| Sitting
in an English Garden, Waiting for the Sun
Kim
Bannister is the most recent addition to the administrative
staff of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, replacing
Helen Markes as the department’s Administrative Associate
and assistant to the Head, Thomas Baldwin. Kim comes to us
from Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs (GIDP), where she
served as Administrative Associate for 3 years, and “pushed
a lot of paper”.
Prior to her stint with the GIDP office, Kim worked for 10
years in the Marketing Department of the College of Business,
and enjoyed working with faculty and students. Her first assignment
with the UA was in the University Library, in the Cataloging
Department (a job she describes as “mind-numbingly boring”),
followed by another Library position, this time in the Acquisitions
Department.
Lest you should imagine that Ms. Bannister is all work and
no play, however, be advised that she has a voracious appetite
for music of all kinds. Included in her collection of recorded
works are 600 Beatles records (yes, we’re talking “vinyl”),
as well as life-size cutouts of the group from a BBC promotion.
Her passion for Beatles’ music was born when her sister
borrowed the Abbey Road album from a friend. Kim listened
to it, liked it, and never looked back.
Was it a good move, coming to Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics?
“The atmosphere here is terrific!”, she says,
but she bemoans the nearly constant presence of foodstuffs
of all manner and description only footsteps away from her
office door. Not one to merely complain about things, however,
she quickly offers some possible solutions. “I think
we need to get workout equipment installed in the lobby to
counteract the effect of all the food, and maybe hire a personal
trainer…or two.”
On Kim’s things-to-do list is travel to various places,
including Morocco, New Zealand, Australia, and Malaysia. A
lifelong goal: to have an English garden, for at least one
season, in England.
Goo goo g'joob?
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The
Many Faces of
Margaret Gomez
Conundrum,
riddle, enigma. Just who, or what, is Margaret Gomez? An
Administrative Associate in the Department of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biophysics? Yes. Wife and mother? Yes. Extremely
averse to having her picture taken? Oh, My…Yes.
Margaret recently took over duties as the Human Resources
and Payroll Representative from Shirley Peters, now in Seattle
attending law school. Margaret comes to us from Plant Sciences,
where she was also an Administrative Associate, and assistant
to the Head, Professor Rob Leonard. She started at the UA
as a secretary in that department.
Prior to coming to the University, Margaret was employed
at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church as a secretary.
She loved her job with the Church, and describes her transition
to the University as, “the hardest move I ever made”.
Although she initially had a tough time getting used to
the University’s large size and relative “coolness”,
she has since decided that, “the UA is what you make
of it”.
The Gomez nuclear family consists of Margaret, husband Tavi
(short for Octaviano), son Nick (25) who will be getting
married next year, daughter Jessica (20), and the “baby”,
Paula Rae, who is a high school sophomore.
Among her hobbies, Margaret counts reading (“anything
and everything”) and embroidery. She and several friends
have formed a once-a-month reading group, and so dedicated
is the “Ya-ya Book Club” that it even met at
the cemetery where a former member is buried, and toasting
her with a bottle of Merlot while discussing that month’s
“read”. Favorite books include Ice
Bound, the true story of Dr. Jerri Nielsen’s
battle for survival in Antarctica, and the Harry Potter
series: “I’ve read them all."
This Arizona native (she was born and raised in Willcox)
says of herself, “I’m easy to get along with:
open, honest, opinionated. My way of dealing with people
is to say, ‘Come on in and have a cup of coffee.’”
Just don’t bring your camera.
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