In order to get to know our new director, Dr. Stacia Moroski-Rigney, a little better, we took some inspiration from Vogue and asked her 73 rapid-fire questions ranging from her favorite spot on campus to the best advice she’s ever received. We may not be able to chat with Stacia in person, but you can learn all about her if you keep reading!
1. On a scale of 1-10, how excited are you about life right now?
Eight.
2. What’s one thing people don’t know about you?
Probably that I’m actually a dog person because I think everyone who knows me now thinks that I’m a cat person because I have two cats, but I’m more of a dog person. My dog is in Tennesee, so I don’t get to see her very much.
3. What’s your wake-up ritual?
Get up, read The New York Times first thing every morning, which probably isn’t good for me, but that’s what I do. And then go straight downstairs and make coffee.
4. Would you rather read the book or watch the movie?
Read the book
5. What’s your favorite time of day?
Evening, like 5 or 6 o’clock.
6. Your go-to COVID face mask?
I have one that has Dolly Parton’s face all over it, so I wear that one the most.
7. Dream country to visit — once it’s safe again?
I love Thailand, and can’t wait to go back there.
8. What’s the biggest surprise you’ve had?
Meeting my wife—that was a massive surprise.
9. Is there a story to that?
Yeah, she and I were at a conference, and she walked into the room, and I was like, “there she is.” That’s literally what my brain thought. I was not looking for someone, but I knew her when she walked in and thought, “Oh, there’s my person.”
10. Do you prefer winter or summer?
Summer.
11. Best advice you’d give your college self?
Not to be a perfectionist, to learn to prioritize what’s really important and not try to be perfect at everything.
12. Who would you want to write your biography (living or dead)?
It has to be a female… Roxanne Gay, definitely.
13. Who is someone you look up to?
I would say Trixie Smith because she is the director of the Writing Center here, and she’s just a powerhouse of a woman; she’s amazing.
14. What are three things you can’t live without?
My UGG slippers because my feet are always cold. Popcorn, which is my favorite food. And probably coffee—I could, but I’d be miserable for a while.
15. What 3 people, living or dead, would you like to make dinner for?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, personal idol. She’s probably a very popular answer right now. Andy Warhol, my favorite artist, and Sam Cook, a singer from the 60s and 70s.
16. What’s your biggest fear in life?
Even though I would tell my students not to have this fear, it’s probably still failure. Like doing something really badly, especially on a second try. Not being able to get better at something.
17. What’s your favorite spot on campus?
There’s a little sidewalk that runs from the MSU Bike Shop at Bessey and across one of the bridges and down under one of the bridges. It’s my favorite walking path on campus, and it runs by the botanical garden, too.
18. What’s your current TV obsession?
The Vow, which is an HBO show about the Nexium Cult. I’m kind of obsessed with it; I’’ve watched like everything I can find on it.
19. Favorite app?
Rakuten because I save so much money! I shop too much.
20. What’s something you’re good at?
I’m good at organizing: stuff, space, time, projects, closets, anything.
21. Something you’re bad at?
Staying focused. My ADHD is a thing, so it’s hard to think of a thing to do and just go do it without doing five other things in the meantime.
22. Most adventurous thing you’ve done in your life?
I ate grasshoppers in Thailand.
23. How would you define yourself in three words?
Empathetic, organized, and giving.
24. Favorite place to eat in the Lansing area?
I like so many places, but Zaytoon is definitely my favorite.
25. What’s a book or movie that inspired you?
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. I really love Asian Lit and Asian film, and I’ve spent a lot of time travelling in Asia. And it was the first book that made me think understanding Asia would be really helpful to me as an English major and a writer.
26. Superpower you would want?
Invisibility. Definitely.
27. Best piece of advice you’ve received?
One of my mentors in my previous job told me that if I ever walk into a classroom on the first day and don’t feel like I have no idea why they’re letting me teach students, that I should retire right then. If you don’t feel imposter syndrome then you’re doing it wrong; your ego is out of check.
28. A book that everyone should read?
Malcom X’s autobiography.
29. What would you like to be remembered for?
Helping students who didn’t necessarily think of themselves as college-bound through their lives; helping them feel comfortable and successful in college.
30. How do you define art?
Anything that has been created that makes someone feel.
31. You have to live on campus. Which neighborhood do you pick?
Brody.
32. Why Brody?
The caf.
33. Best way to take a rest/decompress?
For me, it’s probably going for a long walk—that’s the healthy thing. The unhealthy thing I do is scroll on Pinterest for a million hours.
34. Favorite place to view art?
The Art Institute in Chicago. It’s my favorite museum. The Met is a close second, but I love the Art Institute.
35. Zeke or Sparty?
Sparty.
36. If you could master one instrument, what would it be?
Upright bass. I’ve always thought that would be the coolest instrument to just pick up and play. That would be really surprising to people.
37. What’s a quote you live by?
There’s a poem called “God Says Yes to Me.” I’m not necessarily a religious person, but I keep a copy on my desk at work and a copy on my desk at home. The general synopsis is that you don’t have to be who everyone else expects you to be.
38. Favorite fall activity?
Going to Uncle John’s Cider Mill, definitely.
39. What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?
The White Temple in Thailand. I feel like it’s my spirit home—it’s kind of where I live all the time even though I’m here.
40. Go-to flavor at the dairy store?
Lemon.
41. Best gift you’ve ever received?
My wedding ring; it’s beautiful.
42. Introvert or extrovert?
I am on a spectrum that is more toward extrovert, but I can be really introverted in a room full of people I’ve never met before.
43. What’s your favorite board game?
It doesn’t actually have a board, but Scattegories.
44. Favorite color?
Purple.
45. What’s a class at MSU you’d like to take?
There’s a minor called entrepeneurship and innovation, or E&I, and it’s all about how money influence the money and the humanities influences money. Any class in that major I would find really fascinating; it’s kind of the opposite of what we’re taught to think about when we think about the humanities.
46. Print books or digital?
Print books—I get distracted. I get a text message and then I’m off doing something else.
47. The best part of your job?
The students. Working with the students is so fun.
48. Skydiving or scuba diving?
Neither!
49. What’s the weirdest word in the English language?
Tuft—I hate that word! It’s such an ugly word.
50. The best dessert?
Candy in general, but sour patch kids. Anything that’s fruity and sour, I’d rather have than most desserts.
51. Favorite way to be active?
I’m a runner, so I like doing a 2 to 3 mile run each day.
52. You are stuck on an island, you can pick one food to eat forever without getting tired of it, what would you eat?
Blue cheese. Cheese in general, but specifically blue cheese.
53. A food most people like but you despise?
I’m not very picky, but I have a list of things that should not be sweet. The list includes corn bread, peanut butter, milk, and cereal. I love sweet things, but certain things just shouldn’t be sweet.
54. A skill you’re working on mastering?
Chess; I’m trying to learn how to play during quarantine.
55. What Arts & Letters major would you be the worst at?
Probably philosophy. I’m such a gray-area person that it would be hard for me to look at things to try to find a singular truth. My brain doesn’t work that way.
56. Favorite Spartan sport to watch?
Football.
57. Dogs or cats?
Dogs.
58. Best compliment you’ve ever received?
I had a really rough year and was out of school a lot, and I was really concerned my students felt like I abandoned them. So when I finally got back to school and had a meeting with some of my students, I told them I was so sorry I hadn’t been there for them. And they said, “No, you taught us what it means to set a boundary to focus on your personal life and take a break from your professional life to take care when you need to in order to take care of what’s really important. You taught us how to prioritize by doing what you did.” I went from feeling so guilty and like the worst teacher in the world to realizing they actually learned a good thing from me being able to set a boundary.
59. What’s a good memory you have from college?
An academic memory would be with my poetry professor. I was a poetry major in undergrad, and she became a mentor to me, and came to my wedding. She was so encouraging and helped me get published twice before I graduated college.
60. If you made a documentary, what would it be about?
I think I would say the White Temple. There’s not that much information about it out there, and it’s an important function of art.
61. What was the last book or movie that made you cry?
White Teeth. I’m still reading it.
62. Sunrise or sunset?
Sunset, 100 percent.
63. Sweet or savory?
I think savory.
64. What MSU alumni would you most like to meet?
Gretchen Whitmer. I’d love to have a conversation with her. Her life has been insane recently.
65. What makes a good student?
Being intentionally curious, wanting to know more about everything.
66. Song you can listen to on repeat?
“American Girl” by Tom Petty.
67. If you could switch lives with someone for a day who would it be?
AOC. I would love to know what it would be like to be her and be in the Senate at that age.
68. Your go-to for having a good laugh?
The Netflix show Grace and Frankie.
69. Your affirmation for today?
“I can do hard things; I can do new things.” That’s my affirmation for every day since this job is so new, and I just got married. Everything in my life has changed in the past 18 months.
70. Other than Michigan, what’s the prettiest state in the US?
Kentucky hands-down.
71. What brought you to MSU?
My job. I came here with my wife because we both got jobs here. We both have PhDs in writing and rhetoric, so it’s hard to get jobs at the same institution, and they wanted to hire both of us. We totally lucked out because this was our number one choice.
72. A joke that made you laugh out loud?
My favorite joke is the interrupting cow. Everytime it makes me laugh, and I’m laughing before I can even yell, “Moo!”
73. Why Citizen Scholars?
I just believe in everything about the program. I believe in social justice work, and equity work, and getting students who may have been honors students in high school but also the students who weren’t for various reasons. Bringing all of these incredibly smart people to one space to do amazing things, and specifically incoporating the professions intosocial justice work so students can figure out how to create the world they want to work in. When I found out what the program really was and what the program was intended to be, I couldn’t think of a better opportunity.
Thank you to Stacia for taking the time so that we can all get to know her a little better! Feel free to reach out to her anytime at rigneyst@msu.edu.
Portions of this interview were edited for clarity.