We all have experienced the recurrent nature of day-to-day life. Campus Auxiliary Service employee Kim Dioguardi has one simple solution: Just stay positive. Dioguardi has been working for CAS at Geneseo for eight years. For the past two, she has been working in upstairs Mary Jemison, where she has become somewhat of a campus celebrity, especially for frequent MJ visitors. She fills the space with her humble yet lively person and has become well known for her ability to start up cheery conversations.
“[Dioguardi] is easily my favorite cashier in Geneseo,” senior Joe Leathersich said. “Sometimes I want to get food from downstairs MJ but don’t because I would be losing out on having a conversation with her. She always brightens my day.”
“I try to be positive, especially around midterms and finals,” Dioguardi said. “People come in and tell me their stories and I just listen if that helps.”
Dioguardi could not pinpoint one single reason for her inherent friendliness. She states that she has just always been very talkative.
“I have just always been very outgoing; I love to talk,” she said.
Not only does she love to talk but she also encourages others to talk and share things about themselves.
Dioguardi traces her communication skills to her time working for a travel agency. Prior to working at Geneseo, she worked as the manager of AAA travel agency, based in Lockport, N.Y., for 12 years.
“You had to communicate with people – figure where they wanted to go, what they wanted to do,” she said. “You wanted to make sure that everything went OK, make sure we were on the same page.”
Dioguardi said her favorite place to travel to was Bermuda because of the warm, sandy beaches. She also traveled to far-off destinations such as Argentina, Japan and Brazil with AAA.
Her desire to travel, however, did not end after leaving the travel agency to become a stay-at-home mom. She said she would still really like to travel more.
“I’ve always wanted to go to the South Pacific. Why? I have no idea,” Dioguardi said.
She cited her mother as a large and inspiring influence, particularly during the time in which Dioguardi was raising her three children.
“My mom was a wonderful lady: compassionate, kind and she put up with me,” she said. “She was just always there for us … She was very patient.”
Dioguardi’s three kids are now 15, 18 and 21. Her 15-year-old son attends a local high school and is an avid athlete. Her other two children are college-bound and plan to become an elementary school teacher and a registered nurse.
“They’re all headed in the right direction,” she said. “My idea for them is to get educated so you can support yourself … no matter what happens.”
Dioguardi’s hobbies include spending time with her kids and walking her dog around her hometown in Niagara County, which she describes to be a lot like the Geneseo community in that “everybody’s friendly.”