As part of our ongoing series of faculty and staff profiles, this month we feature Assistant Professor and Freshman Class Advisor, Miriam Abbott, MA.
Name: I like all my names: Miriam Ruth Bowers Abbott
Nickname: Sometimes “Mirm” or “Mims” (or variations like “Mirminator”)
Hometown: Manhattan, Kansas
Alma Mater: My undergraduate work was at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. I came to The Ohio State University for graduate school and ended up staying in town.
I can’t live without: Exercise. It keeps my head straight. Honestly, in the last 30 years, I’ve missed exactly three days (I have three sons, they don’t have a patient workout center in the maternity ward of hospitals).
If I could spend the day with one person it would be: I’ve given this one some serious thought. I’m taking family and Jesus out of the running to answer this… A person you might know that I think would be awfully fun to spend the day with is Dr. Jeri Milstead. In my memory, we struck up a conversation a few years ago, when we both wore something with sparkly rhinestones to a MCCN meeting. Mine were on my shirt, and I think hers were on her pants. She is just so accomplished, and such a warm, bubbly joy to be around. In addition to serving on MCCN’s board of directors, she also the author of a super-important textbook: Health Policy and Politics: A Nurse’s Guide. The new edition is supposed to be out at the end of this year, and I’d love to pester her with all sorts of questions!
PS: She’s class of ‘16, I’m class of ‘17: http://sunny95.com/outstanding-women/dr-jeri-milstead/
If I could travel anywhere, I would go to: Kansas, to see my family. We go twice a year, and I’m really happiest there. It’s all beautiful to me.
When I have down time, I: I don’t do well with down time, it makes me nervous. I feel like I should be doing something.
My favorite movie is: Elf (Will Ferrell)
The quote I tend to live by is: My go-to answer is “Don’t listen to what people say, watch what they do.” I’m big on follow-through. That said, there’s another one that’s been on my mind more, these days: “Hate is a poison you drink, and wait for others to die.” I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m getting really good at forgiveness. It doesn’t mean forgetting, or being played for a fool. But accepting others and their limitations is a wonderfully freeing thing.
I am a nurse educator because: I am a nurse educator because of Mount Carmel. I can’t tell you what an absolute honor it is to be part of a community of talented scholars who are also uncommonly compassionate and caring (and really good advice-givers, when you’ve got a bug bite or ache).
The best advice I could give to incoming freshmen is: My advice would be to avoid the mistake of procrastination. Every time I’ve had a student do poorly, the whole situation could have been avoided, had the student addressed the task early and been prepared for a Plan B.
One thing you may not know about me is: I’ve been a restaurant reviewer since 1999. I used to write for The Other Paper, now I write for Columbus Underground. Let me tell ya’: There’s a whole bunch of wonderful things to eat in Columbus.
