1) IntroDUCKtion, the student orientation and registration program, continues through Aug. 21 for fall term. What’s it like getting new students signed up for classes in a single day?
It’s very energizing but by the end of the day, I am tired [laughing].
Many UO schools and colleges help their own new students. I oversee the IntroDUCKtion event in the Erb Memorial Union for the Division of Undergraduate Education and Student Success. We help students exploring majors and those going into the College of Education, Clark Honors College, School of Music and Dance, and the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health. Our teams advise students one on one. The goal is that by the end of the day they’re registered for classes. It is high energy — these are the new students coming in, you learn a little about them and their life stories and why they are pursuing certain goals.
2) How should employees think about IntroDUCKtion?
Students are the lifeblood of this institution. We should welcome them and recognize they don’t know how we work. If you see a student wearing a lanyard and wandering around the EMU looking at their phone, they’re likely trying to find the right room. Be helpful — we want to normalize the idea that it’s OK to ask for help. Asking for help is crucial to student success.
3) What was it like growing up in Portugal?
I lived on Terceira, a small island in the Azores archipelago. I had so much unsupervised time. I could wander around. We would just go for a walk and be in the forest, create things. I would get out of the house in the morning and then come back and have lunch and dinner with different relatives. That is something that I think fondly about — that opportunity to grow up in community.
4) What’s your history with dogs?
I had a bad dog experience when I was a kid. A dog that was tied to a chain broke the chain and came after me. From that experience, I’ve never had the desire to have one. But my daughter always wanted a dog and so during the pandemic, I worked up this idea, “what if we get a really cute puppy that looks like an Ewok?” And so we got Lyra — she’s a Labradoodle. I recognize how much joy animals can provide and I’m very appreciative of that companionship Lyra has brought to our family.
5) What do you think of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”?
I like the music but not the video! [laughing] In the Azores, when somebody passed away, they would hold the wake the day before they buried someone, so you would have the coffin with this body in there. Growing up, I was terrified — I didn’t know if they were just going to sit up. When I watched “Thriller,” I didn’t finish it because it doesn’t bring me joy. I know the living. I just don’t know the dead.
Do you know a UO employee with an interesting angle? Email Matt Cooper, University Communications