What area do you work in within the VPFA portfolio?
I work for the Accounts Receivable Department (Student Billing) in Business Affairs.
What is your current position, and what are your job responsibilities?
My current position is a Program Technician. I am the Third Party Billing Coordinator for all international sponsored students. This requires acquiring and maintaining up-to-date Financial Guarantees on each student and invoicing the various government agencies for payment of tuition and fees. I’m also the Tax Relief Act Coordinator. Each year over 25,000 1098-T tuition statements are generated and mailed out to meet an IRS deadline. The tax form is a statement of qualified tuition and fees paid to the University of Oregon and the amount of scholarships and grants received during the calendar year. In addition, I’m currently handling all refunds from financial aid disbursements.
What has been your career path; how did you end up in your current position?
Before coming to the University of Oregon, I was the general manager for the largest driving school in Oregon. My main objective was to bring driver education back to high schools in the state of Oregon. I was part of a task force with the Oregon Department of Transportation. I helped with navigation of oversight responsibility from the Department of Education to the Oregon Department of Transportation regarding curriculum, instructor training, and the new graduated driver licensing laws for teen drivers. In 2003, I took a year off work to spend time with my son while he was in grade school and active in a lot of sporting activities. When it was time to re-enter the workforce I specifically targeted the University of Oregon. A position was posted in Accounts Receivable, and I felt that I was the perfect match. I applied and was offered the job! I started in the AR Department as a Refund Specialist. Since then I’ve been re-classed to an AR Administrative Specialist and more recently to a Program Technician.
What obstacles have you overcome in your career?
Over the last thirty years, I have battled many health issues. I live with daily chronic pain. When the health issues first started it was easy to be a victim of circumstances. It was my mother who reminded me that I had a life to lead, and I had purpose. Her words still go through my head each day when I think I can’t get out of bed or make it through a day of work. It has given me strength for over thirty years and I’m sure it will continue to give me strength in the years ahead.
What do you like about your current position?
I really like the fact that all my work is very detail orientated. My co-workers often tease me for being so organized and detailed.
What advice do you have for others; what secrets would you share for someone thinking of applying to the UO?
The one thing I would share is to be yourself and let not only your job experience shine through but also your personality.
Share a little about yourself personally:
-
Family: I raised my son as a single mother, and he is now 26 years old. He married two years ago, and I now have two beautiful grandchildren! Paisley is two and a half, and Dayton was born at the end of February, right before Covid-19 shut everything down. They both bring such joy to my life.
-
Favorite Food: Anything Italian!
If you could only take three items with you to a deserted island, what would they be?
I would take a fishing pole (already rigged up) to fish for my food, a flint to start a fire, and a large sharp knife that would help me to build a shelter and to cut into stalks for fresh water (my island has stalks with fresh water in them!)
How do you want to be remembered?
I think for me it comes down to two words and a phrase.
-
Love & Loyalty: I would want my friends and family to remember me as someone who loved them very much and know that they always had my loyalty.\
-
To thine own self be true: This quote by William Shakespeare is the mantra that I live by. I not only have it lettered on the back of my car, but also tattooed on my left arm.
(August 2020)