Where are you from?
Originally from Alabama, but I’ve lived a lot of places. I was born and raised there, but I also lived in Georgia for a couple years when I was a child. I lived in Baltimore, went to grad school in Jersey, and I’ve lived in Mississippi.
How long have you been living in Colorado, and what has been your greatest adventure in the state thus far?
So I’ve been here since basically July 1. I tried to go out to Cave of the Winds. I walked around there and it was fun, but when I went to actually do the cave trip, I was actually too tall to do it. It was still a fun thing to be around that area and looking at the things, but that was a sad day for me. [I’ve enjoyed] really just getting out and getting to see nature. Garden of the Gods has been very beautiful, too.
I know you went to a large state school, how does Res. Life at Colorado College compare?
Well, of course the department is much larger. At places like Alabama, some things are the same, like working on residential education and trying to do quality programs. But at Alabama, there was nothing but large community halls, like Loomis, Mathias, and Slocum. One of the buildings I lived in had 900 students in it. There were very few small houses. Here, I’m working hard to at least recognize everyone’s faces, which is impossible at large schools. Here it is much more intimate, with everyone trying to get to know each other, and smaller communities opposed to mega complexes.
Were you an RA in college?
I was not. I was so against Res Life for the longest time. I worked as a desk assistant, but I didn’t want to be an RA because I was like, “I don’t feel like enforcing policies, I don’t care.” Even in grad school, I was still anti Res. Life. But, [Res. Life] was my first professional job out of grad school so it’s funny how things kinda work out like that.
Why did you end up becoming an RLC?
In my graduate school, we had graduate assistantships and my masters program would show you different departments. So I had a mentoring program with students where I worked with the international center and worked in the volunteer department. I dabbled in so many different things. When I was job searching, I was trying to see what would utilize all the jobs skills I had, and honestly, Res. Life does that. You do a lot of mentoring, implement a lot of mentoring, work with a lot of international students, and create programs and fun experiences for students. I naturally gravitated towards Res Life. I love working with students.
Do you think Bemis is haunted?
Oh yeah, absolutely. I know some of my colleagues do not believe in the paranormal and aliens, and to me that is just a shame. But this building is from 1890 or something like that. If you ever go to that portrait in the lounge of Mrs. Bemis or whoever, it just looks creepy, like she is staring into your soul. But I’ve heard some things, and you never know. It doesn’t mean it’s bad! It makes for a pretty interesting life. My freshmen hall at Alabama was haunted, so I would say that most of them [here at CC] could be.
What is your favorite thing about autumn?
Oh, absolutely football. I mean, like I said, I went to University of Alabama; we have a very big football program, and so it was always fun. Every Saturday we’d prepare to watch football and watch Alabama win, or in the case of last week, lose. You can do tailgates with people. Fall is just great, and October is just the best part. The leaves are changing. If you’re in the south, the temperature drops to at least the 80s at that point, and I get to wear some sweater vests. I love everything about fall except for pumpkins; I am not a pumpkin person.
I noticed you have a lot of comic figures around your office, what sparked your interest?
When I was a kid, my mom was a huge Star Trek fan. I got into Star Trek and she also got into Twilight Zone. I don’t even remember how I got into Star Wars and comics, it was just something my parents would put out and I would read. I think Batman was my first hero that I loved, and then Spiderman, and then I just grew into it. As I got older, I started to really appreciate some of the messages in certain comics. For example, X Men is a reflection of the Civil Rights Movement, where Magneto is supposed to be Malcolm X and Professor X is Martin Luther King. They are both fighting for mutual rights but from different spectrums. I started developing an affinity towards villains, actually, because I found out they don’t always get their story told. Like Lex Luther, the villain for Superman; all he was doing was making sure and illegal alien was not being a hero.
What kind of superhero would you like to be?
I definitely like those superheroes that do their own thing. There are some that don’t really have a moral code, and they just do things [for justice]. Sometimes, you have to go beyond the law to get justice in some of these lawless towns, so I guess I would be one of those heroes that does whatever it takes to get the job done.
Which OTLH house would you choose to live in?
I really like Montgomery. It’s really beautiful inside and it’s more quiet that most of the other places. I like the architecture of Montgomery Hall, and it’s in a good location too. It’s right next to Loomis, close to classes, and far enough from the soccer fields to not hear the music during games.