Women's History Month Difference Maker 2

Sherry Bigelow

Administrative Assistant to the Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion

How long have you been at RIT? 

I have been at RIT for three years and three months. I started out in Enrollment Management working in the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, and then I transitioned into the Division of Diversity and Inclusion.

Please describe your responsibilities at RIT. 

As the administrative assistant for the vice president and associate provost for diversity and inclusion, I manage his calendar, coordinating appointments with the president, other vice presidents, RIT employees, students, and Rochester community members. I arrange his travel, hotel, and put together itineraries. I oversee the monthly procurement statements. Additionally, I take minutes at the Board of Trustees DEI Committee meetings. Otherresponsibilities include fielding requests for the vice president and associate provost to speak at RIT and Rochester community events. I also coordinate division meetings, the DDI holiday gathering, and the end of the year retreat. Additionally, I serve as the phone coordinator and send out communications on behalf of the leadership team to our division. 

What is it about your job that keeps you here? 

My colleagues and the students. Our division is amazing! We are 35 people strong, and everyone works so hard to make a positive impact here on campus as well as out in the community. It is so rewarding to see everything that our students have accomplished during their years here at RIT.

Please briefly share some of your professional journey.

I’ve worn many different hats in my professional journey. I have been an assistant manager at an art store, an interior designer, an emergency dispatch operator, a trainer, a barista, and an administrative assistant just to name a few.

I imagine some people have no idea of the number of responsibilities you must juggle-every day. What skills and characteristics do you think a person needs to be proficient in this role?

My role takes a lot of organization, attention to detail, multi-tasking and high energy. Each day is different, so you must be flexible and ready to pivot at any point. Building and maintaining strong relationships with various divisions across campus is also crucial for success, along with an approachable demeanor.

In fact, I like to live by the quote from Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I carry that with me to every single role that I have ever been in, to make a difference in people’s lives.

We are celebrating Women’s History Month. Why is this important and who are some of the women you admire? 

Women are a major pillar of strength for our society. It is so important to recognize the contributions of women in our society and encourage future generations to keep breaking barriers.

Someone who I admire is my mom who is the youngest of five girls. She grew up on a farm in Osceola which is a rural town in the Tug Hill region of Upstate New York. She was a 1st gen college student who worked her way through college and graduate school to obtain her master’s degree in elementary education. She instilled the importance of strength, faith, and education in our family.

Another woman that I admire who broke barriers was Mary Golda Ross. Ross was a Cherokee aerospace engineer and the first Native American woman to become a professional engineer in 1949. She started off teaching students in mathematics and science. In her words “the world is so technical, if you plan to work in it, a math background will let you go farther and faster.” After she retired, she continued to inspire and mentor other Native American women in the field of engineering.

Fun Facts  

As children, we all had ideas of “what we wanted to be when we grew up.”  What was on your list?

I always wanted to be a veterinarian. I love animals! But I didn’t think I would be able to handle putting an animal down.

You are asked to give an impromptu speech on a subject you know quite a bit about. What would you talk about?

I would give an impromptu speech on Face Reading. I first became intrigued on the subject when I read a book by Mac Fulfer called Amazing Face Reading. I never realized how much you could tell, about someone’s personality by their features/lines/ placement of ears, eyes etc. There is so much to discover, and I have continued to research and test out theories. To this day it still captivates me how much you can learn about a person without them saying a word to you.

Are you a dog-person, cat-person or both?

I am a dog person. Growing up we had a Brittany Spaniel named Cindy. As soon as my husband and I bought a house we got a Boston Terrier name Hunter. When Hunter passed, we wanted to save another dog, so we adopted Crosby. He is a mixed breed of Shih tzu, Pomeranian, Dachshund and Sheep Dog which equates to 14 lbs. of crazy, but we adore him!

Best book you have read/ movie you have seen that you would recommend to a good friend?

Best book I have read would be Poldark by Winston Graham. It is a book about a British Army veteran of the American Revolutionary war who returns from battle to find out his father has died; his estate is in ruins and in a significant amount of debt and his childhood sweetheart is engaged to his cousin. Normally I don’t get into these types of novels, but this one hooked me and then of course I went on to watch the five-season series from 2015, which was even better!

My favorite movie is Piece by Piece directed by Morgan Neville. This is a documentary of Pharell Williams’ life told through Lego animation. I was astonished by the struggles he encountered in life not only as an artist but in school as well. I admire the fact that he isn’t afraid to talk about having auditory-color synesthesia, and how he never felt like he fit in, but his grandmother taught him how to embrace his condition and let it shape who he is today.

Favorite spot in the Rochester region and why?

My favorite spot in the Rochester Region is New York Kitchen located on South Main Street in Canandaigua. I coordinated a team building event there a few years ago and it was magnificent! They split us into groups, and we were each given a specific ingredient, a time limit, and unlimited access to the ingredients in the fridge, freezer and cupboard. Once we got the signal to start, off we went to create a culinary masterpiece in under an hour. We created a loaded creole potato salad and added some grilled shrimp since a couple of the folks on my team considered themselves Grill Masters! Our groups were so competitive, it felt like a game show! 

Do you play a musical instrument? 

Yes, I play the piano.

Do you have a favorite sports team that you root for?

Married into a Pittsburgh Steelers family, but I love routing for the RIT Men’s and Women’s hockey teams. Go Tigers!!!!!

What would your friends or colleagues be surprised to learn about you?

I took a simulated skydiving class in college and learned how to do somersaults in the air. It was a phenomenal experience! One piece of advice that I would give is to be careful of the face you are making when you jump off the platform, it will stay that way the entire time!