By Terra Avilla
Last week, I graced you all with one-half of this duo, and today, I am going to complete the set and feature the other Giles that I love so deeply – this time focusing on the one and only Jamie Giles.
Jamie Giles, a recent addition to the Lassen College Foundation & Alumni Association, has already made significant strides revamping and revitalizing the foundation. All in an effort to increase support for the students at Lassen College.
Jamie is not only incredibly kind, but she is also incredibly down to earth.
I remember the exact moment when I realized I was going to adore her for the rest of my life.
Earlier this fall, I was eating in the cafeteria and Jamie came walking in, hanging up flyers for another event she was working so hard to put on.
Even though I work now at the college, I had zero idea what the “Foundation” was or what it did. So, naturally I asked her about the foundation and how she liked her new position.
Her answer… “Well, I like it a lot, but I’m still figuring out what I do here.” And to me that was the most honest and down-to-earth answer. Cause – Jamie – SAME.
Please know, she wasn’t saying it like she had no idea how to do her job, or what she was supposed to be doing, rather she was humble enough to acknowledge that there are things she doesn’t know yet – and I just loved that about her. I have also been at Lassen College for a year, and I am still figuring out what I do as well.
Jamie’s other significant role is as the mother of four daughters. She fits into this role as seamlessly as any other. She’s there for her daughters’ events, she runs the family logistics and keeps everything moving like the busy matriarch she is. Her daughters are beautiful, bright, strong, and confident – the way she is.
As a bonus for this week’s superstar, I secured a funny story about Jamie from last week’s feature -her husband – James Giles.
After I swore him to secrecy that Jamie was this week’s feature, I asked him to tell me about her and his face literally lit up. He said that Jamie is amazing, and there was so “much to say about her.”
James said that she really loves her gardening and her girls but wanted the world to hear this funny story about his bride.
From the words of James Giles himself: “Not many know that as a teenager Jamie caught a Gulf Grouper on the Sea of Cortez that was bigger than her. It was so big that at first her uncles tied her to the fishing pole (they didn’t want to lose the fishing pole) then they decided they should tie her to the boat. They found out later it was an unofficial record for one of the largest gulf groupers ever caught.”
And, in retrospect, that story summarizes my friend Jamie. She is always ready to tackle a big unknown. And though she may be little she really is fierce. She is mighty and kind and fun. She is of course, one of the reasons I love where we live.
