Cloud Spurlock is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for INTO Mason. She has worked at Mason since 2009. Cloud completed her M.A. in English at Mason, and is currently a candidate for an M.F.A. in Creative Writing – Poetry.
In college and during summers, I worked such a hodgepodge of jobs! I was a camp counselor, Spanish language instructor, barista, waitress, bookseller, receptionist and IT support tech. For the year before I joined Mason, I was a staff manager at University Mall Theatres across the street from campus.
I started working at Mason because I want to be in school forever! But seriously, I was looking for more than a job. It was important for me to find a community where I could put down roots and grow. Education and life-long learning are values that run strong in my family, so a university seemed like a magical place to spend most of my time. Working in the English department was a dream come true.
After working at Mason for six years in three different departments, I love that I have worked with so many different people across the campuses on so many different projects. This inspired me to join Staff Senate. Now, my week doesn’t feel normal if I haven’t had a chance to meet someone new and find out more about how all the pieces of the Mason puzzle fit together. I am so grateful when I get to be a link between other people’s ideas or shared goals.
I had no idea that the Staff Senate meetings are open to everyone in the Mason community, and I wish I had been attending before I became a Senator. My favorite presentations so far have been from Strategic Communications, President Cabrera, Provost Wu, and participants in the Global Professional Staff Exchange Program.
I chair the Awards Committee, which is involved in the selection of the Outstanding Supervisor Award and the Global Professional Staff Exchange winners. We also present a Staff Senate gift to each Employee of the Month at Mason. This year, we want to raise awareness of the different opportunities Mason provides supervisors to recognize their employees’ contributions.
Fun fact about me: I collect elephant banks. Because I love elephants so much, I thought that I could curb my desire to purchase all the elephant things if I limited my collection to coin banks. But I have at least 20 now!