Staff Friday: Ingrid Bridge

Ingrid Bridge, graduate student advisor in SE, standing in her kitchen with plants behind her. Ingrid Bridge, SE’s graduate student advisor, joined the department in 2016.

Bridge received her undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Sociology from Northern Arizona University and a master’s in Counseling and Career Development from CSU’s School of Education. 

What is a typical day like?

Depends on the time of year and what projects there are to be done—nothing is ever too predictable.

I have months where new program applications are the focus point, others dominated by current student registration periods or Graduate School deadlines, some when I’m working on department class scheduling, and tons of other cyclical things in-between.

I start my day early so I can respond to emails and do any focus-intensive projects before too much activity begins. Late morning and afternoon I am usually constantly switching between projects, emails, and phone or MS Teams meetings/requests, depending on what needs attention first.

How do you define systems-thinking?

Systems thinking is taking a huge step back and seeing the larger context behind a problem or entity. You begin to identify and understand interrelated pieces with complex relationships, and by factoring in more of these larger-context variables you are able to optimize cost, labor, time, etc. and solve a whole new layer of problems. It’s the perfect skill set for big-picture thinkers!

What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

When stay-at-home orders are not in effect, I spend most of my free time either working on house renovation projects, gardening, or climbing at my local climbing gym.

I also enjoy reading on my commute and long walks through residential neighborhoods with interesting architecture/homes. When stay-at-home orders are in effect, I have found video games sneak into that mix.

What’s a fun fact about you people may not know?

Despite majoring in social sciences, I got a minor in math as an undergrad just for kicks—I couldn’t stand not having quantitative thinking every semester! This is usually only a ‘fun’ fact amongst the engineering crowd.