Lookin’ at U – Melissa Goede

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

• Name: Melissa Goede
• Hometown: Harlan, Iowa
• No. of years at UNMC: I’m a newbie and don’t even have half a year under my belt yet!

Tell us about what you do at UNMC.
I am an administrative associate in the chancellor’s office. I handle a wide variety of tasks each day, and it truly is different from one day to the next. Overall, I provide administrative assistance to Dr. Gold and assist with helping the vice chancellor’s and the chancellor’s support staff group whenever and wherever help is needed. We have a great team, and we work well together to achieve a common goal of helping things run as smoothly as possible for all those we work with.

Courage is one of UNMC’s brand values. Tell us of a time you witnessed a person or group at UNMC showing courage.
Honestly, I would say that even though I might not have witnessed the courageous act of a single individual (that I can readily recall), I know 100 percent that there are individuals that make courageous decisions every day on both the UNMC campus and at Nebraska Medicine. We couldn’t be the outstanding organization that we are without each of those individuals and their courageous efforts shown each and every day through the innovative patient care, the research strides made every day, and those who are educating our future healthcare professionals.

What is your favorite fall activity?
Anything and everything! Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. I enjoy any moment that I can spend with my family outside during these months. We love college football (Go Iowa State Cyclones!) and love spending Saturdays watching games and grilling out with a large group of family members. I have two little boys who also love being outside, and fall is the perfect time to spend outdoors.

List three things people may not know about you:

• I absolutely love music of all genres! If my favorite artist is playing within a 3-hour radius of me, it would take a serious situation for me not to attend. I have seen my favorite artist close to 20 times in the past 10 years, and I travel if necessary to make sure I see him play at least once a year.
• I collect vinyl records and enjoy spending time looking through piles of records in local record stores. One of my favorites has to be an original pressing of the Beatles’ White Album from 1968.
• Lucille Ball has been my favorite actress for as long as I can remember. I watch “I Love Lucy” almost daily and will never get tired of Lucy’s crazy antics!