Ellie Owen, Arts & Life Editor—

Abby Valentine’s connection to Denison started when her dad discovered a random town in central Ohio that seemed like the perfect place for a surprise proposal. He didn’t know anything about the University that gazed down at the town from its spot on the hill. He wanted a place to propose to his then girlfriend that would surprise her, someplace she would never expect. So they drove out in the middle of a blizzard and he popped the question right in front of Swasey chapel.

“I think the family history part definitely makes it an extra special place,” Valentine said.

Fast forward more than two decades and now Abby Valentine is spending her second year working as the Assistant Director of First-Year Experience after graduating from Denison in 2021 with a degree in Spanish and Psychology. Her experience working in the first-year office started when she was just a sophomore feeling lost and disappointed. She was upset after not getting a job as an August or June orientation leader but was still seeking a position that would be meaningful to her.

She immediately found her place at the first-year office, where her responsibilities included greeting students, talking to people on the phone and answering emails. In 2021, the woman who previously held Valentine’s position decided to leave and so she immediately asked to be considered for the job.

“Well Abby, when she was a student, was like the most super reliable, attentive to detail student that we had to the point where it was easy to treat her like another member of the office,” said First-Year Program Coordinator Kate Tull.

Valentine was initially only going to work through June orientation but excelled at her job and was invited to stay on for longer. “She did such a great job that they extended her contract and now she’s just a full-blown assistant director,” said Tull.

And now she’s found herself working at Denison for much longer than she originally expected. “At first it was supposed to be a year and then it turned into a second year,” she said.

She noted that she used to look down on people who worked at Denison immediately after graduation, but now understands the importance of her job and the opportunities it will provide for her in the future. She likes that she’s saving money and living at home but still often finds it strange that she’s now working at Denison after spending so much time as a student here.

“Here I am now, in a different chapter of my life but in the same place and feeling like I have grown a lot but what does it mean if I’ve grown a lot but I’m still in the same place?” she asked.

Yet, she’s still found lots to love about her work here. When asked what her favorite part of the job was, Valentine immediately mentioned all the people she gets to work with.

“I’ve just always associated Denison with really awesome people,” she said about her colleagues who include Tull and First-Year Dean Nathan Graves.

“And Nathan, who is my boss, has been this really incredible mentor to me. He’s the reason I’ve been able to grow in the ways that I have.”

“We’re often spitballing ideas and then I help her kind of act on those so that we can kinda coordinate what that event needs to look like, or help her as she’s meeting with student leaders.” Graves said about their work together.

As for her future, Abby Valentine doesn’t see her position at Denison as a long-term endeavor and instead considers it to be a good foundation for future jobs. She’s planning to say goodbye to Denison this September and has a job lined up in Barcelona. She’ll be working for a study abroad company called Alba. Valentine isn’t sure what her dream job is, but she knows it involves being in Spain. She did a study abroad program in Seville during her junior year and fell in love with the country.

“My dream is more like… I want to be in Spain, I’ll do whatever it takes to be in Spain,” she said. “People talk about [how] they want to retire there and I kind of view it as the world’s on fire, I want to do what I want while I can. I don’t want to live my life waiting until I retire, that just seems really depressing!”

Valentine had found lots of support while working at Denison but has also been very immersed in hustle culture. Her ambition all throughout high school and college has led her to work hard without thinking about what she’s working towards. Her job in the first-year office has felt like an extension of that busy lifestyle. Valentine noted that she was always scared of the future and plugged away in her routine and it didn’t hit until she was working forty hours a week at a real job that this routine might not be right for her anymore. She hopes her life in Spain will be more relaxing and those workaholic cultural norms will be different.

“I would much prefer to live my life with my friends and my family as my number one priority and not work. I know I’m so driven to achieve stuff, like that’s what I focus on so if I’m in an environment that prioritizes that, that’s what I’m gonna do,” Valentine said.

Her goodbye to Denison will be bittersweet as it closes the door to an important time period in her life and opens the door to great new experiences elsewhere.