31 Questions with Ceili, one of our Graduate Consultants and Coordinators | AMA Series
- Team Edward or Jacob?
Team Edward. I have always been fascinated by vampires and sparkly objects.
- What is your most embarrassing childhood memory?
One time I played a game of telephone with a group of older kids at a church camp and blurted out something really inappropriate when I was at the end of the line. I had no idea what it meant at the time, but everyone was laughing.
- What is your most bizarre food combination you secretly enjoy?
Refried beans and tofu. Cold. Like, straight out of the can cold. I think my parents fed it to me as a baby and now it’s a comfort food.
- What do you like most about arts management? What’s the best museum you’ve ever visited?
I like that arts & cultural management is applicable everywhere. Sports? Got to have branding kits. Arts? Need a marketing campaign. Project management? Stage management? Community management? Yes to all. I’ve used my skills to do work outside the typical arts management job sphere, and I love applying what I know to spaces like video games, writing centers, and sports.
The best museum I have ever visited is the Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. I could spend years there. I love dinosaurs the most, so their new dinosaur wing is my favorite place ever. I also have a weakness for the preserved giant squid in a box and the shiny gem exhibit.
- Can you say a little bit about the interesting spelling of your name?
My parents went to the Folklife festival in Seattle, WA while expecting and saw a group of Cèilidh dancers perform. They thought that would be a cool way to get in touch with our heritage. The word means ‘celebration.’
- What’s your favorite day of the year?
I think my birthday is the coolest day of the year, because it’s exactly six months from Christmas. Halloween is a close second place though.
- If your life was a movie, what would be the title and who would play you in the film?
Coming to theaters this summer… “What am I looking at?” Starring Michael Cera.
- What’s the strangest place you’ve ever fallen asleep?
The parking lot across from the MSU Clinical Center. I was in undergrad and working a double at Sparty’s with a few hours in between, so I walked to my car for a nap and then walked back to work.
- If your life had a theme song that played every time you entered a room, what would it be?
The Futurama theme song, but played on unconventional instruments and accompanied by a crash box of metal objects.
- If you could meet any historical figure, who would it be and why?
Benjamin Franklin, I feel like we have similar senses of humor and strong opinions about birds.
- What’s a hobby or skill you’ve always wanted to learn?
I need to learn to play the accordion. NEED TO. My dexterity is terrible though. As soon as I can afford to buy one, it’s all over. I’m going to carry it around with me everywhere.
- What is your go to Starbucks order, if you eat/drink at Starbucks?
Iced blonde roast americano with cream. Not very interesting, but quite caffeinated.
- What is the last song you listen to?
“Stay Dead” by Aviators, which dropped on 9/2. Aviators have been my Spotify top band for the last three years.
- If you could visit any place in the world right now, where would you go?
London, specifically Borough Market. I think about the food I got there on study abroad on a daily basis.
- What’s a hidden talent or quirk that not many people know about you?
I can lick my elbow, specifically my left elbow.
- Describe your dream job, regardless of practicality.
I want to be famous enough to get me invited to geeky conventions as a special guest. I don’t really care what I did to get there, and I don’t want to be mega famous. Just famous enough to talk to a room full of people about something nerdy.
- What’s the most unusual or exotic food you’ve ever tried?
Goat neck curry. The meat was tender and tasty, but the curry was really spicy.
- If you could time travel to any era, past or future, when and where would you go?
Victorian England. Sanitation and life expectancies aside, I think it would be fascinating to experience all the odd hobbies and societal events they had going on at the time.
- Share a valuable life lesson you’ve learned along the way.
Apologies are for when you hurt people or make mistakes, don’t say sorry for just existing.
- What’s your favorite way to relax and unwind?
I love playing video games with my partner on the weekends. There is nothing better than an afternoon of Planetside 2, cat cuddles, and snacks.
- If you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be?
I would switch with my cat, her needs are all met (doesn’t have to pay rent, food and water filled) and she gets to sleep in a pile of soft blankets all day.
- What’s a personal goal or achievement you’re proud of?
Freshman year on the fencing team I went undefeated at Nationals (which we hosted) and we won 2nd place team. Waking Ned Divine.
- If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be?
Stephen King, Adam Savage, and Natalie Portman would make for some really intellectual conversation at the dinner table. Three really kind, witty, and fun individuals.
- Describe a meaningful act of kindness you’ve received or witnessed.
I just got back from a convention where I saw a little kid dressed in cosplay, and an adult in a matching cosplay noticed the kid from across the hall while on the escalator going down. He jogged all the way back around the room and up the escalator to take a picture with the kid while people cleared a path for him and cheered.
- What’s your go-to karaoke song, and can you sing a line from it?
As a person with a degree in theater, I take this question very seriously. For when I want to impress people, I’ll pull out either Let It Go from Frozen or another song with some body and belt. If I want to get the crowd into it I’ll choose What’s Up? By 4 Non Blondes. I haven’t ever done karaoke, but I’m ready when the moment comes.
- If you could live in any fictional universe, which one would you choose?
Middle Earth, specifically The Shire. Days filled with reading, snacking, and lying around relaxin in the sunny woods? Sign me up.
- What’s the most daring or adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
I am an adventurer by nature, so I try to have daily explorations to keep things interesting. But while I was on my study abroad to London I did things like take the train to Crystal Palace to see the dinosaur statues there, and instead of taking the bus out to Stonehenge I walked through the fields and viewed it from a hilltop.
- Share a favorite quote or mantra that inspires you.
“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” ― Stephen King
- What is the last thing you ate?
The chef’s special of our household: baked salmon with lemon onion cous cous and fresh vegetable of the week.
- If you had to survive in the wilderness for a week, what three items would you bring with you?
A book about poisonous plants/fungi (will help me find food, entertain me, and can serve as kindling), a swiss army knife, and my teddy bear
- Can you share a moment when you faced your greatest fear or overcame a major obstacle?
I am absolutely terrified of heights. I’ve done some abseiling in secure harnesses, but I really have a hard time with non-secured heights. It was a right of passage at my high school that senior technicians could climb to “the grid” which was the top level of our fly system. On the very last day of school, I crawled up to the grid level, sweating and shaking the whole way, just to say I did it. Then I had to come down. Needless to say, sky diving is NOT on my bucket list.
