Bobbi (Battleson) Hardy is an August 2016 alum of the LIS program, and a Team Awesome alum from the mid aughts. Do we wish we had her here that whole time? Heckin’ yeah! Alas, life had other, wonderful plans for Bobbi. She’s currently living (and working) in Farmer City, Illinois. She’s remote working for Engineering IT at the University of Illinois as their Communications and Customer Relations Coordinator.
Anything going on in life right now that’s especially awesome, bearing in mind that simply surviving is really pretty damned awesome?
Preparing to enter a year-long internship for a Masters in Social Work – Advanced Clinical with Mental Health concentration and learning new knitting techniques. I’ve also found that axe throwing is my sport of choice.
What do you remember best about your time on Team Awesome? Any particular stories you want to share?
Building relationships with colleagues and staff and faculty was my favorite part. I do fondly remember helping folks from around the world, over the phone without screen sharing, navigate file management and web publishing for required class sites in 2005!
Do you find yourself using Help Desk/ITD/Team Awesome skills in your current life?
The customer service skills and experiences I had impact my daily work and how I treat other customer service workers, even MediaCom.
What was your favorite class or instructor when you were in school?
I enjoyed every class I took. I loved the 8-week course on Comics with Carol Tilley. It changed my perspective on information delivery. I must mention Intro to Network Information Systems – with Martin Wolske. I credit that class, and Team Awesome, with getting me started in my IT career! Other honorable mentions: Library Buildings, Storytelling, Readers Advisory, Information Modeling, IT Project Management, Global Context and Social Justice in Youth Literature
Any regrets about your time here?
I wish I had been more involved with some of the social groups. When I started, I lived in Urbana and was single. When I came back to finish my degree, I was married, commuting, and working full-time so my social availability was limited.
Cat or dog?
Cats, but I take every opportunity to meet new dog friends.
What’s your favorite meme?
Kermit the Frog, sipping tea – I can’t get enough of them.
Any recommendations for good TV shows?
West Wing is my all-time, ultimate favorite. More recently, Ted Lasso has been great. I just discovered the podcast ‘Fake Doctors, Real Friends’ so I’m re-watching Scrubs. I’m a sucker for any Masterpiece Theater show and Star Trek series. I also enjoyed Longmire this last year.
Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck?
One horse-sized duck! Once you got over the shock of the size, it’s just a matter of getting to a Subway and ordering bread, er, a sandwich for the duck! Problem solved. “Don’t bother ringing it up – it’s for a duck!” (RIP Mitch Hedberg)