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Name: Susan McClelland

Job title: Production Coordinator, University Relations

What I do: I work for the publications group of University Relations. It is the production house for almost every printed item circulating on campus, from posters and brochures to catalogs and newsletters. I pull together all production information for each job, such as approval, quantity, billing and delivery, and make sure all pieces are in place upon completion of the job. Almost every job crosses my desk; about 120 publications at any one time in various stages of completion.

On the job: Nine months. I worked six years as a department assistant for reference at University Library, and also briefly in the temp pool at 2020 Ridge.

Favorite part of the job: Interacting with the artists and editors who produce each publication, and witnessing the creative process…how ideas are formed and articulated and seeing what things are possible. It's really amazing.

Challenge: Organizing and archiving our raw materials (photographs, slides and other artwork). We are trying to rid our limited storage space of old, old production files, but this is particularly hard for me because I never throw anything out.

What's best about Northwestern: I like working with people who so regularly exhibit such competence, who do their very best work. People here seem motivated by the opportunity to be part of a lasting tradition. There's a feeling that you're part of something that will remain long after you leave. And there's a welcome for what you do; people appreciate your work.

Road to Northwestern: I've worked for several non-profit organizations, like the American Medical Association and the library of the American Hospital Association. I thought one day I might become a librarian because I love literature.

Recommendations: I'm drawn specifically to spiritual books; I'm about to read After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, by Jack Kornfield. My book club recently read …And the Earth Did Not Devour Him, by Tomas Rivera.

In another life: I would like to have been a ballet dancer. Over the years I've taken some dance classes, and I know for sure it will never happen.

Hometown: South Side of Chicago. I was a North Side resident for more than 20 years and now I live in Evanston.

Education: I'm working on a degree in Art History at the School of Continuing Studies.

Notable travels: Canada; I like it because it's not the United States. I'm about to make my third trip there, this time to Vancouver. You can be as foreign as you wish to be. Also, I've lived and worked in France and Mexico.

Hero: Author Toni Morrison is just a profound person. Her art is so accessible; she makes sense of things.

Musical inclination: I sing and play acoustic guitar and piano. I really got into it about 10 years ago, when I realized no one would come knocking on my door to make me do it. Music has been a thread running through most of my life. As a child, I listened to my parents' jazz records, people like Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan. I assumed if you wanted to do that I'd have to become a professional musician, but instead I decided to just enjoy it on a less formal level. I started going to open mic performances around town and worked up the courage to try it myself. I'm building a part-time performance schedule. I often play at Uncommon Ground in Wrigleyville as well as at folk festivals around the country. I have a four-song CD and appear on Waterbug Records' Artist Sampler '99.

– Stephen Anzaldi