Ginny Lassiter: A strong work ethic is essential for success

	For almost 20 years Ginny Lassiter, administrative assistant, has been an important part of the Mathematics Department's equation for success. She says the diversity of the people who work in the department is part of what makes her job so interesting.

Ginny Lassiter says she is easily bored — a trait that leads her to read any book within reach. It is also one of the reasons she has remained an administrative assistant in the math department for the past 19 years. Her job has been anything but boring.

Lassiter attributes her loyalty to UNT to her hard-working co-workers.

"We have so many dedicated people in our department. There are lots of diverse personalities and idiosyncrasies that keep my job interesting," Lassiter says.

Her duties include juggling the budget; handling personnel, purchasing and inventory issues; and helping with research grants and travel arrangements. In fact, several of her personality traits and interests align with her job responsibilities.

A few of Lassiter's life passions are stock market trading, antique hunting with her husband, gardening, traveling and, as already mentioned, reading any type of book.

Her own personal history, however, does not read like your typical novel. She grew up in Yukon, Okla. — now best known as the hometown of country singer Garth Brooks. Her family lived outside the city limits on a farm that raised worms for agriculture and gardening. Lassiter — the eldest — and her two siblings picked red wiggler worms from the ground for spending money. It was during this time that her grandfather, one of her greatest influences in life, taught her that a strong work ethic is fundamental for success.

Lassiter's father and brother are deeply rooted in Cherokee tradition. Her father was a Cherokee Indian and attorney; her brother was a prominent member of the tribe for 10 years and is currently working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. Incidentally, the nation's capital is the one place Lassiter longs to visit. Both her father and brother were tremendously involved in their Native American community. Though Lassiter is not as involved as they were, she still cares about maintaining her heritage, she says.

Family is a pillar in Lassiter's life. She and her husband have three sons and seven grandchildren — all close by in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

She says material wealth is worth nothing if you don't have people close to you with whom to share it.

"Even if you have everything, you still need friends and family," Lassiter says.

One of her longtime friends and former supervisor, John Ed Allen, worked with Lassiter as chair of the math department for 16 years before he became assistant director of academic programs for the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science.

Allen says he can still remember the job interview with Lassiter almost two decades ago.

"Ginny is optimistic, generally very happy and sophisticated; she has a contagious laugh and pays attention to detail," Allen says. "I thought at the time, and still do, that we would be very fortunate to have someone of this caliber working for us."

BY ELIZABETH DEL TORO paiswri1@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• UNT working to reduce fiscal year 2002-03 budget by $8 million
• Escalante named UNT System vice chancellor for administrative services
• Enrollment up 6.8 percent over last spring
• UNT mathematics professors find solution to 50-year-old math problem
• Book drive for Thailand community expanded to include books for adults
• 2002-03 Fact Book available online
• Enterprise Information System project implementation under way
• Staff Council chair gives top 10 reasons why UNT is a great place to work
• Black History Month under way at UNT

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