Dr. Susan Stoker has been the Tarleton State University Registrar for one and a half years. She calls many places home, but she and her husband both work at Tarleton and have lived in Tolar for about a year and a half. Dr. Stoker has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Purdue University, a Master of Arts in Human Resources Development from Webster University, and a PhD in Organization and Management from Capella University.

JTAC: Besides Tarleton, where have you worked?

Dr. Stoker (SS): Well, I married a military guy, so I was the registrar for a community college in Indiana. Before that, I was the registrar at a community college in Colorado Springs, and before that I was the director for a university in California on an Army base. Then, before California I was in Missouri at a university on an Army base.

JTAC: What do you enjoy most about your job?

SS: The people, I think. Every day is different. You never know what you’re going to do when you come in. You know you’re going to help people, but you don’t know who, you don’t know what, and you don’t know what issues there are going to be.

JTAC: What is your favorite thing about Tarleton?

SS: I came from a community college that was not residential and didn’t have really nice traditions or sports or things like that, so I really like the camaraderie. Just all the traditions that go along with being on a residential campus where people live here and work here and go to school here.

JTAC: I see the dogs in your picture. Can you tell me about them?

SS: I have three dogs: Rosie the basset hound, Henry the blood hound, and Annie the basset terrier mix, who weighs 40 pounds. They’re my babies.

JTAC: What are your hobbies?

SS: My husband and I like to Geocache. It’s a high tech scavenger hunt where people go and hide the treasure and they put the GPS coordinates online at geocaching.com. Then you go follow your GPS to where it says to go. You find your treasure and a log inside to say you’ve found it, then you go online and log it online.

JTAC: You mean you actually drive to these places?

SS: Yeah, drive or walk. There’s even some on Tarleton’s campus, and pretty much every rest area. I mean they’re everywhere. There is over a million around the world.

JTAC: You are a published author. What are your books about?

SS: They are contemporary romances. My first series is the Beyond Reality series. Each book is a stand alone, so they aren’t cliffhangers. It is a series, but each book has its own couple and its own happily ever after, and they’re based on reality shows. The first book is between two contestants, the second is a contestant and an outsider, and the third is two camera operators.

JTAC: What was the inspiration behind your books?

SS: I really just let my imagination go crazy. I really like the knight in shining armor, I guess. I don’t know if it was too much Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty while growing up, but I like the whole “save the woman” attitude. She is strong and can do it herself, but every now and then, she needs someone to come along and save her. Also, I’ve always read romances, and I’ve always had ideas in my head of “Oh, this would make a really good scene!” So, I started years and years ago writing these little scenes down, and it wasn’t until this year when I started proof reading for a small startup publishing company that I realized my work was just as good as the stuff I was reading. So, I finished out one of the scenes I had written and sent it in, and it was accepted.

JTAC: When does your next book come out?

SS: The next book is the beginning of a new series. It will be about a Navy SEAL team. It’s ready to go, and I’m just waiting on the cover to be completed.

JTAC: Since your books are about reality TV shows, if you could be on any reality TV show, what would you choose?

SS: The Mole. That was my favorite. It shows my age, but it was great. They had a regular season and a celebrity season. The celebrity season was bad, but the first season was awesome.

JTAC: What is your weird talent? We all have one.

SS: I played the tuba for seven years.

JTAC: What is your guilty pleasure?

SS: Just reading some of those trashy, cheesy romance novels. The ones that are not realistic at all, but you’re just thinking, “That was so good!”

JTAC: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

SS: I’ve traveled quite a bit already. I’ve been very lucky, but I would say Australia. I really want to go there. I mean my first book is set there. Also, Ireland and Scotland.

JTAC: Do you think you would survive if you were selected for the Hunger Games?

SS: Yeah, I think the way I would survive is by watching everyone. I wouldn’t want to be the leader because the leader always gets killed first. I would follow along and then bust out my skill when the time came.

JTAC: If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be?

SS: Robin Wright, filming the “Princess Bride”. It’s the “Princess Bride”! The hunky guy, it’s a romance; Cary Elwes is really good looking. I mean, come on.

JTAC: Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?

SS: Cold! If you’re hot, you can only take off so many clothes and still be hot. If you’re cold, you can layer, get an electric blanket, snuggle with your dog, or turn the heat up.

JTAC: What is your most embarrassing moment in life?

SS: I have so many. I’m such a dork. I was Drum Major in my high school band. We were about to walk onto the field to march, and I had my baton. While I was practicing my twirly stuff, I hit myself in the head and blood started gushing out all over my white uniform. My assistant had to lead the band as I’m standing on the side with a maxi-pad pressed to my head.

JTAC: If you were auditioning for American Idol, what would you sing?

SS: I don’t sing! But if I had to pick one, it would be “Call Me, Maybe”. I love that song. It’s so upbeat and happy. You just get your head going back and forth and get your telephone fingers out.

JTAC: You’re exiled to a deserted island. What three things do you bring?

SS: Sweet Tarts because I have to have candy, my Kindle to read my thousands of books, and probably sunscreen because I burn really easily.

JTAC: You wouldn’t take food or anything?

SS: I have Sweet Tarts, I don’t need food!

JTAC: If you were the newest addition to a Crayola box, what would your color be?

SS: There’s nothing I like more than to sit at home and do nothing. I would rather do that than go out, so it would have to be Couch Potato Brown.

JTAC: If there was a movie about your life, who would play the role of you?

SS: We’ll say Drew Barrymore because she’s great. She can play just about anything.

JTAC: What is your favorite thing about your books?

SS: They aren’t cliffhangers. That’s the new trend; write your series where you have to pay for each individual story. Also, that they always get together in the end and I don’t kill anyone off. They’re just feel-good little stories.

JTAC: What is something about you that not a lot of people know?

SS: I met my husband online. It was before Match.com and all that. We met on Hotmail Classifieds, which is a lot like Craigslist nowadays.