About Heather Steffens:
I grew up outside a small town in Northeast Nebraska. I graduated from a class of only 29 students, attended UNK for one semester majoring in graphic design, and then transferred to UNL and finished with a degree in business administration. Throughout high school, college, and after graduation, I worked in the banking industry for nearly 13 years. Shortly after getting married in 2012, I was offered a position at the University so I have been here now for just over 6 years. I have two boys, a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old who are very active and keep me very busy,
What is your position at UNL?
I am a Financial Specialist for the HAPPI Business Center and would be considered the grant specialist. I help faculty budget for grants and submit proposals, as well as help, manage the grant funding throughout the award. A majority, if not all of my work revolves around the grant world.
What drew you to UNL?
I am a UNL alum and have always been a Husker fan since I was a little kid so the chance to work for alma mater and around so many other Husker fans was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I love the environment of UNL and especially East Campus because of its greenery.
What aspect of working in an educational setting do you enjoy the most?
Working in grants gives me a great opportunity to learn about the type of research that is being done. It’s amazing to hear about the advancements that our faculty are making to improve the quality of agriculture to help Nebraskans and many others around the world. I love East Campus. It’s a beautiful place to be able to work.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Somehow, someway with work and my hectic home life, I have been able to complete two half-marathons. My first one was just to say that I’ve done one and the second was to beat my first time and I did! It’s so hard to work full-time, have two kids, and find time to train so the fact that my last race was a great time makes it much more rewarding.
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I love to dance. I was on my school’s dance squad in high school and I regret not giving it a try in college but any chance I get to dance I take it. It makes me so happy.
What is your life like outside of work?
It always feels like there is not enough time in the day with the craziness of my life. I am married to a wonderful man for nearly 7 years now and we have two young boys. My boys certainly keep us busy and it’s probably only just started. Swim lessons, birthday parties, soon soccer and baseball. My husband and I like to stay pretty active as well. We can’t wait for the time when we all can go for a bike ride together on the bike trails. We enjoy competing in 10k’s and I’ve also ran a couple of half marathons and debating on a third even though my body is telling me no.