So what do you do here?

I’m a “Sec III” for the Center for Student Involvement & Leadership. I enjoy being called a “secretary.” I don’t pretend to be anything else. I’m here to assist my colleagues and students.

I’ve been in this job for 25 years, and my duties have changed through the years. I provide support for the director, the associate director, and two of our program coordinators—I assist with answering the phone, making appointments, and support them in their roles. I help plan events like Family Weekend, Homecoming, and Welcome Back Week, and also with Fraternity and Sorority Life events.

I’m also a mother to many students. I’ve worked with a lot of students from student government, Dance Marathon, and the Greek community. I’m a general resource person for them—“Where do I go to do this?” “Where can I find that?”—I help whenever I can with whatever they need.

What do you enjoy most about working in a higher education setting?

Definitely the students. They keep me young. Each year, new student leaders assume their responsibilities and through the years you can see them grow and mature—that’s the fun part.

My co-workers keep me young with all their new ideas and their energy.

Take us through your most memorable day at the university.

Actually it wasn’t a day; it was a week.

Last April, I got the Staff Hancher-Finkbine Medallion, and I also received a Fraternity and Sorority Life award recognizing the years of service I’ve given to the Greek community. They set up an endowment in my name: the Dinette L. Myers Quiet Leader Award. It’s a $10,000 endowment, and they will give a $500 scholarship each year to a deserving student. I was very shocked and honored to receive both of these awards.

These two awards made me feel like I make a contribution to the university community and that people respect me as a secretary.

What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken—and did it pay off?

I worked at the Center for Conferences prior to having children, and decided to be a stay-at-home mom. I quit my job. It was a risk—can we make it? I was a stay-at-home mom for nine years and then returned and worked at the hospital for six months, and then applied for my current job and have been at the IMU for 25 years.

If you could spend a day with anyone, from any era, who would it be and why?

My dad. He passed away 15 years ago very suddenly. We have a lot to catch up on.

If you could have a song written about you, who would perform it, and what would it be called?

Nat King Cole. “Never Say Good-bye.” Because that’s my philosophy. I always tell students and colleagues, “I never say good-bye, because I’ll probably see you again.” Especially now with Facebook and email, it’s easier to stay in touch.

Since I’ve been here 25 years, every so often a person will walk in the office and I think, “I should know this person,” and they are one of the first students I worked with, and they are back to visit. They say, “Of course I had to come see you!”

If you could get rid of one invention in the world, what would you choose? Why?

Guns.

I was going to say alarm clocks, because I don’t like hearing the alarm in the morning. But, after the shootings in the movie theater in Colorado in July, I have a more serious answer. I say guns. Who ever invented the gun to kill innocent people?

I was here during the shooting on campus. (In 1991, a graduate student killed four staff and faculty members and one student, and seriously injured another student, before committing suicide.) That day was very scary. And as support staff, you are on the front line when tragedies like that strike campus.

Name five of your favorite things.

• Spending time with family. I have three grandchildren under 4 years old, and I love spoiling them.
• Cheering on the Hawkeyes. My husband and I have tickets for basketball and football games.
• Vacationing at the Lake of the Ozarks. My mom has a place at the lake and our whole family (28 of us) gathers there for a few days every summer.
• Crocheting and reading.
• The Sound of Music with a bowl of popcorn.