Lookin’ at U – Tamara Rager

Each Thursday, we randomly feature a medical center employee. This week, we learn more about:

• Name: Tamara Rager
• Hometown: Gordon, Neb.
• No. of years at UNMC: Three

Tell us a bit about what you do here at UNMC.
As a member of the human resources staffing/compensation/HRIT and records team, I provide administrative support to the division director and the compensation administrator. "Commitment to Excellence" is a UNMC brand value. Tell us of a time when you witnessed a commitment to excellence at UNMC.
I most recently witnessed UNMC's brand value "Commitment to Excellence" during the "Under Pressure: Managing Stress and Burnout" seminars. Doctors from all over the U.S. joined us at our campus to discuss the high rate of suicide among physicians. This type of conversation is never easy, but is necessary. Doctors, leaders, and college residents spoke about new wellness programs in their departments, in an effort to spread suicide awareness on our campuses. I encourage you to think of your life as a hero's journey, your lifeline as a story plotline. You have a beginning hook, a middle build, and an ending payoff which is your legacy. Only you can write your story and determine your ending payoff. Every hero has guides — think of yourself as Samwise Gamgee in "Lord of the Rings." Sam needed powerful guidance to keep Frodo from falling into the hands of evil. You will need guidance along your life's journey, and it is OK to ask for help when you find yourself navigating the dark messy bits. What is your favorite spring activity?
Walking and hiking with my dogs. List three things people may not know about you.

• I feel the need to photograph vanity license plates. Okay, so I am obsessed. I have an album on Facebook filled with them. My favorite is EXQQS ME.
• I come home every day to the Pup-paparazzi. I have a Belgian Tervuren drug K-9 named Wagzola, an ivory lab named Moe Tugs, who as it turns out makes a rather plush ottoman, and a Shih Tzu with severe skin allergies named Mrs. Pattmore. They are 12 sweet paws who are all new/full moon sensitive.
• I am a writer and have been recently accepted into the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking (Writing & Reflection) program at UNO.