Mary Hestand: 30 Years
Executive Assistant
Department of Molecular Genetics
First UTSW job: Administrative Assistant.
Best part about my job: My co-workers, who are among the kindest people I know, and the artwork that Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D., Chair of Molecular Genetics, shares on Donald Seldin Plaza and in our halls.
How co-workers describe me: I hope they would say I’m a team player always willing to help.
Best UTSW memory: It has to be walking up to the office from McDermott Plaza for my follow-up interview in 1995. I found the building, but not the office. I must have been nervous about meeting Nobel Laureates Dr. Goldstein and Michael S. Brown, M.D., Professor of Molecular Genetics and Internal Medicine, the first time. That experience made me empathetic to people who aren’t familiar with our campus. Now I’m happy to walk visitors up from the Plaza anytime.
My proudest UTSW accomplishment: Handling travel and expenses for faculty, postdocs, and graduate students over the past 25 years.
I’m really good at: Finding research papers in obscure or obsolete journals, especially those published before the mid-1990s.
Hobbies: I love to perform with bands made up of family members and friends and see live music by artists I admire.
Final note: The older I get, the more I realize that the important things in life are family, friends, and meaningful work. I’m grateful to have all three – and that’s a big part of why I have stayed at UT Southwestern for 30 years.
Endowed Titles
Dr. Brown, a Regental Professor, holds The W.A. (Monty) Moncrief Distinguished Chair in Cholesterol and Arteriosclerosis Research and the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine.
Dr. Goldstein, a Regental Professor, holds the Julie and Louis A. Beecherl, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Research and the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine.