{"66176":{"#nid":"66176","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Director\u2019s Unusual Career Path Led to Higher Ed","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter majoring in English in college, Monique Tavares tried on several careers before she found the one that fit just right. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve worked in advertising sales for People magazine, taught English at an all-girls school, worked for an online newspaper in Jamaica, and done marketing and sales for an Internet startup,\u201d said the director of research administration. \u201cThen 10 years ago, I came to Tech, and I\u2019ve been here ever since.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETavares started her tenure at Tech working in the College of Engineering writing grant proposals and eventually became the director of human resources for the college. About two years ago, she arrived in the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research, in a position that Tavares describes as a \u201ccatch- all.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle sat down with Tavares to learn more about her and her time at Tech. Here\u2019s what we learned:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat does your job entail, and what\u2019s an average day like?\u0026nbsp;What doesn\u2019t it entail? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESeriously, some of the tasks I am responsible for are taking care of research faculty members\u2019 human resource needs, identifying research synergies on campus and handling budget issues. As for an average day, I might start out with a great plan, but typically something will occur that requires me to shift focus \u2014 this job keeps me on my toes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you enjoy most about your job? What do you enjoy least, and how do you make this bearable?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI really enjoy the relationship building side of things, but I hate having to say \u201cno\u201d to requests for funding. All I can do is try to explain why we\u2019re unable to fund the project, which is generally because of our limited resources. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the one piece of technology you couldn\u2019t live without?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMy laptop. It goes everywhere with me. \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are three things that everyone should do while working at Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFind a way to interact with students by doing things like teaching GT1000, attending poster sessions or a student-run event. Appreciate the beautiful campus. Take advantage of the lectures and seminars we host. These are a great opportunity to hear about innovative research at Tech, but they are also an excellent opportunity to meet your colleagues.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is the best place to grab lunch (on or off campus), and what do you order?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI love St. Charles Deli \u2014 and can\u2019t wait for it to reopen \u2014 and I always order the chicken salad club.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are a few nonwork-related accomplishments that you\u2019re most proud of?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EI\u2019m proud of being able to work full time and still have a strong relationship with my husband and three children. It can be challenging when, for example, I had to make an egg and cheese souffl\u00e9 and banana pudding for the kids\u2019 teacher appreciation week gatherings the other evening, but I love it. I\u2019m also proud of earning a master\u2019s in professional counseling while working full time. It took four years, but I still feel like it was a major accomplishment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unusual about yourself.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EI\u2019ve lived in four different countries: I was born in Guyana and have also lived in Canada, Jamaica and the United States. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you weren\u2019t in your current line of work, what would you be doing?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EI\u2019d probably be an elementary school teacher.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter majoring in English in college, Monique Tavares tried on several careers before she found the one that fit just right.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"After majoring in English in college, Monique Tavares tried on several careers before she found the one that fit just right."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-05-13 11:33:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:45","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-05-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-05-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"66177":{"id":"66177","type":"image","title":"Monique Tavares","body":null,"created":"1449176931","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:08:51","changed":"1475894587","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:07","alt":"Monique Tavares","file":{"fid":"193290","name":"monique.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/monique.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/monique.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1946775,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/monique.jpg?itok=Wz1K_6xh"}}},"media_ids":["66177"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13147","name":"Monique Tavares"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}