When Muncie native Lisa Collier graduated from Tennessee State University in December 1982, she was looking for a short-term job before deciding what she wanted to do next.

Ms. Collier returned home for a six-month long position at Ball State University.

“I was hired through the Summer to make a newsletter for properties around campus that were available for students to rent,” she said. “I was just thinking, ‘I’ll just find something to do so I won’t have to ask my mom to give me money for this or give me money for that.’ I liked what I was doing.”

Near the end of the term, a position opened in the housing and residence life department. Ms. Collier applied for that job and got it. Despite having an interest in pursuing graduate studies in business management in Texas, she made the decision to stay and work at Ball State.

What started as a short-term plan turned into a lifetime full of memories, as Ms. Collier has since served in a variety of capacities through her 40-plus years at the University.

Ms. Collier worked in the housing and residence life field for 16 years before making the switch to work in athletics, where she has assisted in an administrative role for a multitude of departments.

“When I was first hired, I worked with compliance and a few other sports,” she said. “Then, I went to men’s basketball. Then, I went back to the compliance area before working with the athletic director.”

Now, as the administrative coordinator, Ms. Collier serves all of athletics, including the athletic director and departments such as communications and marketing. She relishes this role, and enjoys working with administrators to help student-athletes achieve great success and pursue fulfilling professional careers in sports or their areas of study.

“I like working to help students and help them feel at home at Ball State because that is how I felt when I went to school,” Ms. Collier said. “I like working with people who have different backgrounds and watching their lives change as they grow older.”

When fans of Ball State Athletics call the department, Ms. Collier is often the one who answers, exchanging pleasantries and routing the calls where they need to go.

As one might imagine, she’s been the recipient of a few memorable calls through the years.

“One football season, we had one of our best players—Dante Love—get seriously injured during a game against Indiana,” Ms. Collier recalled. “We were receiving many calls asking for an update on him. One of those calls was from a former student-athlete. He gave his name, Shafer Suggs, and said he played in the NFL and was a member of the Hall of Fame here at Ball State. After our conversation, I talked to Pat Quinn about it, and he told me Shafer was one of the greatest football players to ever play here. So, I met him through that conversation because we started talking to each other, and we’re still friends today.”

As a lifelong native of Muncie, Ms. Collier also got to know Ball State men’s basketball legend Bonzi Wells as he grew up in the city in the 1990s before becoming the Mid-American Conference’s all-time leading scorer and a first-round NBA draft pick.

Memories such as those continue to remind Ms. Collier that she made the right decision 40 years ago.

“If I had to do it over again, I would choose to do it again and take the position when it was available,” she said. “I think I made a good choice to stay here.”