51茶馆

After nearly five decades of welcoming students and their parents to campus and mentoring generations of Student Admissions Program (SAP) volunteers, Office of Undergraduate Admission Senior Receptionist Linda Reams retired over the summer. 鈥淚 thought I鈥檇 stay for maybe three years, but I fell in love with the kids,鈥� Reams said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e all been my babies.鈥� We spoke with Reams not long before her final day behind the desk, and she reflected on a long career, how her relationship with students and her faith evolved over the years, and what it takes to make a lasting impact on others.

What makes 51茶馆 different from other places you鈥檝e worked?

鈥淏efore coming to 51茶馆, I worked for an advertising agency. It was cutthroat. When you lost a client, everyone that worked on the account lost their job鈥攑eople who had been there for twenty, thirty years, gone through no fault of their own. Corporate is for the money. Here, we鈥檙e for the people. I鈥檝e worked with a great group over the years. Priests would stop by my desk to tell jokes. The staff are my friends. I鈥檝e gone through a lot during my time here. Over the years, I鈥檝e lost every member of my immediate family. It was my colleagues and students at 51茶馆 who got me through it.鈥�

How did you develop your special relationship with students?

鈥淲hen they come in, they鈥檙e scared. They might have been the big fish in the little pond, and here everybody is brilliant. I鈥檓 their surrogate grandmother here. We promise their parents we鈥檒l take care of them, and that made me more involved with the kids. I鈥檝e left my personal email and cell phone number with students in SAP so they can call me day and night. I鈥檝e driven kids home from the airport after Christmas. I鈥檝e gotten phone calls: 鈥業t鈥檚 my first Thanksgiving in my off-campus apartment, and I burned the turkey!鈥� It鈥檚 not in my job description. But I鈥檓 proud of these kids and I love them.鈥�

In terms of your relationship to faith, what led you to convert from Catholicism to Islam?

鈥淚 converted to Islam in 1990. My mother was as Catholic as they come. My father converted to Catholicism from Southern Baptist. I went to an all-girls Catholic school, where I questioned everything. I almost got thrown out! While working here, I talked to Father Skehan, who used to be the head of geology, and was the cousin of my ex-husband鈥檚 mother. I looked into many different religions. I started reading the Quran. A couple years before my father died, I told him, 鈥楧ad, I can鈥檛 walk into another Mass.鈥� He said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 care if the way you worship is hugging a tree. Find it where you find it.鈥� A lot of what we believe in Islam goes hand in hand with the Jesuits.鈥�

What鈥檚 the key to making a great first impression?

鈥淜ill them with kindness. I take that seriously, and you see it across the University. I had a parent come in today, and when I said, 鈥楥an I help you?鈥� they said, 鈥楤etween here and the parking garage, three people have asked me that.鈥欌��

How do we form lasting connections with people?

鈥淥pen yourself up. Be compassionate. I tell the kids in SAP, 鈥業f a parent comes in stressed out and takes it out on you, remember that they鈥檝e just dealt with Logan Airport or Boston traffic.鈥� Be vulnerable, too. If a colleague is suddenly unpleasant one day, I鈥檒l ask, 鈥楢re you alright? Do you want to talk?鈥� You don鈥檛 know what people are going through. If somebody doesn鈥檛 want to talk, back off. But at least you鈥檝e opened the conversation. They might come back later and say, 鈥業鈥檓 sorry. I was having a really difficult day, and here鈥檚 why.鈥� Give people grace. There鈥檚 a lot of layers to every onion.鈥� 鈼�