Name: Amy Van Auker
Hometown: Springfield, OH
Age: 22 years old
Major: Speech and Hearing Science
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Candy: Peanut M&Ms
One interesting fact about yourself:
I once had a goldfish (won at a carnival) that lived for 12
years!
If you could have dinner with one person, alive or dead, who
would it be and why?
I would love to have dinner with Bob
Dylan. He’s such a great songwriter and
I’m sure he has some great stories from over the years.
It is a lazy Sunday, how would you spend your day?
Well, I am currently obsessed with Mad Men, so I’d probably
watch a few episodes in the day. Also, my
roommates and I like to hang out on our porch when it’s warm outside, so I would
enjoy spending much of my Sunday there, talking or reading.
What is the funniest comment you have heard from a child
while working for SMS?
I was sitting for a 4-year-old boy, and he told me right away
that they had had other sitters who were also named Amy. I told him that we would have to figure out a
way for him to differentiate between us, so he wouldn’t get us confused. He suggested that he call me “Stilts” because
I am so tall I “almost hit [my] head on the ceiling.” I don’t know about the ceiling, but I am tall
enough that it works!
When you were a kid growing up, what did you want to be?
I don’t remember having a dream job when I was little, though I
distinctly remember being about 4 years old and telling a group of my friends
that I wanted to be a bird. Even though
some of them were older, I don’t think they had the heart to tell me it wasn’t
going to happen.
If you were stranded on a desert island, and could pick three
items, what would they be?
My laptop, my guitar, and the complete works of Jane Austen.
What is the funniest memory from your childhood babysitter?
When my sister and I were young we used to make videos with our
babysitter. These could include anything
from music videos and commercials to fake documentaries and mock soap
operas. They were hilarious, and my
family loves to watch them to this day.
What has been your most memorable experience while
working with SMS?
I
sat for a family that were big Buckeye fans (I’m sure we all have), and their
2-year-old son was enamored with the marching band’s pregame show. He would wave a stick in the air to pretend
that he was the drum major and had us all march behind him while we sang “Fight
the Team” or “Hang on Sloopy.”
