Cougar Queries is a series profiling BYU employees by asking them a few simple questions about their work, interests and life.
Name: Shauna Valentine
BYU employee since...October 2004
My job at BYU is…McKay School of Education, Public Affairs/Alumni Director
I’m currently working on... a lot of things, including the McKay Alumni Board meeting, our Homecoming event, and the next magazine. I love the variety.
Right now I'm reading... three books--The Lost Art of Dress; Jesus the Christ; and Thinking, Fast and Slow. There is a time, season, and mood for every book, and there is always a stack waiting to be read.
I get most excited about my work when... I see how I’ve been able to combine my teaching experience with my 16 years serving as a Regional Church Public Affairs Director. Being an elementary school teacher and working with the Nebraska Interfaith Council, the Mormon Trail, and the U.S. Park Service prepared me to move forward with any new challenge.
My advice to graduating seniors is… to not plan your future too specifically. There will be challenges that you don’t expect, opportunities you can’t imagine, and inspiration that will take you in a different direction.
My favorite spot on campus is… the south campus trail and river walk. Any season of the year it is beautiful and gives me peace.
I feel alive when I’m… with my incredible husband and our five creative, talented, funny, intelligent children, their spouses, and our grandchildren. I love how our lives intertwine and I get to experience part of their world.
I dream about one day… when I will draw and paint uninterrupted for days at a time.
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Know of another Cougar we should feature? Email Emily Hellewell.
Writer: Paige Vogt
