By Kevin Fitzsimons

Administrative Professionals Day is a day to honor workers like Michelle Chambers, an office associate for Extension Family and Consumer Sciences.

Administrative Professionals Day is April 26

Together, Dolores Fischer, LuAnn Sweet and Michelle Chambers have 35 years of service to Ohio State. That's 35 years of answering telephones, ordering supplies, befriending graduate students, designing newsletters, taking classes and learning computer programs.

Ask an administrative professional what he or she does, and the answer will probably be rather similar to Sweet's summation: "Anything and everything!"

April 26 is the 48th Administrative Professionals Day, sponsored nationally by the International Association of Administrative Professionals. The day, previously known as Professional Secretaries Day, is intended to honor the work of 3.4 million secretaries and administrative assistants across the nation. At Ohio State, approximately 3,000 employees are considered administrative support staff.

Fischer is an office associate in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, where she has worked for 19 years. At 67, she is several years past her eligibility for retirement, but has no plans to leave a job she loves any time soon.

Before raising a family, Fischer had worked for a year at University Hospitals. When she returned to the University to start her position with veterinary medicine, she was not sure she would like working away from the Medical Center.

"I thought, 'I can transfer out,' but I liked it, so I stayed,"Fischer said.

When she began her Ohio State career, there were no computers. "Every time you turn around they change the computers on you,"she said. The technology hasn't necessarily made her job easier, but she isn't complaining. "They're more complicated, but it's still fun,"Fischer said.

She speaks highly of her co-workers and credits them with her desire to continue working. "The people are the best part. We have a good group to work with,"she said.

The affection is reciprocal. "I think the big thing is her whole attitude toward the department and the University,"said Kent Hoblet, chair of veterinary preventive medicine. "She gives more than 100 percent and is willing to do whatever is necessary to complete the tasks."

Hoblet also noted Fischer's warmth in her relationships with the department's graduate students. "She really takes an interest in making the international students feel at home,"he said.

At the Office of Continuing Education, LuAnn Sweet is the "keystone" of the office, according to Carol Ventresca, associate director of credit programs.

"She is the only secretary in our department, working with not only the director, but each of us in our many duties,"Ventresca said. "LuAnn's range of activities is wide, moving from general correspondence to students, invoicing/contracts for our off-campus programs, mailings to the BRIDGE and Program 60 members, learning desktop publishing for newsletters and certificates, as well as scheduling meetings, ordering supplies, and the hundreds of other tasks we depend upon her to accomplish."

Sweet's career has included five years in the U.S. Army and four years in the Naval Reserves. She came to the University 11 years ago, holding positions within Physical Facilities and Biological Sciences before joining Continuing Education as an office associate six years ago.

The University has been a good environment for her. "I like the opportunity to work in different places and to be able to advance yourself within a system,"she said.

Part of Sweet's advancement has included working toward a degree in English, a goal she plans to complete summer quarter. "It's a long process. I've been taking a course almost every quarter since 1992,"she said.

Her work has required a lot of learning over the years, as well, particularly in the area of technology. "Sometimes I've taken classes, but a lot of times, I've learned it on my own,"she said. "You get a book and you learn it. You do what you need to do."

Michelle Chambers has worked as an office associate in Extension Family and Consumer Sciences in the College of Human Ecology for four years. Her duties include working on Web sites and four newsletters and assisting in the direction of student workers. She also has begun ARMS training.

"We're lucky to have her,"said Joyce McDowell, interim assistant director of family and consumer sciences. "What I really appreciate about her is her personality. She's fun, but also very professional."

Chambers likes the variety of the work she does. "There's a lot of flexibility and a good kind of pressure. I think I function better knowing that things need to get done,"Chambers said. "The group around here is a lot of fun. I do flex time -- I work four 10-hour days -- but I stay so busy it doesn't seem like that."

Chambers was honored for her work with a Dean's Staff Award last year and is president-elect of Chi Epsilon Sigma, an Extension support staff fraternity with chapters in three states.

She is glad to have found a position at Ohio State. "I've never worked at a university before and it is completely different from the private sector,"she said. "Ohio State is interesting because it is such a big deal in Columbus and Ohio.

"I tell people I work here and everybody says, 'Oh! You work at Ohio State?' Everybody gets excited about this place. It does give you an added sense of pride."

Asian Awareness Month begins

An Asian Art Exhibit will appear on the second floor of Bricker Hall throughout May, which is Asian Awareness Month at Ohio State.

Early celebrations include an Asian Food and Cultural Fair, featuring food and entertainment, from 5-7 p.m. April 27 at the Ohio Union Ballrooms. Admission is $5. A free Asian Talent Showcase follows from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ohio Union East Ballroom.

At 7 p.m. April 29 in Beightler Armory, 2815 W. Dublin-Granville Road (East of Sawmill Road), the Vietnamese Student Association will feature speakers, performances, a fashion show and a martial arts display during 25 Years Looking Back: The Fall of Saigon.

OSU students and Columbus professionals will discuss how Asian American Studies courses contribute to life during Plans After Graduation from 6-8 p.m. May 2 at the Ohio Union Memorial Room.

Asian Americans in the Midwest, from 4-5:30 p.m. May 4 at the Ohio Union Memorial Room, features a presentation by Barbara M. Posadas of Northern Illinois University on Filipino American diversity, identity and a century of history.

From 5:30-6:30 p.m. May 4 in room 29 Derby Hall, the Lotus Sutra Buddhist Society student group presents Buddhism in Everyday Life.

For remaining events, see the May 11 onCampus. For more information, contact Asian American Student Services, 292-0625.

Hispanic Awareness Week observed at OSU

The Ohio State campus will celebrate Hispanic Awareness Week 2000, April 22-30. Events include:

• Happy Birthday Brazil -- Band Bossa 2 U, 2-3 p.m., Ohio Union Conference Theatre.

• Art Exhibition -- Throughout the week, Bricker Hall Gallery.

• Soup & Substance: Latin Issues, noon-1 p.m., Ohio Union Third Floor Board Room.

• Puerto Rican Women and the Criminal Justice System -- Juanita Diaz-Corto, 1:30-3 p.m., Ohio Union Conference Theatre.

• Music of Brazil -- Christopher J. Dunn of Tulane University, 3:30-5 p.m., 156 University Hall.

• Formal Opening of the 22nd Annual Hispanic Awareness Week -- 4-6 p.m., Faculty Club Main Lounge.

• Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs -- 9 a.m.- noon, Ohio Union Memorial Room.

• Fostering Collaborative Leadership in the Hispanic Community -- Hector Garza, vice president for the American Council on Education's Division of Access and Equity Program, 1:30-3 p.m., Ohio Union Conference Theatre.

• Comedian Carlos Mencia -- "Issue-driven"comedy, 7:30-9 p.m., Ohio Union West Ballroom.

• Who Are Our Political Role Models? -- noon-1 p.m., Ohio Union Memorial Room.

• Study Circles on Race Relations -- Discussion about the effects of the term "Hispanic"on the Latino community, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Ohio Union Memorial Room.

• "If You Don't Know Where You Came From, You Don't Know Where You're Going,"Led by Juan Roberto Job, author of Just Because I'm Latin Doesn't Mean I Mambo: A Success Guide For Hispanic Americans, 6:30-8 p.m., Drinko Hall Auditorium.

• Racial Profiling/Justice Issues for Latinos -- Attorney Jose Luis Mas, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Drinko Hall.

• Latino/a Groups at University College Presentation -- 1-2 p.m., Ohio Union Memorial Room.

• Latina Feminism -- Ellen Gil-Gomez, senior lecturer of Latino/a Studies, and student panel, 2-3:30 p.m., Ohio Union Memorial Room.

• Cinema of Brazil -- Randal Johnson, professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Los Angeles, 3:30-5 p.m., 156 University Hall.

• Detecting, Diagnosing and Treating Diabetes -- Screening and presentation by Billy Ruben of the Central Ohio Diabetes Association, 5-6 p.m., Hale Center.

• Hispanics: Panic vs. Reality -- Beatriz Amberman, founder and director of Hispanic Folk Ballet, 7-9 p.m., Ohio Union Main Lounge.

• Pop Shock: Recent Latina Lesbian Writing -- 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Ohio Union Memorial Room.

• Machismo and Marianismo: A Discussion of Latino and Latina Stereotypes -- 1-2:30 p.m., Ohio Union Memorial Room.

• Latino/a Studies Panel -- 2:30-4 p.m., Ohio Union Memorial Room.

• Alpha Psi Lambda Picnic and Latino Dance Lessons -- 4:30-6:30 p.m., Hale Center.

• Nocha de Ronda (An Evening of Entertainment) -- 4 p.m., Browning Amphitheater.

For details, contact Hispanic Student Services at 688-4988.

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