By Mary Pannabecker Steiner

I know you're from Livonia, MI. That's a much different city than Bluffton, isn't it? Tell me about your childhood, growing up "up north", etc. What kind of kid were you?

"Up north," that's Traverse City or Marquette, to me! Livonia is the suburbs, but I had a passion for horses and was lucky to ride English for six years through the Girl Scouts.

I was a very bookish girl and had a Harriet the Spy phase when I carried a notebook around with me everywhere. I also sang in choir throughout my school years and still miss singing. Other especially vivid memories from childhood are family vacations.

We went far and wide on camping trips. Imagine a family of six in the wilds of Wyoming in a red Volkswagen "microbus," running out of gas once, and almost running out of food. That may have been the trip when my mother kissed the kitchen floor on our return.

What made you choose UM? What kind of post-college plans did you have? Is that where you met Rob?

I went to U of M after my older brother and sister. Because I didn't really know what I was going to do there, I put "pre-law" on my application. I was talked out of an English major and teaching by a dreadful advisor who said that I might find a job teaching in Alaska.

I decided to major in Communication, following my interest in television and film. And Rob may say we met at U of M, but I actually met him working summers at a cemetery. Very romantic.

Tell me the most important thing you learned in college. And how do you share that with students at ONU?

Oh, tough question. I learned that my interests, aptitudes, and work drive do not always neatly coincide. When I'm doing mock interviews with students at ONU's Communication Skills Center, I tell them not to apologize for changing majors or not knowing what they'll be doing 25 years from now.

What happened in the years between UM and Bluffton? How did you get from there to here? What is your job at ONU?

Rob's an English prof, correct? After college I worked for eight years as a video producer (that means absolutely every role behind the camera and a few in front) for the City of Livonia's government access channel. The programming included live council meetings, sports, talk shows, local history, and even a cooking show.

When Rob was ABD (all but dissertation), he got a visiting position teaching English at ONU. I found freelance work as a writer and editor, working mostly for a big reference publisher in metro Detroit. We were thrilled to be somewhat close to home. He applied for jobs in seemingly every state but Alaska. I have transitioned to working as a tutor at ONU's Communication Skills Center, having had my fill of e-mail only relationships with editors. Most days, I don't know what I'll be doing or who I'll be working with until the students walk in the door and hand me a copy of their work.

I read papers out loud and respond with questions and comments. I also record speeches and provide immediate feedback. I love working with students in all disciplines and at all levels of proficiency, including ESL (English as a Second Language) students.

When did you move to Bluffton? Why Bluffton and not Ada?

We rented in Ada for five years. When our daughter Katie was two, we finally made the leap to home ownership. Having heard that "everything is a little bit better in Bluffton," we shifted our house search from Ada to Bluffton. We have grown to love Bluffton, which my dad calls "Pleasantville." It turns out our Bluffton friends were right.

How old are the kids now? What are their interests? How like you and Rob are your kids?

Katie is twelve and in sixth grade; she claims to have read everything in the children's section of the Bluffton Public Library. Duncan is eight and in second grade; he lives for Lego.

Their shared interests include reading, drawing, and Pokemon. I think that Katie has inherited more of Rob's Type A personality and that Duncan shares my Type B style. You live in what I consider one of the most interesting houses in Bluffton.

What's it like living in a former church? Do you know what remains of the original church? Have you talked with Pete and Portia Amstutz about their renovation of the building?

We despaired of finding the right house in Bluffton until Ray Person told us about a house that he admired, the former Defenseless Mennonite Church on Jackson that was converted into living space by Pete and Portia.

We bought the house directly from them and heard about the amazing work they did on the building. It took a very long time to think of it as our house. Especially when Portia came to visit the day after I took down her apple border in the kitchen. The main floor of the house has an open floor plan and 14-foot ceilings.

We love the light that comes through the huge windows, which are very old but don't have the gothic tops that once were part of the building (we have one stashed in the basement). The floors and 12" oak trim are also original. And way back in the most disreputable part of the basement, tacked to the floor joists, are cards naming chapters in the Bible that were probably used for Bible study.

Do you ever miss Michigan or living in a larger city? Do you see yourselves in Bluffton for a long time? What characteristics of Bluffton do you see as its strengths?

We really miss living near our parents and siblings, but they are scattered over Michigan, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, and California. We'd like them all to move to Bluffton. The pull of family ties is the one thing that could get us to move.

We satisfy our cravings for big-city life when we travel. When I am away from Bluffton, I miss having all the essentials of life just around the corner. My essentials include the library, public school, BFR, Common Grounds, Community Market, and the Food Store. And I have lost much of my patience for sitting in traffic. What's that? A four-car wait at College and Main? Our transplantation is decidedly a success.

What are some of your interests? Any hobbies -- unusual or not?

I am currently reading everything I can get my hands on about web writing. During Fall Quarter I took a Web Design class at ONU, which was a blast. Today's hobby, tomorrow's freelance gig. I sew on occasion, I would love to return to the recreational cooking I did before becoming a mom, and, in the spring, I consider myself a gardener.

In August, I just look away from the dry, weedy aftermath. I love old movies and am most fond of the films of Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, and Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers. Netfix is my friend. Tell me something about yourself that I'd never have guessed. I have re-read The Lord of the Rings at least 25 times.

What's the history of the name "Pyzik"? Do you have family traditions that stem from your family ancestry? Any Christmas traditions that are unusual or different from...perhaps my Swiss and Chinese ones?

Pyzik, my maiden and now middle name, is Polish. The Baron, Dozbush, and Bonk (originally Bak but butchered at Ellis Island) branches of my family also came from Poland. Sadly, I don't speak a lick of Polish, unless you count "kielbasa," "pierogi," and "golabki" (I had to look up the spelling on the last, which is stuffed cabbage).

Food is the strongest link to the old country. Christmas is the one time when we always serve Polish food. For me, it isn't Christmas without beet borscht and pierogi. The latter is a stuffed dumpling that we make in huge quantities, in an assembly line in my mother's kitchen. One person rolls out rounds of a noodle-ish dough, another adds the potato-cheese filling and seals the dough around it, and a third boils the pierogi until they float. But they aren't done until sauteed with butter and sliced onions, and served with sour cream.

Where do you see you and Rob in 10 years from now?

That's an interesting question, which is to say, one that I don't have a clue how to answer. In ten years, Duncan will be eighteen, Katie twenty-two. I wonder what it will be like to have our own children in college after spending so much of our working lives on campus. In my dreams, Rob and I are doing yoga together and finally have a garage built out on the "tundra" that used to be the church parking lot.