How long have you worked at Buffalo State College and if applicable what other areas have you worked/positions have you served in at Buffalo State College
I have worked at Buffalo State College since April 27, 1987. I have worked in Public Affairs, Criminal Justice, Career Development, and the Registrar’s Office. In 2004, I started working in Student Accessibility Services. I have worked with the State for a total of 48 years.
What motivates you to provide excellent services for your colleagues, students, and supervisor?
Throughout my 35 years working at Buffalo State, I was blessed to work with wonderful supervisors and staff who were an inspiration to me. I learned the importance of working as a team and I have developed lasting friendships throughout the years. From the beginning, the students always held a special place in my heart. I fed them when they were hungry and listened to them when they were lonely. I learned in my 18 years working in Student Accessibility Services to treat our students with the respect and kindness they deserve because you never knew what they were going through at the time. I went to several funerals of our students, and I will be forever grateful for the time spent with them. The homeless also hold a special place in my heart and I try to help them whenever I can.
What personal philosophy about working with others guides your day-to-day work?
I was brought up in a family-orientated Italian household where everyone was welcome in our home. There was always food available for them and my dad would grow extra vegetables in his garden for the neighbors. I remember my dad telling me at a young age to treat everyone with respect and kindness and to never take away a person’s dignity. This has stuck with we throughout my life and I try to lead by my parents’ example. My children were brought up the same and they have passed this on to their children.
What do you do when you are not working?
I enjoy playing the harmonica in my free time and spending time with my grandchildren.
The primary role of our office is to help students. This begins with walking into our suite and meeting Linda. She has a heart of gold. Every week she stocks our office refrigerator with food for our work study students. About a month back Buffalo State was in a "lockdown" status towards the end of the day. Hungry students who were lined up at Starbucks waiting for food were ushered into our office. Linda went out of her way to make sure they were all comfortable, provided them the food she had and made them soft drinks. She was so worried that they had not eaten and took care of them all in this crisis situation. She is a giver. The students, I know, will always remember this act of kindness in the years to come. She made a huge impression on them with her effortless giving.
Linda is the first point of contact for all who walk through our door. Having been on campus for over 30 years she has the ability to relate to all faculty and staff who work with our office. She engages visitors on campus and makes them feel welcome. She does most of her outreach without being part of a committee.
Our office feels like it is missing a spark when Linda is not around. She keeps us laughing with her stories and encourages our children, who she has seen grow up, in all their endeavors. Our students know they can come to her if they need help.
Linda is caring and is always willing to help a student in need. Having spent many years at Buffalo State, she knows the resources available and has personal connections with staff in other offices. Very often students will stop by just to give her an update on how their lives are progressing, even after they have left Buffalo State.
Embracing change is not easy for anyone. However, when we changed our location, Linda adapted to our new location and new processes. During our COVID years of remote working, Linda was learned how to work the phones, answer emails and forward relevant information to appropriate staff members. She carried on her tasks as the administrative assistant without any setbacks.
Students who connect with Student Accessibility Services, remain connected with some staff forever. Linda is that person for many students. She receives thank you cards, holiday treats and student updates as to jobs, marriages, babies and more. She welcomes everyone, faculty, staff, and students as if they are family members. Linda regularly donates to homeless people when she is approached by someone in need. She donates to charities which directly support those in our community. She says prayers for those who are ill or struggling and follows up even if it might be uncomfortable for her to ask. Last year my elderly mother had a very serious health crisis. Linda followed up with me daily to ask how my mom was doing, even though she knew not if the information was positive or negative. She did not know if things were improving for her, but still asked the question. She would ask “How is momma,” “What are you doing to help momma,” and “What are you doing to take care of yourself.” She would follow up with anyone in her circle because that is who she is. Family, friends, and the Buffalo State Community are her circle.
When Linda asks, “How are you?” she means it with all her heart. If someone is not doing well, she finds a way to help. She will discreetly ask students if they have eaten during the day. She will provide students with food to tide them over and share information about the campus food pantry. When students bring their children into the office, she will take them for a snack from vending if the parent OKs it. To this day, my high schooler thinks of vending as a very special treat. Three of the professional staff in the office have children. Linda has a special relationship with all of them and has for years. We were her training for being a grandmother many years later.
The pivot to virtual during the pandemic, did not lessen Linda’s interaction with students. She had regular communication by phone and email and helped students cope with what everyone was struggling with simultaneously. Sometimes she is a sensitive ear and other times the conveyer of important office information. She is especially helpful with incoming freshmen and their parents as they navigate a new educational situation with different rules, policies and requirements. She eases that transition so when the professional staff are meeting with students, often they will have had some of the important details from Linda, during their initial contact with SAS.
Linda has adapted to changes in technology in many areas during her 40 years on campus. The pivot to virtual learning during the pandemic required all of us to be flexible in our outreach. Linda was great about responding to queries, needs, concerns and issues, whether it was by phone or email. Linda is extremely responsive and is timely in her interactions. Whether the students were in person or virtual, the students were our SAS students and they needed support. Linda was able to deliver meaningful support in a non-person environment. Linda worked much of her career at the Registrar's office and then the past 17+ years at SAS. Linda is a people person and my observations showed me this was her perfect fit. She could talk with students daily, one on one, help guide them for obtaining the right support and demonstrate they had a resource that would be there for them during their time at the college. Linda will always seek out the answers and refer when needed. She is excellent with her warm and kind style. She is a great asset to the college because she has vast institutional history, knows how to interact with people in a meaningful way, and is ready to provide appropriate assistance wherever she is able.
Routinely our students do not have a sense of 'home'. Be that they are from a single parent or no parent household, homeless, homesick, or just have nowhere else on campus where they feel comfortable. Linda has extended her warmth and hospitality to each and every student that has walked through our door regardless. She brings in supplies and/or food/resources that students need and freely gives them out as needed. She has been and will always be the 'Mom' of our office and the students who use our services.
There is no one more positive on campus than Linda; others may equal her positivity, but never exceed it. Regardless of what is going on in her world, there is always a smile on her face when the door opens. She greets everyone who comes to our office with warmth and caring beyond reproach. She routinely asks everyone how they are doing and if there is more that she can do to assist them.
It can be difficult to connect with and genuinely show support for our population. Sometimes they are so defeated when they come through our door, everything that we do can only bring them up to neutrality, at least for that space in time. Linda is ALL about the student, no one else matters if there is a student in our office, they come first always. She strives to make them feel welcome in an office that deals with difficult situations every day. I would be hard-pressed to say that even if students enter one way, Linda makes them immediately feel welcome and respected.
Linda has a heart that is so big. She helps everyone that needs it and she is there for whoever comes into her presence. I worked with Linda for several years in the Registrar's Office. When Linda got her upgrade and went to the Disabilities Office, I thought, "what a gift to that office Linda will be."
Linda is welcoming to everyone. Linda encourages and is very respectful to all her office clients. She will go above and beyond her duties if anyone needs her to. Even if not asked, Linda will help more then her job description requires. Linda is a mentor to everyone. She just lives by the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would like done to you. Linda respects each individual the same as the next. It does not matter their background, ethnic origin, religion etc. Linda treats everyone the as a child of God.
Linda has seen and adapted well to much change at Buffalo State in her 35 plus years here. She started without even a computer. Computers were not around in the beginning of Linda's service at Buffalo State. So change is nothing new to Linda. She excels in learning and embraces new ways and techniques, as it is brought to her. FABULOUS, smart, kind, respectful, a go getter and all done with love, is what Linda Lou is made of.
