Anna Hults is the new undergraduate and graduate coordinator in the Department of Linguistics. She knows the University of Oregon well, loves languages, and has a strong creative streak, as you’ll see in her blog post. We are really happy to have her join our Department. Next time you are in Straub, be sure to introduce yourself to her!

 

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I was born & grew up in Salem, just an hour north of here. I attended the University as an undergraduate and a BFA student in photography. With the exception of my year abroad at the Université de Poitiers, I have lived in Eugene for 25 years. I live with one kitty cat who has a very long name.

I like to read, travel, learn languages, sew, play with fluff (see below), garden, pet all the animals.

You ran your own business for some time – could you tell us about that?

I have been engaging in the fiber arts pretty heavily for the last 5 years. When the owner of my favorite LYS (local yarn store) was planning to retire a few years ago, I decided to take over the shop. The focus of the shop was hand-dyed small batch yarn. There is a burgeoning indie-dyeing scene right now.

In addition to that, I had been running a small design consulting business for the last 5 years. Very busy! I learned a lot about what it really takes to run a successful business, and I am glad to be reducing my weekly workload by 25 or so hours!

Now when I do fiber things, it’s for fun, not business related. My favorite thing to do is spin yarn on a spinning wheel. I also dye, knit, crochet and weave. I currently have at least 4 full sheep fleeces I need to process for spinning.

  

What attracted you to this position in the Linguistics Department specifically?

At University I studied Linguistics, as well as multiple languages. I don’t think I would have applied for this position in another department. I was hoping to hear shop talk in the halls, and I have not been disappointed. I love hearing so many different languages being spoken, both those I can understand and those I cannot.

What do you look forward to most in this position?

Helping students achieve their goals.

I’m very happy to be back on campus. There are trees and buildings here with whom I have 25 years of history, and it delights me every time I walk by.