January 5th - Lisa

I've worked at High Point University for 10 years, and in that time I've come into contact with many people.  Some have become wonderful friends. Some I pass in the hallways or on my way to lunch. Some I work with directly during events, and others I see only at our campus wide staff meetings. HPU is a great place to work, but it's very easy to feel like you're in a silo.  A big part of this project was to try to reach beyond the people I come into contact with every single day, and sit down with people I haven't had the chance to talk with in depth.  So yesterday, I walked down the hall and did just that.



Lisa

Lisa has worked at HPU for six years with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. The department wears a lot of hats, from working with incoming freshmen and overseeing placement testing to creating data reports for the federal government.  Her favorite part of her job is her boss, Dr. Adams.  "He's the most human boss that I've ever had," she said, "accommodating and considerate and attentive.  It really makes it a nice place to come to work."



Where are you from and did you have a good holiday?

Lisa: Wilkesboro is my hometown.  I moved to Winston in the mid 90s, and I commute from there every day.  I'm the baby girl out of six children, and every Christmas we go back home, it's a tradition.  With kids and grandchildren and spouses and girlfriends, there were 23 people all crashing at my parents home this holiday.  It was a lot of fun.



What is your favorite joke?

Lisa:  Hmmm, my favorite joke would be...


Farmer Jim observed Farmer John holding an apparatus in his hand.

"What's that you got there?" said Farmer Jim.

"This here's a Thermos jug," replied Farmer John.

"Thermos jug? Whatsitfur?" said Farmer Jim.

"It keeps your hot things hot and your cold things cold," replied Farmer John.

"I might have to get me one athose!" said Farmer Jim.

The next day, Farmer John sees that Farmer Jim now has a Thermos jug of his own.

"I see you got one too!" Farmer John said.

"Yup," Farmer Jim said, "you told me it keeps hot things hot and cold things cold."

"Well, whatcha got in there?" asked Farmer John.

"A cup of coffee and a Popsicle."

("It's a little country," she said at the end, laughing.)



What's the meal that reminds you most of home?

Lisa: Mama's homemade chicken pie, with some cabbage and turnip greens, cake of cornbread.  She makes this for me whenever I go home.  She is a ridiculous cook. (I might need to get the recipe for this chicken pie...)



If you could bring back one musician, who would it be?

Here is where things got emotional.

Lisa: Prince! Oh my gosh, Lars, I was so torn up when he died.  I was out of the office when I found out and I had to call and say I couldn't come back in that day, I was so shaken up.  I still tear up whenever I hear his music (She started tearing up again at this point).

And even more than that, it'll just hit me at different times.  Purple is my favorite color, and I have two purple shirts, one of them is a Prince shirt.  I was doing laundry and I'd forgotten about it, and when it came out of the laundry I saw it and lost it. I just lost it.

I've always followed his music, since back in the 80s.  It's to the point where a classmate from college found me on Facebook, and it'd be years since we'd spoken to one another.   He said he had an extra ticket to see Prince in Charlotte and when he thought about Prince fans, I was who he thought of.  So I got to go to the show!  I saw him three times, and he was amazing.

I'm going to make it to Minneapolis one day.  I'm going to make it there.



What's the most significant thing that happened this year?

Lisa:  I really want to come up with a different answer, but I can't.  Prince passing was it, to be honest.  I have never experienced the emotion of grief to that extent, and I've lost family members that were very dear to me.  This one just really impacted me.



What's the most significant event that you've witnessed in your lifetime?

Lisa: Wow...hmmm. Well, it's gotta be the first African-American president.  I didn't think that he was going to make it through his term, I was so nervous something was going to happen to him.  But he made it.  And I never thought I'd see that happen.

It's strange, though, that inter-racial relationships are so prevalent now, where just a little while ago that couldn't happen (I mention the film Loving and she agrees).  I don't think he got enough credit for being biracial. So much was made about his father, but not a lot about his mother, and I think that's just as amazing.  Someone that couldn't have existed not too long ago got elected president. That really is something.



Will the world be better or worse in 20 years?

Lisa: I pray that it's going to be better.  I'm just excited by all the technology.  I want to see the flying cars (she brought up the The Fifth Element...always a great point of conversation).

Lars: And cellphones, I mean, this and Skype...this is Star Trek technology and nobody thinks anything about it!

Lisa: Exactly! How did we survive before cellphones?  I'm really looking forward to what's next.  I don't know if I'll be around still, or be like my parents and not understand any of it.  But to see the progress, that's really exciting.  I just wish I had gone into computers!



I felt bad that I hadn't talked with Lisa like this before, because she was warm and welcoming and very funny.  She's the kind of person that helps make where you work an inviting place to come to each and every day.  I love where I work because of people like Lisa, and I hope to talk more about The Fifth Element, Prince, and chicken pies the next time I see her!