Name: Gretchen Cleveland
Job title: Executive Assistant to the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (that’s a mouthful)
Department: Academic Affairs
How long have you worked at Whitworth? Starting my third year, if you don’t count my year of student work in the post office or my year as a BJ resident assistant.
What do you like best about your job? Making sure Michael [Le Roy] is where he’s supposed to be and has what he needs to get his job done. Truly, I love support work because it’s behind the scenes and I get to help people do their jobs better. I also love organizing and making things more efficient. People have told me I’d be a great person to help on “Hoarders.”
In what ways do your gifts and abilities help meet the needs of the campus community you serve? I really like people. I love being able to listen and figure out solutions to problems. I think it’s been a lifelong philosophy to meet a need when I see a need.
Favorite book: Life is So Good, by George Dawson. My grandpa recommended it to me and it’s the amazing true story of an African American man’s life through major points of American history and his perseverance to learn how to read late in life.
Favorite movie: I could say something deep here, but I’ll be honest: “27 Dresses.” As a serial bridesmaid, parts of the movie resonated. And it is one of my favorite movie-watching stories, as I got a group of friends together to go watch it in our bridesmaid dresses. We walked into the movie, and the entire theater turned into a bridesmaid support group as people started describing horrible dresses they had to wear and experiences with bridezillas. It was epic.
Favorite food: Josh’s homemade pasta. There’s a reason why I’ve gained weight since I married him. The man is a talented chef.
Favorite quote: “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Favorite music: I pretty much listen to anything except country music. Current favorite artists include David Gray, William Fitzsimmons, Nickel Creek, Joshua Radin and whatever else Josh transfers to my iPod. He’s my music-loving equal.
Favorite animal: Sheep. My in-laws have a few sheep on their farm in Snohomish and I just love them.
Guilty pleasure: Ice cream; sadly, I don’t feel that guilty eating it.
Hobbies: I dabble in many, but am not superior in any. Sewing, knitting, skiing, hiking/backpacking, biking, swimming. I’m always looking for new things to try.
Best vacation ever: Disneyland as a “nanny” for my nephews. Dear, sweet time with my sister and brother-in-law and lots of memories hanging out with my nephews and seeing Disneyland at kid height and through kid wonder.
Birthplace: Seattle, Wash.
We’d be surprised to know that…I traveled in Europe solo for five weeks when I was between jobs and in a full blown quarter-life crisis. God bless my parents for letting me move back in with them so I could fund the trip, and for their understanding and trust in putting me on a plane without knowing how to get a hold of me. I learned a ton about myself, saw beautiful places, ate amazing food, and made some lifelong friends.
I collect…family heirlooms. Being the youngest, I’ve had the good fortune of receiving many family hand-me-downs. Our home has a lot of history in it as a result.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Italy, with India at a close second.
If you could try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt? Skydiving. Now that I’m married, I’ve lost some of my daredevil nature.
What is your favorite sound? Mountain lake waves lapping at the shoreline, with a rustling breeze through the trees
What is your life motto? “‘How are we going to get through this craziness?’ I said. ‘Left foot, right foot, left foot, breathe . . .’” Anne Lamott
Favorite childhood book: We Help Daddy. It was one of those Little Golden Books and I still have yet to acquire a copy. Apparently my sisters and I would make our parents read it over and over at bedtime. It’s probably why they got rid of it when we grew up.
Favorite childhood TV show: Toss up between the “Cosby Show” and “Family Ties.” I always loved seeing how the opening would be redone in the fall for the Cosby family, and, well, “Family Ties” had Michael J. Fox, teen heart throb of the 80s.
Least favorite word: Anyways – it drives me nuts
If you could go on a road trip with anyone (from the past or present), who would you choose and where would you go? My dad, grandpa and husband, and a road trip to the Banks’ Pinnacle site on the East Coast where my great-great-grandfather used to preach. I think the time in the car with three theologians and the family history that would be discussed would be rich. Plus, those three are some of the funniest men I know, so I would laugh a lot. Josh never met my grandpa, and I know they would have hit it off marvelously.
Best high school class subject: English, but I didn’t really excel at the written word until I met [Whitworth Professor of English] Doug Sugano and his in-class essay exams. I’m still nursing a case of PTSD from Brit Lit.
