“She’s a retired clown,” said freshman biology major Clayton Rowe, who admitted that he isn’t one of those who regularly stops and chats with St. Claire.
It sounds too awesome to be true, but believe it or not it is. St. Claire, now 55 years old with short white hair, light-rimmed glasses, and dressed very much like someone with a serious job used to be a full-fledged clown, costume and everything.
She worked as a clown for several years as a way supplement her income, attending events that ranged from small kids’ birthday parties to huge Texas Instruments events. This could explain her talent for making balloon animals, as was displayed during Honors Hall’s “Night at the Circus” program.
“Well, about 25 years ago, my husband at the time coached a soccer team, and one of the kid’s dad owned an entertainment company,” said St. Claire when asked about her history as a clown and her balloon twisting skills. “He needed someone to help, so he sent my husband home with some balloons and instructions. He never got around to them, so I did them and I liked them.”
St. Claire, born on Nov. 20, 1953, moved from the state of Arkansas to Henderson, Texas when she was 12 years old after her father died. She considers herself a native of Texas after living here for 43 years, even though she was born in Arkansas.
“As my husband used to say, ‘You weren’t born in Texas, but you got here as fast as possible,’” a chuckling St. Claire said.
A certified paralegal who moonlighted as a part-time clown, she grew tired of the stress of her job and worked for four years at Collin County Community College.
“I love to work around students,” said St. Claire, “and love to work around education.”
Soon after her husband, who was working in UNT housing maintenance, was hired to be the Student Union facilities manager, she applied and was hired in August 2007 to be the daytime desk clerk at Honors Hall, which was soon to open for the fall semester that year.
“We interviewed more than 20 people for the position,” said Bill Rose, director of Honors Hall, “but she struck us as someone we could all really get along with. We saw that mother figure in her.”
According to Rose, she has become a big part of Honors Hall in the short time that it has been opened. When the dorm staff was finally able to enter the brand new building in the fall of 2007, there were only a few days to set everything up before new students would start to check-in, and St. Claire managed to organize the entire front desk area in that time.
“She really has helped us in getting to know every resident,” Rose said. “She is always encouraging students, and knows who has a class at a certain time, or when they usually eat lunch.”
Among the things that she loves about her job, the friendships she gets to make with the students she meets are what she loves the most.
“She’s a really sweet lady,” said Kimberly Garcia, Resident Assistant for the fourth floor of Honors Hall. “Sometimes we call her ‘mom.’”
She admits that some of her most memorable times are when a student that she knows well comes out of the elevators adjacent to the front desk with a defeated look on their face. A sign clearly showing that they have just lost the key to their room and now have to glumly ask her for a new one.
On a regular basis, St. Claire said that at least 50 students of the four-story dorm take time to sit and chat with her on their way to or from their destination. “Where else can you get paid to make friends?”, she said while discussing her favorite parts of working at Honors Hall. It’s her job to be there to help them with maintenance and general housing issues, but she sees it as much more than that.
Jonathan Graham/ Staff Writer
