JANE LEE
Sports Editor
Ask any Pepperdine athlete or coach, and they will be the first to tell you that no face in the Athletics Office is more friendly or recognizable than that of Heather Collart.
Known by all the athletes as Hev, Collart’s work extends way beyond the first cubicle office you see on the right when walking into Heritage Hall. As the Athletics Administrative Assistant, she is responsible for daily office activities as well as being the personal assistant for the Director of Athletics, Dr. John Watson.
“My main job is making sure all the people involved with athletics are handled properly,” she said. “But really, anything that lands on my desk is my job.”
Besides offering a smile and a greeting to anyone who walks through the doors of the athletics office, her duties include a wide-range of special-event work. Helping with fundraising activities like the baseball team’s charity golf tournaments, organizing team dinners and hosting special events with the NCAA and conferences are all part of a day’s work.
This demanding and eventful workload, however, is nothing new for the 25-year-old Collart. Her career began early in her college days as a freshman at Pepperdine, where she graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations with a business emphasis.
Serving as a student-worker for four years under Pepperdine Senior Women’s Administrator Roxanna Levenson, Collart learned the ins and outs of duties such as assisting with daily tasks, helping with special events and dealing with scholarships.
“During my senior year I knew I wanted to go to grad school,” she said. “And when I was offered to work with the Athletics Department and found out I could do my grad work at Pepperdine at the same time, I knew it was a great opportunity because so many of my friends were struggling to look for jobs and I had one lined up for me.”
Scheduled to graduate in August of 2007 from Pepperdine’s Executive MBA program with an emphasis in Organizational Leadership, Collart works full-time with the Athletics Department while also going to class twice a week.
“The toughest part is maintaining energy,” she said of the balance of work and school. “I had to relearn all of my time management skills when I started, but I’m a pretty organized person and I’ve gotten used to it.”
Despite the demands of her job, working year-round with the Athletics Department has proved extremely rewarding for Collart.
“I love the interaction involved with the job,” she said. “It never gets monotonous, and it’s not one of those jobs where you dread it every day. You want to enjoy what you’re doing and you want it to inspire you.”
Along with a few cups of coffee, the people involved with the job are also what keep Collart going.
“Every day can be comical because there are so many personalities in the office,” she said. “There are some great people here, and it makes you feel like a family rather than a number in a building.
“We have a great staff of coaches and they’re all mentors to me, so working with them is awesome.”
Collart also said knowing her work has an impact on so many people makes her time spent in the Athletics Office that much more worthwhile.
“I love when the athletes just drop by to say ‘hi’ or leave me a note,” she said. “They’re great to work with and I still hear from past athletes and their parents, so that’s when you realize you really are helping them and that your work is for a greater good.”
Some of Collart’s favorite moments as administrative assistant include the 2005 men’s volleyball and 2006 men’s tennis national championships, as well as all the friendships she’s formed with athletes and coworkers over the years.
With graduation less than a year away, Collart said her future with the Athletics Department “is up in the air.”
“I’ve loved my time here, but I can also see myself going elsewhere and trying something new,” she said. “I’d love to work in the front office of a pro sports team someday.”
For now, though, Collart’s home is right inside her tiny office, where sticky notes from athletes greet her and endless amounts of work await her.
And that’s just the way she likes it.
09-28-2006