“No matter what the circumstances, she always has a pleasant way about her and a can-do attitude,” Mayo said. “She has always exuded what it meant to be proud of where you went to school and how that connection can be important for your whole life.”

She’s been busy. She co-chairs the President’s Commission on the Status of Women and the Homecoming Committee. She’s also interviewing finalists for the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards, the visibility and importance of which she hopes to elevate.

One of her biggest goals is to make sure that, by the time people become alumni, they feel the same kind of connection to MSU she felt when she was a student here.

She remembers an event she attended a while back. It was homecoming, and the Johnny Holm Band was playing. Nine hundred students attended and the atmosphere was electric.

She remembers thinking that night that she’d like to stay at MSU and build on the increasing sense of pride and spirit she’s sensing among students.

“If students don’t feel connected, it’s really difficult to make (students having more pride and spirit) happen,” she said.

Her boss has faith in her.

“I think our getting a chance to hire her,” Mayo said, “is one of the highlights of my professional career.”