When Donnette first considered working for the University of Utah 27 years ago, she arrived at the interview with a black eye courtesy of her horse.

Back then, the hiring process was different. She’d heard about the job from a friend who put in a good word for her. There was no texting her boss to reschedule or preliminary virtual Outlook meeting. Donnette briefly explained over the phone that she’d been kicked in the face, strutted into the interview, delivered a lasting impression, and started her lifelong career at the U. 

“I never liked what people used to consider ‘girl’ jobs,” Donnette explains, when asked about her current role as an information coordinator in infection prevention and control. Prior to this position, she bounced around doing admin work in anesthesiology and labs. 

As a young woman, she’d earned an earful of criticism for her interests in geology, drafting, scuba diving, fishing ships, and raising horses. Landing in infection prevention shared one key similarity with her other dream jobs: an ability to ignore the noise, push through, and do what she wanted to do. 

“I love my job,” Donnette explains. “I could retire if I wanted to—but I don’t want to. I like work.”

Once a quarter, Donnette samples water for Legionella bacteria. However, her favorite parts of the job lean toward the administrative, and on an average day, Donnette finishes recording reportable diseases in the area for the state, rounds the hospital, and grabs coffee with her office friends.

“Oh, we all know Donnette and her order,” the barista working the Starbucks at University Hospital says with a smile. For those who are friends with Donnette, they gain so much: warmth, affection, and the twinkle of an inside joke most people want to be a part of.

“She always knows what to do without having to be asked,” says her supervisor, Kathryn Smith, manager of infection prevention. Yet, when poked and prodded about herself, Donnette turns the attention to others—every time.

“If you are smart, you need to know everybody, what they do, why they do it,” Donnette explains, waving a hand to the hospital floor where a janitor pushes a mop past a surgeon carrying two coffees. “You need to know the people who do housekeeping and the doctors. Because with everything so negative right now, you can see that there are nice people in this world, in all religions, all nationalities.”

Like the people who scrub floors post-surgery, volunteer to play piano in the lobby, or hold babies in the NICU, Donnette is an essential part of the University Hospital community. Her testing keeps the water safe to drink; her reports track the amount of flu and measles cases across Utah. And her sparkly cat sweaters, blue mascara, and full body laughter make the hospital a much brighter place. Her work is essential but not always seen, which is how she prefers it.

Similar to the quiet and steady relationship she has with her animals at home, Donnette enjoys work that’s grounding and helpful. But she doesn’t call praise to herself. “It’s nice to be in an environment where you can look around and see people from all different walks of life together with the common goal of serving others,” she says. 

When the day is done, Donnette turns off her monitor and drives home. She’s greeted by a parrot named Pheobe, who sings her own name, an elderly horse, several cats, and a loving spouse who looks forward to her retirement in June. It’s a bittersweet decision Donnette recently made. 

“The U is kind of who I am,” she says, “I don’t want to stop working, but it’s time.”

Still, she knows it will be hard. The hospital is where Donnette said goodbye to her most loved relative. It’s where she shares laughs with lifelong friends. Working at the U informs her hobbies, including weekend football games and regular museum visits. 

Donnette’s friends are going to miss seeing her, too. Her supervisor, Kathryn Smith, believes Donnette's selfless and tenacious presence will be impossible to replace. But just like the way she confidently strutted into that interview in 1999 with a black eye, Donnette now trusts her sense of self as she steps into her next dream. 

When asked about retirement, Donnette says she looks forward most to time with her family. 

By Lauren McKinnon; Photos by Charlie Ehlert