Have you met Giovana, Administrative and Financial Coordinator and dodger of the cold? Spend the next 2 minutes getting to know her a little better.
Where is your favorite place on campus?
It’s the new part of SUB. It’s very nice — that new area with all the glass. I love the campus in the summer. I mean it’s beautiful any time of the year but as a Brazilian, I do not spend a lot of time outside in the winter. So even if it is in the middle of winter, you can just sit [in the SUB atrium] and look outside, [see] the sunshine and feel like you are part of the campus without having to be out there in the cold.
Tablet or paper?
I’m not a huge fan of paper. I like to keep everything electronically. I’m more of a laptop than tablet person. So between the two, I would say tablet.
Name one thing you’ve brought to work from home.
Pictures of my daughter and my family.
What is the one thing you can’t live without?
I guess a few things, but chocolate is one thing I can’t live without. I can live without many things but not chocolate.
If you won airfare to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I think I would go back to Italy. I have family there, but I would like to go for at least two months and finally learn the language. I can understand a bit but I’m not fluent at all. So that would really be my top priority.
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
That would be my mom. She passed away 10 years ago and I miss her. It would be a good opportunity to catch up and update her with everything that’s been going on with my life. She missed many good things.
If you could switch jobs with someone else on campus for a week, what would you do?
I like everything to do with convocation. I would really like a role in the Registrar’s Office that deals directly with convocation but also with students themselves. I find that that’s why we’re all here and it is [the students’] proudest moment. Their families are all around. So anything to do with that or the communications team. They have people interviewing and showcasing stories of students as individuals. I like that part.
What does “uplifting the whole people” mean to you?
To me that means that the university has an obligation not only towards the people directly involved like staff and students but also to society in general, and particularly our local community. We also fulfill this obligation through the big discoveries that we make which will impact people all over the world.
If you could solve any problem in the world, what would it be?
I think child poverty or child hunger. Ever since I’ve had a child this has been really close to my heart. I can’t imagine what some kids have to go through.
What 3 words best describe your U of A experience?
That’s hard because I’ve had different U of A experiences. I think its diversity, opportunity and enjoyment.
About Giovana Bianchi
Giovana first started at the U of A in 2006 in the President’s Office. After a brief break in 2011 when she worked with the province’s Legislative Assembly Office, Giovana returned and has since worked in various capacities in the university, notably as a Recruitment Coordinator (Americas) for the International Office. In February 2016, she assumed the role of Administrative and Financial Coordinator at the Office of the Vice President (Finance and Admin). Giovana is originally from Brazil and does get a bit homesick in the winter, but other than that, she loves living here!