When Anita Brandon's children went off to college, she said she spent a lot of time at home.
That is, until her son told her a Greek chapter at the University of Arkansas lost its house director and needed a new one. Interested, Brandon asked him what house directors do - and landed her first job at the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house there.
She spent three years at Arkansas before taking another house director job at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She also worked at the University of South Carolina, when the new Greek village was built, before coming to IU in 2012 as the house director at Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.
Brandon said the main difference between IU and the other schools at which she worked is that AGD's national headquarters, rather than a local housing corporation, owns the IU house.
"Every place I've been is the same," she said. "Some places are better than others, because of the people you deal with. The same thing goes on in every house."
At AGD, Brandon's typical job duties include hiring, firing, and training staff, as well as keeping the house maintained.
"We usually describe it as running a small hotel," she said.
The challenging aspects of the job can vary from year to year, Brandon said. In previous years, it's been running the kitchen.
"It depends on whats going on," she said. "Things happen. It could be anything."
Brandon is also responsible for interacting with the members and being there for them at all times. "We're responsible for their health and safety," she said.
She'll bring the women snacks at night and plan special holiday parties. She'll organize picnics, barbecues, and outdoor movie screenings on the front lawn."We do all kinds of stuff," she said.
One of her favorite memories at AGD was a luau party she had with the members on the deck on the top of the house, complete with inflatable pool and decorations. "The girls just had a blast," she said. "That was a big, big deal."
Having fun with the members is her favorite part of the job, Brandon said. "It’s a joy to be around them," she said. "As soon as I walked into this house, I felt like home. It's just getting better the longer I stay here."
Before becoming a Greek house director, Brandon worked at the headquarters for a family-owned lumber company in her home state of Arkansas. There, she took care of three stores, overseeing the payroll, insurance, and accounts.
Brandon has two children and five grandchildren. Her daughter lives in Little Rock, Ark. and her son lives in Chattanooga, Tenn. When she has time off, Brandon said she visits them "a lot."
"I've got to see my children," she said.
When she's in Bloomington, Brandon said she meets with the other house directors at least once a month.
"We like to get together and go out to eat, go to a movie - we do all kinds of stuff together," she said. "That’s a plus too, to have good friends here for an out."
Kellie Jahncke, a senior in AGD, said Brandon brings a sense of positivity to the house. When she's stressed and needs someone to talk to, Jahncke said she knows she can go to Brandon.
"Since I'm so far away from home, being from California, it's nice to have that mother figure," Jahncke said. "I love her. She's sweet, and she makes an effort to get to know everyone in the house. She genuinely cares about each of the girls that live in the house."
