Have You Met Janet, Guest Services Supervisor in Lister Centre? Spend the next few minutes getting to know her a little better.
What is your earliest U of A memory?
When I was around 15 years old in the early 1980s I worked the concession at the Bears and Pandas basketball games. We didn’t have a cash register, and we had to do the math in our heads and make change without a calculator.
What have the biggest changes been to your area of work?
My position has dramatically changed over the past few months: I’ve joined the front-line, and I currently serve students from the front desk at Lister Centre. We’ve introduced many physical changes to keep our students and staff safe, including plexiglass barriers and wearing face masks.
Move-in day will look a little this year. It will be by appointment only so we can get students into their dorm rooms safely. The university is working very hard to keep staff and students safe.
What advice would you give to your 18 year-old self?
Stop and smell the roses. I think we can get so busy we forget to take a break.
If you could enroll in one course, program, or degree right now, what would it be?
I would enroll in a course in the Faculty of Arts. I love philosophy, I love humanities, I love sociology.
What is your go-to snack, lunch, or drink?
My go-to drink is coffee. But my daughter did once tell me she thought I had shares in Diet Dr. Pepper.
What is something your co-workers don’t yet know about you?
I love to explore Canada. I have been to every capital city and legislature in every province. Next on my bucket list is travelling to the territories.
What is your favourite distraction?
Conversation.
What three words describe your U of A experience so far?
Possibility. Resilience. Inspiration.
Janet Lien has a background in Travel and Tourism as well as Arts and Science. She has spent much of her life being very active in the Highland Dance community, and continues to take highland dance lessons to this day. She and her husband stay active with whatever their five children are doing, whether it’s attending dog show disc trials, horse and pony shows, highland dancing competitions, or piping and drumming events.