In her early days working at UC Davis, Shelley Booth bounced around a bit, taking positions in the agronomy and botany departments and the telecommunications office over the course of 10 years.
Since 1988, however, Booth has found a home in the Undergraduate Admissions Office where she started as a receptionist and now serves as an admissions adviser.
"I really like student affairs work," she said. "I like talking to students about what they need to do to be admitted."
Seated just behind the busy front counter in the Mrak Hall office, Booth is often the first adviser prospective students or parents meet when they come to visit the university.
She finds a special satisfaction in helping re-entry students. Booth's husband, Earl, was a re-entry student. He came to Davis in 1978, at 25, to finish his plant science degree. Earl Booth now manages the warehouse for the Department of Agronomy and Range Science's Foundation Seed Service.
Re-entry students are often more focused and serious about their studies than younger students, but they sometimes don't have as much knowledge about the admissions process, Booth said.
"It's nice to know that I can clarify things for them," she said. "I can make an outline for them and get them from point A to B."
Along with her passion for guiding students, Booth is also devoted to educating UC Davis staff about diversity. Despite not having a Hispanic background herself, she is a board member of the Hispanic Staff Association. She also serves on the Staff Affirmative Action Diversity Advisory Committee, conducts diversity workshops and helps out at new-employee orientation sessions. She attributes her interest in diversity issues to the values her family instilled in her as a child.
Booth's parents welcomed a wide range of visitors to the family home in Novato. The family hosted international visitors and students from Mexico, India and African countries, as well as displaced families and young women.
"Growing up, it was a common operating practice to see your family as the family of man," Booth said. "When people were in need, our family was there to help them meet their needs."
What is your favorite place on campus?
The duck pond or the picnic tables in the redwoods. Especially in the summertime because it's cool out there. We like to get away from the office out there. It's very peaceful.
What does diversity on campus mean to you?
We have a responsibility to accept each other's similarities and differences.
What's the strangest question you've ever had a prospective student ask?
Our office gets so many strange questions. One year someone asked us how many pet hospitals there were in Sacramento.
One question that seemed strange at the time was, "I heard you have to have a computer to be accepted (into college)." Six or seven years ago it seemed silly, but it's now becoming a reality.
What's your philosophy of life?
We grow by learning from others, and we should be more accepting of others. A lot of times the best ideas come from hearing different perspectives and then coming up with the best solution to meet a variety of viewpoints.
How do you relieve stress?
I like to spend time with my grandchildren (Hannah, 4, and David, 6,) nieces, nephews and young children in general. They have a freedom that allows them to often operate in a fantasy world, and it's fun to go there with them.
If you weren't an admissions adviser, you'd be … ?
I would do volunteer work or spend time with young children. Or I would be one of those people who go to hospitals and rock babies. Oh, I would love that.