Staff Profile: Sue Lindley

Sue Lindley has been at HMC since 2001. In her role as engineering department senior manager, Lindley works on many projects, including accreditation, budgets, departmental operations, administrative systems and process improvement. She enjoys finding ways to make processes work better and helping support the faculty, staff and students who make the department successful. In addition to her work at HMC, Lindley has found ways to connect with colleagues in fun ways, including co-founding a book club in 2014. Since 2020, when they started keeping track, the club has read 64 books! If you’d like to join the book club, email HMCBC-l@g.hmc.edu.

What is your favorite part about your job and why?

I enjoy finding practical solutions to problems and improving processes that make life a little easier for others. It’s especially rewarding when I can take administrative work off a faculty member’s plate so they can focus on their students.

What is something people don’t understand about your job that you wish they did?

People often don’t realize how much of my job happens behind the scenes. Many routine processes require coordinating policies, systems, budgets, compliance requirements and the needs of multiple groups. When things are working well, they’re often invisible, which is usually the goal.

If you could swap jobs with any other HMC employee for a day, who would it be and why?

I actually like where I am! One of the best parts of my role is that I get exposure to so many different areas of the College, so I feel like I already get small glimpses into a lot of other jobs across campus.

If you could add anything to campus to improve the employee experience, what would it be?

More cross-campus training and knowledge sharing. We all have expertise and resources that could benefit others if we had more opportunities to learn from one another.

What’s your favorite food/dish in the Hoch-Shanahan Dining Hall?

The cookies!

What HMC events have made you feel really connected to other HMC colleagues?

My favorite is the book club that a few of us have kept going throughout the years. I’ve also enjoyed the summer AI sessions learning to use Google AppScript in a group. Both have been great opportunities to connect with colleagues from different areas of HMC.

What is your favorite hobby, activity or creative outlet?

Knitting, crocheting and reading.

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you, either in life or at work?

The best advice I’ve received is that you don’t have to have an answer immediately. It’s okay to take time to think through a problem or gather information, as long as you let people know you’re looking into it and don’t leave them wondering.

What is your most effective strategy for dealing with stress?

Walking. It helps physically and emotionally.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and how would you use it at work?

The ability to bend time. Sometimes I’d fast-forward through waiting, but mostly I’d use it to create a little extra time for the projects I never quite get to.

Are you studying or learning something new?

I’ve been learning how to use AI, Google AppScript and AppSheet to create tools that improve workflows and help manage projects more efficiently. It’s been a fun way to combine problem-solving with learning new technology!

What book or podcast are you enjoying right now?

I tend to have several books going at any given time. Our book club is wrapping up Lonesome Dove, and I’m working my way through Oathbringer (book three of The Stormlight Archive). My go-to podcast is usually Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!

What is a fun fact about you?

I started strength training with the goal of being able to do pull-ups, and discovered I actually enjoy the challenge.