20 Questions: A sketch of Centre Admission Counselor Dary Picken

1. Position/title: Admission Counselor.

2. Hometown: Ann Arbor, Mich.

3. Career highlight: Getting my picture on the Website for answering 20 questions. It's all downhill from here.

4. What brought you to Centre? My oldest brother Conor went to Centre, so I learned about the school from him. I used to live in Danville when I was a kid, too, so I always knew of the school while I was growing up.

5. Favorite/amusing/profound student anecdote? The moment I am most proud of was delivering the Honors Convocation speech with Matt Steinfeld. I realize that this is not profound, amusing, or an anecdote. My second proudest moment was watching Brian Kretz graduate. Now that's amusing.

6. Family details: Parents Bob and Leslie; brothers Conor '01 and Tyson; sister Chelsea; sister-in-law Katherine '02.

7. Hobbies: Playing my guitar, reading, doing Sudoku puzzles, laughing at my own jokes, making delicious, fresh-squeezed orange juice.

8. Pets: None.

9. Prized possession: Taylor 310 acoustic guitar and aerial photograph of Strasbourg.

10. Last book read: Last book finished was All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, and I'm currently reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

11. Memorable trip/vacation: Strasbourg, France and Europe, spring of 2005.

12. Favorite movie:Good Will Hunting, Waiting for Guffman, Rushmore.

13. Favorite album:Musicforthemorningafter by Pete Yorn, Cold Roses by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Nashville by Josh Rouse.

14. Favorite food: The "Americain" sandwich, with cheese, from La Station Sandwich in Strasbourg. It’s a cheeseburger sandwich with French fries on top. How more American could that get? Also, I'm fat.

15. Favorite smell: Fresh coffee.

16. Person you most admire: My family.

17. Living figure you'd most like to meet: Adam Duritz or Christopher Guest.

18. Historical figure you'd most like to meet: William Faulkner.

19. What would you be doing if you weren't working at Centre: Living in a van down by the river.

20. Describe yourself in three words: Optimistic, friendly, sarcastic.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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