*Post written by James Wethington, library assistant of the University Archives and Special Collections.

As I mentioned in our last blog post, “Welcome Home, Screagles”, I briefly discussed the Center of Communal Studies relocated to the University Archives and Special Collections this past summer. I am proud to introduce the administrative assistant of the Center for Communal Studies, Marilyn Thielman. Here is some fun facts about Marilyn:

Administrative Assistant, Marilyn Thielman, of the Center for Communal Studies, 2017. Source: James Wethington

JW: Marilyn, how long have you worked at the Center?

MT: It will be ten years this December.

JW: Are you originally from the Evansville area?

MT: Yes, I am. I was born and raised here in Evansville. When I was six, my family and I moved to Grand Prairie, Texas but we eventually moved back to Evansville when I was twelve.

JW: What do you find interesting about intentional communities?

MT: It has to be their devotion and service to their members as well as to their respective communities.

JW: Before you came to the Center, did you work as an administrative assistant in other places?

MT: Yes I did. Back then, I was the secretary for economic development for the Metropolitan Evansville Chamber of Commerce for sixteen years. Today, they are now the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana.

JW: That sounds like a lot of fun! Do you have any “fun facts” about yourself for our readers?

MT: I do not know if these are interesting but when I lived in Texas, I played has a pitcher for the boys’ team. I have been married for forty-six years to my husband and we have a son and daughter with four grandchildren, two grandsons and two granddaughters. In 1969, I traveled to seven countries in Europe for fun.

JW: Oh, wow! That is extremely interesting! Thank you Marilyn for taking a moment out of your day to talk with me.

MT: Thank you James. I look forward to helping the USI community if they are interested in learning about communal studies.

If you are interested about learning about communal studies, stop by University Archives and Special Collection, located on the 3^rd floor of the David L. Rice Library, from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday. For more information, view at the Center for Communal Studies’ webpage for more information.