Pretend that you like your work if you want to keep it

When? Sunday morning, November 4, 2007
What? Chemistry and Hispanic Open Houses
Where? Campus of Virginia Tech
I took on the incredibly daunting task to be the smiling face of the Chemistry Department and Hispanic Caucus during the Open House held by Virginia Tech. During Open House, prospective students and their families visit campus and receive information about Tech. Every department likes to have a faculty representative to show people around, ask questions, and tell future students that if they choose VT, they will end up walking over water in four years. I had to wear a costume, which consisted of shiny shoes, suit pants, and a shirt. Oh yeah. My cheeks hurt after so much forced smiling. I doubt I was of any help to any of the families, but I was definitely of help to our undegraduate secretary, Anna Hawthorne. Poor thing was charged with the thankless task of herding the families of future chemists through the undergraduate labs, even though she knows next to nothing about chemistry because it is not her job. Kudos to Anna for weathering the storm. I bet she is underpayed, even when she is assigned to carry out services she was probably not hired for.

The subsequent Hispanic open house went rather smoothly. Ray Plaza knows how to play the game, and Carlos Evia embodies the i-don't-take-any-shit-from-anyone professor everybody would love to have, particularly Hispanic students.