River Olsen never really thought of herself as the leading or speaking-up type, so no one was more surprised than she was when she joined the Staff Advisory Council (SAC). Fast forward a few years, and she’s just started her year as SAC president. Read about the circuitous life path that got her there and what SAC can do for you.
Why did you come to NAU?
I grew up in Flagstaff and have had family members working at NAU since I was in high school, so I’ve been hanging around campus for more than 20 years now! It’s always felt like a second home to me, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when I decided to do my undergraduate degree in comparative religious studies here. After my daughter, Lisbeth, was born, I left Flagstaff for a few years to get my license in massage therapy and then moved to Boston for my Master of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School. My son, Rory, was born right at the tail end of my grad program, and with two little ones at the time, it was pretty hard being so far away from my home and family. So, I decided to move back to Flagstaff in 2017, landed a job with Admissions at NAU, and it truly felt like I was coming home to where I was meant to be.
Tell me about a day in the life of your job.
Although I’ve worked as an admissions specialist for a bit more than eight years now, it was only in the last year that I switched from working with the transfer credit team to the graduate admissions team, so I’m still in the process of learning my new 
role! We typically spend our days processing/evaluating grad applications for prospective students, working with students and their respective departments to ensure they get admitted, enrolled and on the path to graduation. It’s definitely the kind of work that mostly happens behind the scenes, but I find it really rewarding to help our students reach their full potential.
How and why did you get involved in SAC?
Honestly, joining SAC was a completely unexpected and impulsive decision on my part! A few years back, a call went out to our department for volunteers who could represent our division on the Staff Advisory Council. At that point in my life, I didn’t feel like I had much confidence at all and wasn’t super comfortable with speaking up—even when I had creative ideas to improve things for the better. Needless to say, I was rather surprised at myself when I decided to go for it on a whim. Even though I have felt that imposter syndrome creeping around the last few years, I can say with certainty that being involved with such an amazing and inspiring group of brilliant folks has kindled a passion in me that I didn’t know I was capable of.
What are your goals as SAC president?
I’m hoping that this year, we can continue to improve upon the solid foundation built by my phenomenal predecessors. Specifically, we’re hoping to overhaul the SAC website and pivot a lot of our outreach to video Another goal I have is to branch out to different kinds of service and volunteer projects and raise even more funds for our Employee Lumberjack Fund, which provides assistance to NAU staff who are experiencing hardship. On a more selfish note, I’m just really excited to get to work alongside a new group of truly excellent Lumberjacks this year!
Tell me about a significant childhood memory and how it has impacted your life today.
I was a finalist in my third-grade county spelling bee, and I was so nervous that I ended up misspelling a very easy word—“pratcical” instead of “practical.” At the time, I was completely mortified, but looking back, I feel like I learned a very important lesson from that whole debacle. Namely, to not take myself too seriously and that imperfection is beautiful. Our imperfections are those special little quirks that make us unique, and making a mistake is just another opportunity to learn and grow.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Definitely a rock star! My parents somehow got their hands on a secondhand church organ when I was 10 years old. I spent hours after school every day teaching myself how to play, and that was the beginning of a lifelong love of writing and playing music. Although I never ended up becoming a rock star, I have learned many different instruments over the years—saxophone, cello, piano, bass guitar, autoharp—and managed to play at a wedding and at Disneyland a few times, so I guess I can’t complain!
What is your favorite way to spend a day off?
When I’m not spending my time having super cool adventures with my kiddos, you can usually find me practicing my autoharp, playing nerdy video games, collecting little trinkets and baubles like a crow, working away on my conlangs and writing projects, kayaking with friends, cuddling my cats and dog or having long—and I mean loooong—conversations with my wife, Kay, about our various special interests.
What are three items on your bucket list?
- Seeing the northern lights up close while touring the volcanoes and hot springs of Iceland.
- Actually finishing writing the book that’s been floating around in my head the last 10 years.
- Finding a nice little plot of land in the area where I can start a mini farm with goats and chickens, befriend all the local raccoons and establish a trade relationship with the ravens.
What do you want people to know about SAC?
SAC has changed my entire experience working at NAU. Through the work we’ve done together the last few years, I’ve found that I’ve gained more confidence, had more opportunities to really make a difference here and built more connections and friendships across the university than I ever would have otherwise. I hope that all of my fellow Lumberjacks will join us this coming year for our monthly meetings every third Thursday—both in-person and virtually—from 9-10 a.m., tune in for our SAC newsletter that goes out biweekly for staff resources and opportunities, or come join us on our MS Teams channel for more events and opportunities to get involved. Most of all, I want people to know that SAC is more than just our voting member body. We have so many active nonvoting members who are out there with us making a difference in our community every day. I’m so excited for this year to come and hope everyone will come join us as we work to make NAU even more amazing!