Matthew Thomas Miller was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He currently works in Serials Acquisitions, where he has worked for nearly 8 years.
Mat was born in St. Louis. He has a bachelor’s from MU in English. He has two five year old cats who are littermates: Molaise (male yellow tabby/stub-tailed manx) and Shalimar (a female black cat).
In his leisure times, he enjoys reading, listening and playing music (guitar and bass guitar). He is a sports fan and watches MU football and basketball, Cardinals, Blues, and even the Rams.
Asked what actor he would like to portray him, he said “Right now, Joaquin Phoenix could play me without having to shave, and as an added bonus my life would be believed to be a hoax.”
***************************
Laura Christine (Ivy) Buck currently works in the Zalk Veterinary Medical Library. She has worked at MU Libraries since September 1989 in various places, including circ at HSL, ILL in HSL, UMLD, and the Vet Library.
Laura was born in Boonville, Missouri. She went to school in Glasgow, Missouri and graduated from Central Methodist College in Feyette with a Bachelors in elementary education & a minor in psychology.
At the present, she has 2 very spoiled cats: Stitch, a 7 year old female calico and Reg (short for Regulus) a beautiful 2yr old male who loves to play fetch. She acquired Stitch when her son Aaron told a friend that was moving & couldn’t take the cat “Don’t take her to the Animal Shelter my Mom will take her.” Laura came home on Thanksgiving & was greeted at the door by Stitch. Reg was adopted from the Veterinary Ophthalmology Dept. after staring at his picture for about a month. She just couldn’t stand the thought of someone not taking him. It took awhile before Stitch accepted Reg, but they get along fine now.
In her leisure time, she loves to read, mostly fiction/fantasy & some sci-fi but will read other things if it catches her interest. She also enjoys watching cartoons anything from the classic Scooby Doo to Japanese anime. Cooking and trying out new recipes is also something she likes to do, but she limits it to the weekends when there’s more time. She also likes listening to the music on her iPod when cleaning house, rearranging the furniture or taking a walk around Glasgow.
Her hobbies include embroidery and sewing, although there’s little time to work on sewing projects. She speculates that maybe after she retires she’ll make that quilt that she’s always wanted to make.
The coolest place she’s ever visited was sitting in a Blackhawk helicopter while visiting Fort Bragg was cool. She even got to put on the helmet but, her brother-in-law at the time kept reminding her not to push any buttons!
When asked about what actress she’d like to portray her in a move of her life, she responded: “I would make it an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki. If not animated I would have Dakota Fanning as the younger me & Sally Field or Jamie Lee Curtis as the older me.”
Other facts include that she grew up in Howard County on a farm close to what is now the Boonslick state park. Of course, back then she said it was just a smelly salt lick & a place to ride bikes to. She has 1 older brother & 3 younger brothers and 1 younger sister. She said “you could say I’m the runt of the litter because everyone else in my family is tall. There was never a dull moment growing up or a quiet one.” She also had a penchant for taking things apart when she was younger just to see how they worked, which sometimes got her in trouble.
After graduating college, she taught Learning Disabilities and EMR for 2 years. She also substituted in the local schools, taught preschool, worked as a clerk in a drug store, and held a few temp secretarial positions. She has 2 children: Aaron, an embryologist, currently lives & works in St. Charles, MO and Lydia is a freshman at Truman State University.