve worked at AU for a year and a half. Before that, I spent 10 years working in housing at Adelphi University in New York.

My job is to break down barriers for multiethnic and multiracial students and connect them with resources and people who can help. A typical day includes meeting with students, whether it’s about problems, what they did over the weekend, or the latest episode of House of Dragons. My office is on the second floor of Mary Graydon Center.

My go-to lunch spots are Cava on Wisconsin Avenue or Chopt in Bethesda. My go-to order at the Dav is a London Fog.

My favorite way to steal a quiet moment on campus is taking a walk by Wesley Theological Seminary toward the Katzen Arts Center on Massachusetts Avenue. Campus is at its prettiest after our first snowfall or when the leaves fall from the trees. There’s something beautiful about watching things come to a close and restart again.  

The person who helped show me the ropes is Danielle Koon, associate director of education and support programs. She was the first person I met, and she showed me there’s a place for everyone in the center. I found my community at AU by joining Staff Council.

I show my AU spirit by sharing moments with students, who are gracious [enough] to share pieces of themselves with me. I also often stop by events students invite me to like a debut in a fraternity, a recital, or a game.

My work-from-home rituals include getting up later and putting on a vinyl record. I grew up in England, so I’ll make the whole shebang of an English breakfast—beans, sausage, eggs, and a cup of tea. My favorite day of the workweek is Wednesday because I’m usually home with my cat, Oliver. I do my Zoom meetings from the carpet in front of my couch with my plants around me. It’s a serene backdrop, and it also gives Oliver a chance to show off.

When I’m not at work, you can find me at Barnes and Noble or hiking. My hobbies include biking on my Pelaton, participating in triathlons, and reading. I read upwards of 150 to 175 books each year. The last two great books I read were The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

The last great show I watched was The Boys. The last great meal I ate was a homemade espresso-smoked salmon salad. My most Washington moment was visiting the cherry blossoms and going night monumenting, which a lot of AU students tell me is a rite of passage.

If I wasn’t at AU, I’d own a coffee shop and bookstore called Off the Beaten Trail where my cat would roam free. We’d have reading clubs and curate the kind of books that are not at your mainstream bookstores. But my job at AU is best because the work I do makes a difference in helping students reach the other side of the college experience.