The smell of coffee wafting through the air and the sounds of the Xerox machine in the background; signal the start of the day for Nicole M. Rivera, an administrative assistant at the University of Guam. Rivera is fondly known as “Nicky” to those who work with her.
Before working at the University of Guam, Rivera was a Legal Secretary and had spotted an ad in the Pacific Daily News for a job titled, “Word Processing Secretary II.” Now 16 years later, she is the current administrative assistant at the Division of Communication and Fine Arts under the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at UOG.
Although her title may seem like a mouthful, Rivera runs a single staff office for two departments. “A lot of them (departments) have the same deadlines, same needs,” Rivera said. Although managing those deadlines can make her job a bit hectic, Rivera loves her job. It is always busy, so that her 8-5 pretty much flies by.
On top of running the one-man division office and with that busy schedule, Rivera balances a number of other duties. She is a member of the Staff Council at UOG; current chairman of a newly formed committee, Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Misconduct and Consensual Relationship Policy, also at the university; and co-advisor for the Communication Society (Comm. Society).
To Rivera, being asked to be a co-advisor was an honor in itself and one of the best compliments she has ever received. With all the work that she does for the university, Rivera is also a two time award winner of the CLASS Outstanding Staff Award. The most recent being this past May.
Rivera stated that it is the students that make her job worthwhile. “That relationship that you develop with a lot of these students, it is life lasting,” Rivera said.