Have you met Aman, coffee enthusiast, lover of Capri, and Manager of Residence Life? Spend the next 2 minutes getting to know her a little better.
Where is your favourite place on campus?
When I’m stressed out, I like going to HUB and having a coffee. Listening to all the students around you, how stressful [it is] and hearing about their life puts your life in perspective. I like [how] it reminds you of why we work here and why we do everything — to make that stress less or make their life easier. So that’s a weird favourite thing of mine.
Tablet or paper?
Paper. Totally paper. Am I part of the norm or the minority group there?
[Interviewer: I’d say the norm actually].
Name one thing you’ve brought to work from home.
Oh okay, I’m going to tell you the honest truth. This place was like a barn before yesterday. I came in with my partner and we made it look normal. This is not what it normally looks like. So the thing I brought from home is something my sister gave me — this little statue keepsake. That’s from home. I [also] got a French press so I don’t spend $500 on coffee.
What is the one thing you can’t live without?
I can’t live without coffee, that’s a pretty big thing. But for stress, I can’t live without running. I’m a big runner. Coffee and running are things that if you remove from my life, I’d be pretty upset. Everything else I could learn to deal with.
If you won airfare to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I would go to Capri, Italy. I went there for two days last year and I have a love affair with Italy. So I would go there, sit, eat pizza, and drink wine and do nothing else forever.
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
Right now because I’ve been so infatuated with [the US elections], I would invite Hillary Clinton to talk to her about things. But that’s just because of the time. And I would hope that her husband would come along too… I read his autobiography and I really like him. So it would be a two person deal.
If you could switch jobs with someone else on campus for a week, what would you do?
That’s a good question! I think I would like to switch jobs with somebody in Phys Ed … or somebody in grounds keeping. I would love to have an outdoor job or an active job. I find I sit all the time and by the time I get home, I feel I’m so tired that I should sit some more. So, somebody with an active job.
What does “uplifting the whole people” mean to you?
I feel it means providing support for everyone as best as we can. So when students come here on campus, there are so many resources for them. My goal is that we’re at least streamlining processes for them so that their academic journey is as clear as possible. So they know that if they’re having ‘x’ problem, they can go to ‘y’ location, or speak to ‘y’ person. Uplifting the whole people is providing them adequate support in a manageable way so they can be successful.
If you could solve any problem in the world, what would it be?
World hunger definitely. That’s the worst thing in my opinion. Well, poverty in general. But food and shelter are the most important things.
What 3 words best describe your U of A experience?
Exciting, challenging and engaging. I feel really engaged to the campus. I never felt engaged when I was in school, in my undergrad. But now I feel really engaged to this campus.
About Aman Litt
Aman is the Manager, Residence Life and Education at the University of Alberta. She is responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the residence life program. Aman has been at the University of Alberta for the past four years and started her career at the Office of the Registrar, before transferring to Residence Services. You will also see her in the Education building a lot because Aman is currently a part-time student in the Masters of Education, Educational Policy Studies program. She has been an Edmonton resident for the past four years and has finally mastered the winters here.