If you work in the ARC, have ever come by for an appointment, or are just stopping in, you’ve probably seen Ginny Mullins’ friendly face or eaten one of her delicious desserts. As the Associate Director of the ARC, Ginny is a busy woman. She somehow still finds time to bake goodies for ARC visitors, give advice to stressed-out students, or just sit and chat. We had the chance to sit down with Ginny and find out about the many years she has dedicated to Emmanuel. Read on to learn more about this remarkable woman!
Ginny, left, with her husband
Her Campus at Emmanuel: How many years have you been here at EC?
Ginny Mullins: Well, 1992 was when I officially started in the ARC, but I was here getting my masters and doing an internship here from ‘90-’92, starting in Career Services before I ended up here in the ARC, where I am still!
HCE: Wow, it’s been a long time – although I think you’re leaving out an important detail about your connection with Emmanuel?
GM: Oh, yes – I graduated from here in 1972. I was a sociology major. I came back here to see Sister Mary T to get advice; I was going back to school after staying home with my kids for eighteen years, and I just wanted some advice, and it led me back here. I’ll always be grateful to her.
HCE: How has EC changed or stayed the same since you attended or since you first started working here?
GM: The first year I was here [as a student], all women, even students, were required to wear skirts every day. There were no pants, or slacks, and definitely no jeans!
HCE: Wow, even on the weekends?
GM: I’m not sure, because I commuted here. There were a lot of commuters in those days but I was the only one who lived in the neighborhood, on Mission Hill. But we all had to wear skirts every day, yes. By my junior or senior year, though, the feminist movement happened and there was enough grumbling on campus that said we needed to wear pants. Then we were within the mainstream of colleges and we were wearing jeans. We moved fast from skirts to jeans!
HCE: That is definitely a big change. Anything that’s still the same?
GM: When you go into the Administration Building, especially where the chapel is, that always felt the same. That seemed to me to be very symbolic of what the college is all about. The greenery has definitely changed, though; when I was here, there used to be a lot more trees. It was almost like an oasis in the inner city. Where now there’s parking lots and tall buildings, there was more greenery and beautiful trees, although they did save a lot of them as they built new things.
HCE: Emmanuel is definitely like a nice oasis here in the city. Given that you’ve been here for so many years, what has been your favorite part about EC?
GM: It always has been the students, whether it was my cohorts when I was a student here – there were a lot of us that were commuters and we got to be really close – but it has always been the students you meet here and the professors, too. That was always my favorite part.
HCE: Aw, that’s so nice to hear. So, what made you come to Emmanuel?
GM: I went to a Catholic high school, and since most of our parents hadn’t gone to college, the nuns there would identify colleges suitable for us to apply to and where they thought we might be able to get some scholarship money.
HCE: Well, we are certainly glad you ended up here. Now, do you have any study tips as we all (unfortunately) start to look towards finals in a few weeks?
GM: When you think about test taking and prep, it should begin with the first time you take notes in the class. It’s not starting to study the week before. It’s taking your notes and making sense out of them within a week of taking them, highlighting them and maybe making flashcards as you go along, so that the information you’re absorbing doesn’t just fly away. It’s also good to make a friend out of your textbook! That way, what you’re doing is studying all semester long. If you have to do it at the end, you should set yourself a schedule maybe a month or three weeks before finals, where you’re reviewing notes and highlighting the most important things that you need to study or reexamining old tests to look at what you did wrong. Then you’ll know where to put more emphasis when you start studying.
HCE: That is quite a lot of detail, which we know you must have gained over the years of working here in the ARC. Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us!
Anyone who works in the ARC knows Ginny always stumps tutors with the questions on her “getting to know you” bios. We wanted the chance to get to know Ginny’s answers to her own questions, so read on for Ginny’s fun facts!
Favorite food: Fish, any fresh fish
Favorite place to eat in Boston: Delfino’s Italian restaurant in Roslindale
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?: The ability to bring people together in a civil manner and be kind to one another, because it would lead to peace
Fun fact: I walked to school every day all the way from kindergarten through my junior year of college
Favorite vacation spot: Turks and Caicos (island in Caribbean)
Dream job: Run a restaurant or be a pastry chef
If you were an animal: A bird of some kind, probably some sort of colorful or tropical bird
Hobbies: Cooking and baking, babysitting my eight grandchildren or otherwise spending time with my four children