Work place:
Environmental Health and Safety
Title:
Training and development coordinator
Years at MU:
15
Hometown:
St. Louis
Favorite sport:
Tae Kwon Do or other martial arts
Favorite vacation spot:
Door County, Wis.
Family:
Husband and two daughters
Undergraduate/graduate
education:
BS (chemistry) from Northeast Missouri State University (now
Truman State) and an MA (physical anthropology) from the University of
Missouri.
What are your current job duties?
I am member of the executive management team for the [Environmental Health and Safety] department. I supervise department front office personnel, approve financial statements and purchases, lead meetings and manage departmental resources. I organize the departmental training program and events, maintain the safety training records database for campus. I teach safety-related classes, including American Red Cross certified cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillation and First Aid.
Why are you passionate about your job?
I’m passionate about giving people the tools they need to succeed. That includes training classes, as well as giving them the basic skills to work in a laboratory or save someone’s life.
What is your favorite part about working at Mizzou?
I love working with the great people we have at Mizzou. I also love working on such a beautiful campus. We have a lot of opportunities here that other employers don’t offer. I try to take advantage of these when I can.
If you weren’t doing this for a living, what would your dream job be?
My dream job would be working as a physical anthropologist in human skeletal identification. I would love to teach at a college or university, especially working with nontraditional students.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy meeting people from many different departments. I enjoy working with faculty, staff, and students alike.
How do you spend your time away from the university?
I spend a lot of time taking care of my family and enjoying our time together. To indulge my creative side, I spend time weaving at my loom. I also enjoy driving and riding in our 1966 Chevelle convertible, and recently fulfilled a dream by driving it in the Memorial Day parade.
What do you consider the most rewarding aspects of your job?
The people I work with and meet on a daily basis. They make my job wonderful. It is also rewarding knowing I am teaching people how to save lives and help others in emergency situations.
Is there a single achievement you’ve been recognized for as an employee at MU or related to your outside activities?
Being the chair of the Staff Advisory Council was an extremely rewarding experience. You are only as good as the people working with you, and I had the good fortune to be working with some of the best staff members on campus and in the council at that time.
In 2003, I was awarded the Show-Me State Games Outstanding Female Sportsmanship Award. That was important to me not only because it was a complete surprise and because of what a sportsmanship award represents. It was also an honor because of my connection to MU and that the Show-Me State Games are part of this university.
What others say about Rebecca:
“Rebecca takes an active role in the Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and the MU campus as a whole. She’s held several offices with staff council, so all campus staff have benefited from her efforts. As EHS training coordinator, her focus is on assuring that numerous training programs are available to MU faculty, staff and students. Rebecca maintains her teaching certification for CPR/First Aid training and provides training to prepare individuals for emergencies, which she hopes will never happen. In return, she receives thanks from participants in her training programs. For those times when the skills she’s taught individuals have allowed them to respond to a crisis situation, her efforts are priceless.” — Mary Reichel, environmental health technician, Environmental Health and Safety