Jennifer Barnhart is a confident person, but she was just being honest with herself when she asked: Am I still capable, after 14 years as a stay-at-home mom, of holding down a full-time job?
The answer has been a resounding “yes,” and Barnhart, an office support specialist, hasn’t regretted taking that leap two years ago when she accepted an academic hourly position with the U. of I.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to go back into my degree field,” she said, “so I tested for several positions.”
She had earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Oklahoma in 1993 and worked in public affairs there for five years after graduation. Then she got married and raised two kids.
The academic hourly position at the U. of I. had her writing content for a university website. She enjoyed the project but she wanted something more fulfilling – and found it with her current position for Staff Human Resources.
“I had my doubts, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” she said.
Barnhart has never stayed still for long. She was born in Canada and her family in the 1980s moved to Moore, Oklahoma. She spent her middle school years in Joplin, Missouri, then returned to Moore, where she attended high school.
In an odd footnote, after Barnhart moved away from both towns, they were hit by EF-5 tornadoes that leveled three of the houses she had lived in.
“I always joke that I leave a trail of destruction in my wake,” she said. “I’m pretty sure my neighbors are very nervous to be living next door.”
In her current position, Barnhart is stationed near the entrance of the building and is one of the first faces people see when they apply for a university job. The office processes and places civil service workers around campus.
“It can be a complicated, intimidating process,” she said. “I do my best to make it a little less so. I always try to encourage (applicants) and make it as positive an experience as possible – just like they did with me.”
Barnhart has been most impressed with the dynamic staff members she works with. She said everyone in the office goes the extra mile to serve the university.
“They really believe in what they do,” she said. “You have to be a people person to do this job, and everyone here gladly puts people first.”
Outside of work, Barnhart may best be known for her baking prowess, as her cookies are regularly requested by those lucky enough to have tried one.
“It’s just something I enjoy and have done for a long time,” she said.
She is most proud of her teenage daughters, a freshman and senior at Centennial High School. The family includes four cats and a dog.
Barnhart said she and her daughters like to travel, the highlight of which was a recent trip to England to visit her mother.
Though her life path has been circuitous, she says she wouldn’t have done it any other way.
“It hasn’t always been easy, but I’m in a really good place right now,” she said. “I’m where I want to be.”
This article was imported from a previous version of the News Bureau website. Please email news@illinois.edu to report missing photos and/or photo credits.
