Her ability to strike up a conversation with strangers amazed her current boss two years ago.
The discussions usually began with the Yankees and the Red Sox, her new boss Rick Blessen joked.
Tomie Curry admitted that she is a very outgoing individual.
“I talk to anybody and everybody,” Curry said.
That was when Curry was a student at Doane. Now, two years after graduation, she found herself involved in campus life a different way: Curry is the Director of Development for Annual Living.
The program involved contacting past alumni for funding, but Curry was already familiar with the program. Three years ago, Blessin hired student managers to help with the fundraiser and Curry was the first person he hired.
“With that (student managers) we enjoyed some great success,” Blessen said.
In addition, the new title required Curry to take over phone-a-thon duties from Blessen, Director of Development.
In Curry’s first year, the phone-a-thon beat the record amount of fundraising by $33,000.
Curry is also in charge of working with alumni from 1995 to the present, including personal visits. The 23-year-old is in charge of younger alumni, while Blessen handles the rest of the alumni.
“Her being Doane Alumni is going to mean something to them (other alum),” Blessen said.
Blessen said there were a large number of qualified people for the position, but Curry had an advantage because she was familiar with Doane and the programs that related to the position.
While she was a student, Curry was the vice president of Student Congress for two years, a member of the Gamma Phi Iota sorority and involved with Relay for Life.
She said that since she only graduated two years ago, she expected more familiar faces.
“I thought I would see more people I knew,” Curry said.
However, she said several people have stopped in her office to visit, and that she will be involved with her former sorority.
“I’m going to help them when they need help,” Curry said.
Junior Nicole Williams was on Student Congress with Curry and also was a member of Gamma Phi Iota Sorority.
Williams said Curry was a leader and good at delegating.
“She’s really good at making sure people are doing what they should be doing,” Williams said.
She said that she thought Curry working at her alma mater showed the connections students can have to Doane.
“I think it’s pretty neat that a graduate at Doane can come back here and look for work,” Williams said.
Blessen said he thought Curry had a true love for Doane College.
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