Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles on faculty and staff who have been nominated by readers who felt they deserved recognition for their outstanding work. Nominations can still be made by e-mailing [email protected] or calling 294-3690.

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Knapp Hall Director Frances Scott said her fondest memories come from the students she helps.

“I was able to help out a first-year student going down the wrong path,” she said. She explained that one of the residents had been arrested for public intoxication and he came to her interested in what would happen next.

“He needed someone to sit down with him and tell him his options,” Scott said. She said she was able to help him out with how to behave in the future, and now he is back on the right track.

Jeff O’Tool, associate justice of Knapp Hall and a junior in animal science, works directly with Scott and said he sees this helping side in her.

“She relates really well with students and doesn’t come down condescending. She has a genuine concern for residents in the building,” O’Tool said. “She listens to the situation and sees what she can do about it.”

In her second year as Knapp Hall director, Scott said she finds her job enjoyable.

Scott came to ISU as a former hall director at New York State. She said she applied for several teaching jobs and nothing really came up so she knew she was going to have to be flexible.

“It was luck that I got into it,” she said. “I am still able to teach as I work with the judicial board.”

During her first year, Scott said she tried to take a class in addition to working, but found that she enjoyed her job much more than classes.

She said she also found that in her first year people did not know her as well.

“The students that were here last year have helped out a lot and now students know who I am,” Scott said.

Scott said working with students and staff is what she enjoys most.

“I enjoy working with my staff. I have the most fun with them and I laugh the most,” Scott said. “They are the most driven, the most enthusiastic and positive.”

O’Tool said, “I’ve gotten to know her pretty well over the semester while watching her work with the RAs. She doesn’t just have a nine to five job. She also has to run meetings and work with students.”

He said she relates well with students and is easy to work with.

“She is somebody I deal with a lot and she always seems to have time. She makes time for everyone. That alone is worth quite a bit,” O’Tool said.

Scott said much of her job is working with staff such as O’Tool. She said she has weekly meetings, is involved in hiring, selecting and training staff, programming and has even started working at the Towers post office this semester.

With all that her job entails, Scott said she finds it hardest to find personal time. “People don’t think I have a personal life,” she said.

Scott said her job has really helped her put things into perspective. “I have learned that it is OK to let things go and relax,” she said. “I have learned that the world is not going to fall apart. I need to have a sense of humor and just relax.”

O’Tool said, “It appears to me that she does a really good job in a position that I would not want to touch.”