My favorite staff member is Allison Blatt, director of operations and patron services at the Williams Center for the Arts, or AQB. I don’t remember a moment when I thought “I’m gonna talk to AQB more”—it just happened. The biggest time when I would sit and talk to her was when I worked at the box office for a couple of shifts every week. She was just in the other room, and her door is always open for students to grab some candy and have a good conversation. I really got to know her through that.
I find out different things about her every time I talk to her. She has a deep love for her cats, Lenny and Mike. She was a founding member of our theater honors society chapter. It’s also great to hear family tales from her home, West Virginia—she visited her mom, a violinist who would travel with different orchestras. AQB is a connoisseur of the arts, so she has more appreciation than participation and performance. She also does a lot of mosaic. I think it’s a side business, but she makes these really cool mosaic tile pieces. To me, her spirit is one of the defining features of Lafayette Arts! —Anna Zittle ’22