Once a Student, Always a Student
It’s easy to understand why Alyse Mancino has such a great rapport with college students. She often gets mistaken for one.
Alyse has been out of college herself for nearly two years and has been serving in her role as Creative Specialist at Midland since March of 2021. She might not be a college student anymore, but she doesn’t mind the comparisons. “Even though I get mistaken for a student pretty often, I enjoy getting to be a young influence in the lives of the students I do get to interact with.
“I think it’s kind of funny when a student thinks that I am also a student, and they get pretty confused when they find out I actually work at Midland. It definitely helps being close to college age while interacting with students. My job isn’t often student-facing, but I enjoy connecting with students and getting to be a young, influential person to them as a recent college graduate.”
Working in higher education seemed like a natural fit for Alyse following graduation, even if it took a family member to push her in that direction. “My mom actually found the job listing for the position at Midland. I was only a few months out of college, so working in higher education was an interest for me. A college campus was somewhere I felt comfortable, and I was excited about the idea of being able to remain in that environment. It felt like a great transition from college to the real world.”
Not only has she found a connection with students across campus, but with her own team in the Marketing & Communications department. “I enjoy the team I work with. We have such a good atmosphere in our office, which makes coming to campus something I look forward to. We like to laugh and have fun while we work, which makes things more lively and exciting.”
Alyse has relied on her faith throughout her life and would enjoy the opportunity to someday share that faith with others across the globe. “I would love the chance to do overseas ministry. Whether that would be doing graphic design for a ministry or ministry in a church. I have become a deep empath, and I feel people’s emotions and what they are struggling with. I would love to use that gift to help others and spread the good news of Jesus. This remains a dream of mine that I hope I can step into sometime in the future.”
For now, she wants to remain a positive influence on campus and challenges students to do the same. “I would tell them to find groups of students who share the same values and goals as they do. Having that special community in college was important to me and can be very impactful in growing as a person. I want to see students be brave and step out of their comfort zones. It might be scary, but it’s a huge opportunity to continue growing.”
Getting to know Alyse Mancino:
Snack that you can’t resist: Anything cheesy. Doritos, Cheez-It, nachos, Cheddar Chex Mix. Dot’s Pretzels, etc.
When flipping channels, I’ll always stop to watch this: I actually don’t have channels on my TV at home, but you can always catch me watching some sort of Korean-drama or a historical period drama. A show I grew up watching all the time was Monk. It is so hilarious, and I highly recommend it. It’s one of those shows I go back to a lot when I need something healing to watch.
Something people might not know about you: I rode horses for eight years in elementary school and into high school. I also owned my own horse for four of those years. My childhood best friend and I dreamed of owning horses, and both did horseback riding lessons for several years together before we were both able to buy our own horses within a few months of each other. Riding horses was a deeply meaningful part of my life growing up. I worked at the barn to earn money toward the cost of boarding my horse and spent long days cleaning stalls and feeding horses. But it was worth it, and it taught me what it meant to work hard from a young age. I miss riding horses and wish I could go back to those days.
What artist dominates your playlist? My ultimate favorite group is a Korean-pop group called Seventeen. They are always my top listened to artist on Spotify. Their music is so good and so special!
What is your ideal vacation? I am currently saving money for a trip to South Korea next fall. That is definitely a dream vacation for me. But somewhere I would love to travel to is Italy. I am a quarter Italian, and my dad has always wanted to go visit, so it would be really fun to go with my entire family.
What is your most used emoji? Definitely the cry laughing emoji 😂. But I also use the smiling emoji that’s sweating 😅and the thumbs up as well 👍.
