Today we’re talking with Anna Henderson, the Graduate School’s Business Manager. Anna has been with the Graduate School since 2007. She began working at Baylor as an undergrad and has experience in Baylor’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness/SACS, University Development, and the University Libraries. Anna is the budget manager for the Graduate School. She also helps to plan and oversee student stipend accounts for the various graduate programs. She also manages the Graduate School fellowship program for incoming doctoral students and coordinates the Graduate School’s Annual Report. Anna earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Baylor in 1991.
BearTracks
For the readers of the blog who haven’t met you, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you ended up working in the Grad School.
Anna Henderson
So, I was a an undergrad student worker at Baylor when I was a student here. I started off in the Development Office, which nowadays is called the Advancement Office. I worked there about three years as a student, and then after I graduated I spent a couple of years in Japan teaching English. And then I got married and moved around the country a little bit, but Waco has been my home for most of my life. So we ended up back here, and since I loved my experience working at Baylor before, I came back to work here as soon as I could. I worked in development again for a little while; I’ve worked in the libraries, worked in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness – started there in 2006. At that time, Dean Lyon was both Graduate School Dean and Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness, and that’s how I came into contact with him. When he was looking for a new assistant, I transitioned to the Graduate School to work with him in that role.
BT
What is the official title of your role in the Graduate School, and what, on any given day of the week, does that job entail?
AH
My title is Business Manager, and that mostly involves budget tasks: processing expense reports, paying the bills, reimbursing people, doing deposits, making budget adjustments. And then one of the bigger parts of my job is stipend budget planning for grad students. We have a pot of money that the University gives us to distribute to the different departments around campus to pay their grad students from, and I help with getting that budget prepared, and getting all the different departments’ stipend budgets set up properly. And then I also assist with student payroll questions, like if there are any questions about hiring graduate students who are wanting to work more than 20 hours a week I help process those requests and get the Dean’s approval on those. I also process fellowships or scholarships for grad students.
Let’s see. This doesn’t happen every day, but it does happen every Fall, we work on the Graduate School annual report. I put that together. I’ll usually collect the different articles and graphs and data and put that all together in a nice looking format. I help the Dean with presentations, PowerPoint presentations. And I also manage the weekly Deans Meetings.
BT
Wow. That is so many things. My goodness, I’m amazed you are able to stay on top of everything – it sounds like you have so many plates constantly up in the air. Do you like that? Does that give you energy, or are there times where it’s just a lot? Because to me, it sounds like a lot!
AH
I guess it depends on the time of the year, but mostly I like keeping busy. It doesn’t give you time to get bored, I’ll say that!
BT
As someone who is bored easily, I do understand that.
AH
Yeah, I love working in the Graduate School. I’ve been here since 2007. I really enjoy the people, the staff here. It’s great.
BT
That’s a pretty good lead-in to my next question: What is your favorite thing about this job?
AH
It’s the people. It’s a family-type atmosphere. I enjoy coming in to see them all every day. We have a good time together.
BT
Everyone here is a hard working goofball. By that, I mean that everyone gets so much stuff done, but they just seem to have so much fun and delight is doing it. Between the Photoshop competitions around Christmas, or the funny polls on the whiteboard in the break room, everyone’s so funny and clever AND works so hard. It’s a delightful combination.
AH
We do have a good time.
BT
What do you wish more graduate students knew about the graduate school?
AH
We probably don’t have a lot of visibility with graduate students, but I think that’s maybe the way it should be. Students should primarily have that strong relationship with their departments. We can step in and help with the things that the departments can’t or don’t have the resources to handle. I would like the students to know that we’re here, and we’re here to help for anything that comes up. But their relationship with their department is probably the most important thing.
BT
Do you have a favorite Baylor event, whether that’s a sporting event or a fine arts event?
AH
I love theater. I used to have season tickets for the Baylor theater every year. I’ve really enjoyed that. It’s usually the same day as Christmas on Fifth Street, but I also enjoy the Advent service that they do at the Armstrong Browning Library. Beautiful service. That’s one of my favorite things.
BT
Oh my goodness, yes, definitely; it’s such a beautiful space.
So the next question is kind of a “choose your own adventure.” I’ve got two options, you can pick which one you want to answer. One is “what is the resource you wish graduate students took better advantage of?” or the other option is “Is there a recurring pitfall you see graduate students make time and again that you wish you could point out?”
AH
Hmm. I’ll have to think about that a little while. What do I wish they took better advantage of? I don’t do a lot with the Graduate Student Association (GSA), except occasionally do budget processes for them. But I know that they’re a great organization. And I would hope that as many graduate students as possible take advantage of that resource. It’s a good way for them to get their voices heard if they have concerns or even just want to celebrate certain things together. They’re a great group for grad students who will get involved.
BT
How about a fun fact about yourself?
AH
I love to paint. I started when my son was young and I wanted to stay home with him. I used to paint dogs for people and so I sold dog art.
BT
Wow. Do you use watercolor or oils? What’s your favorite medium?
AH
Acrylic. Acrylics are what I use and, in fact, I did this painting here behind me for Laura Sepanski, who works here in the Graduate School. She grows wildflowers at her home and commissioned these of her wildflowers. But, since her house caught on fire, and she was living in the hotel for a little while repairs are being done, she asked me to babysit her painting for her.
BT
That painting is gorgeous. I love all the Texas wildflowers in it.
Okay, two more questions. What advice would you give to graduate students for navigating their career here?
AH
Have confidence that you’re in the right place and you can do this. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or feel like maybe you’ve taken the wrong path.
BT
Yeah, imposter syndrome is real.
AH
Right, but stay strong. Keep going to do great things.
BT
Okay, my final question is slightly facetious, but who is your favorite staff?
AH
Dean Lyon, of course.
BT
The man in charge is always a good a safe answer!
AH
I do admire the Dean. He gives good advice, he’s always level-headed, and I really enjoy his sense of humor.