Q&A: Faculty and Staff Share Their Interesting Hobbies
Especially since the pandemic, more people are cultivating interests and passions outside their professional lives. This is true for many Michigan Ross faculty and staff who have interesting hobbies and talents that they pursue outside of work.
Recently, we asked some of our colleagues to share about their interesting hobbies, talents, and passion projects they enjoy.
JT Godfrey, research communications writer and podcast producer, Office of Marketing and Communications
My hobby is comedy! After being a fan for years, constantly quoting stand-ups and Saturday Night Live sketches, I started writing and performing stand-up my first year of college and found it was a really great way to make friends and be creative. I have performed at a lot of different venues and clubs all around my hometown in Cleveland, Ohio, and even traveled a bit. After college, I joined Imposters Theater in Cleveland as a writer and sketch/improv performer in a number of different shows. In addition to performing, I really enjoy taking improv and sketch classes and workshops, as they provide a playground to learn new techniques and skills. I’ve learned from instructors who have taught and performed at major theaters like Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade. Now that I have moved to Ann Arbor, I’ve found a community here and was just accepted as a member of the house improv team at Hear.Say.
Puneet Manchanda, Isadore and Leon Winkelman Professor
The house we bought when we moved to Ann Arbor in 2007 had a grapevine over the outdoor deck. I like cooking, and I like wine, so I thought that it would be a fun project to turn the grapes on the vine into wine. It turned out that our house was also part of a pear orchard originally, and we had several pear trees bearing fruit in the yard. So, I made wine with grapes (dry wine) and with pears (dessert-style wine). The grape wine was not particularly high-quality and was best used as a base for wine drinks such as sangria. The pear wine was very easy-drinking and turned out to be really popular!
Overall, it has been a very enjoyable experience. What I enjoy most is giving away bottles to friends and family and then enjoying the ensuing feedback, discussion, and social connections. I’ve also learned a lot about making wine and am in awe of individuals who have made successful careers as winemakers. But what was more important was that the process allows me to work with my hands, which is something I don’t do much in my normal life. I also discovered that, unlike regular cooking, a winemaker doesn’t have much control over the process. The transformation of grapes and yeast into wine is a somewhat mysterious process that follows its own logic. You can intervene and “fix” things, but only up to a point. A bit like life in general, I suppose.
Jennaye Wade, HR generalist associate, Office of Human Resources
I am a varsity cheer coach and cheer director for the Washtenaw Junior Maize Football and Cheer League. Both positions are volunteer and are full-time. I once cheered for this same team when I was younger. I became interested in coaching because it allows the privilege of influencing our youth, whether it’s real-world lessons and advice or just a safe, fun place to make memories and build bonds. I started coaching for Maize in 2012, which was our organization’s first time ever placing at our yearly Down River competition. I’ve helped grow the cheer program greatly since joining. Coaching cheerleading is one of the most demanding positions I have voluntarily placed myself into, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. The love I have for those cheerleaders is what keeps me going.
Sue Booth, senior administrative assistant, Faculty Support
I started singing at a young age in a church choir in Wisconsin. I participated in choir in high school and entered college as a music education major, where I switched my major instrument from flute to voice. However, after student teaching, I chose not to go into music education. Have you ever tried facing a different group of 30 elementary students every 45 minutes?
Following a stint working at Interlochen Academy for the Arts (in the dorm, not as a teacher), I moved to Ann Arbor and earned a master’s degree in voice performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. My favorite role there was Hansel in the opera Hansel and Gretel on the Power Center stage. Although I never utilized either degree for its intended purpose, I’ve continued to enjoy coaching students and performing locally throughout my life, participating in area concerts and musical theater, including Ann Arbor Civic Theater, Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Encore Musical Theatre Company, and annually for the past 19 years at Kerrytown Concert House in Wine, Women & Song. Our next show will be in April 2025. I hope you will consider attending!
