Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Nancy Maurer can be found greeting staff and students alike as they enter the main entrance of Governors State University.
Maurer has been employed with GovState for the last 17 years. In January 1996 she was a volunteer usher for the opening of the Center for Performing Arts. She then worked as an assistant to the director of a consortia for three years before her career as the “Welcome Center Manager,” as she likes to call it.
Maurer switched roles in order to have more contact with the students and staff. She has been the Office Support Associate for 14 years, where she has received seven awards and four trophies for her dedication. None of which means as much to her as being able to put a smile on people’s faces.
Before officially accepting a role working at GovState, Maurer worked for Fuji camera company where she sold 35 millimeter film processing in the era before the dominance of digital photography. The camera film would get turned in to a store to get developed into printed pictures. Maurer’s role was to convince store owners to allow Fuji films to pick up the film that was dropped off to them to be processed through Fuji’s photo processors.
She was the sales woman over five states. However, digital media was on the rise, pushing out this style of photo processing. Maurer remembered being offered a paid position at GovState, so she reached out and interviewed that day for the position. When the position at the welcome center opened up, Maurer applied and interviewed because she “felt a strong need to be doing something to help people.” She said she just wants to help people.
“It’s my happy place. I dearly love being with my sweetheart of a husband and next to that I dearly love being here at the welcome center,” Maurer said. “That’s why I am still here. I feel like a cheerleader. I so admire all of you beautiful students. I truly do. I always tell people if it was easy everyone would do it and you’re doing it and I really admire you for it.”
Maurer and her husband have been together for 60 years and have two sons, one of whom received his communications degree from GovState.
A remarkable memory for Maurer involved a former dean of the library who would have people who drove old school cars bring them to the college. They would line up the cars for a few hours and let students view them like a car show. That same former employee did the same thing for her own retirement party. “Once again (she) lined up her car club members and they all brought their gorgeous cars and lined them up and opened the hoods for people to peek in. She then hired the kitchen staff. They brought all kinds of tables and food out there.” Maurer’s face lit up when she thought back on the memory.
Maurer’s husband also gets involved at GovState. He lines up astronomy viewing events where people will set up telescopes and let students and the community get a closer view of what is happening in the night sky. Throughout all of her time at GovState, it is clear that Maurer has enjoyed her years here and does not plan on retiring any time soon. The next time that you come to the college be sure to stop by the main entrance and say hello to Nancy. She would love to put a smile on your face.