Staff Spotlight

  1. May 1, 2023

    Communicator adds charm to mailboxes, birdhouses

    Tamara Havermahl has designed and created dozens of mailboxes and birdhouses, a pursuit that has invigorated a longtime love of art and pulled her from the depths of depression.

  2. April 17, 2023

    Catering director finds joy on ski slopes

    Despite a busy schedule with her role as director of catering at MDining, Devon Janks makes sure to find time to enjoy the ski slopes, and that includes following in her father’s footsteps as a high school coach.

  3. February 20, 2023

    Hedgehog is a perfect pet for Graham staffer

    Kelly Jones, sustainability programs manager for the Graham Sustainability Institute, and her partner adopted Peary, a 2-year-old hedgehog, from a breeder. 

  4. January 30, 2023

    Orthotic assistant discovers grit and grace in disc golf

    Jennifer Trombley, an orthotic assistant in Michigan Medicine’s orthotics and prosthetics department, started Grit & Grace Ladies DGC, a disc golf league for women, five years ago. 

  5. January 16, 2023

    Paint parties, murals allow designer to share love of art

    DaJaniere Rice, a multimedia graphic designer at LSA Advancement, shares her passion for the mental and spiritual therapeutic potential of art through paint parties and murals.

  6. January 9, 2023

    Bonsai specialist embraces nature at a smaller scale

    Jack Sustic, the bonsai specialist at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, has his own extensive collection of more than 60 bonsai trees in his home.

  7. December 5, 2022

    Photographer channels passion for weather into storm chasing

    Daryl Marshke, a senior photographer with Michigan Photography, has a passion for photographing storms, an interest piqued at a young age when his Brighton home was damaged by a tornado. 

  8. November 21, 2022

    CrossFit provides fitness, competition for nurse anesthetist

    Blair Dudley, certified registered nurse anesthetist, has been involved with CrossFit for about 10 years and recently began taking part in competitions.

  9. November 14, 2022

    SMTD technical director has long history with Pokémon

    Richard Lindsay, technical director of university productions and lecturer of theatre in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, discovered Pokémon during the late 1990s.

  10. November 7, 2022

    Grad program manager finds outlet through improv

    Beth Dutridge-Corp, an LSA graduate education program manager, fell in love with sketch comedy shows and takes part in improvisational comedy performances.