Patricia Smith

SMC Staff

“Education makes us tolerant because the more we learn about other people, the more we can accept them for who they are.”

“I’ve only been here nine months, so I’m still the new kid on the block,” says supervisor Patricia Smith with a laugh. “But coming to SMC feels like coming home after all those years I spent in the private sector. I love the people here: the students, the staff,” she continues. “I’m a real ‘people person’ and I pride myself on being able to get along with others and to cut across the barriers to reach out. I like to think I bring those qualities to the work I do in the payroll office.”

Patricia reports a great sense of relief over not being involved in private industry anymore. “I’m so happy to be out of accountancy,” she says, “because it doesn’t matter how good a person you are in business. You might get a little pat on the head once in a while. But the bottom line is always: Where’s the money? And at SMC there are more important things happening.”

Patricia has wasted no time in taking advantage of what SMC offers. “I’m taking Spanish two nights a week,” she reports. “My work day ends at 5, so then off I go to spend two hours at the Wellness Center, getting my body together. Then it’s off to class to get my mind together. It’s sort of one-stop-shopping around here.”

When she’s not crunching the numbers, Patricia indulges in her passion for jazz. “I’m a real aficionado and I try to make it to as many festivals as I can,” she says. “Cancun, New Orleans, the Blues Festival in Chicago. And I hope this October to sail off on a jazz cruise to the Caribbean.”

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