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The Sense and Sensibility of a Jane Austen Fan

Ilene Farkas is a big fan of the famed English author

Ilene Farkas and her husband, Gabe, pose for a picture while traveling through London. Photo courtesy of Ilene Farkas.
Ilene Farkas and her husband, Gabe, pose for a picture while traveling through London. Photo courtesy of Ilene Farkas.
Interviewed by Bryan Roth

Name: Ilene FarkasPosition: Administrative Manager, Department of AnesthesiologyYears at Duke: 6

What I do at Duke: I work on overall business operations, including human resources and revenue management. I manage our billing and coding team for all the clinical procedures we do and handle employee relations, recruiting and hiring.

If I had $5 million, I would: Renovate an old home into my dream house. It would probably be an old house in Trinity Park with good "bones." I'd want to gut it and make it like a country-style cottage. I'd love a big, white kitchen with lots of windows with purple and green stained glass. I would also travel because I'd love to see different parts of Eastern Europe. I also haven't been to many big state parks in the U.S. and would like to take my kids.

My first ever job: A camp counselor at a sleep away camp outside Buffalo, New York, called Camp Weona. I was a camper there as a kid and started working when I was 16 until I went to college. We did horseback riding, arts and crafts and canoeing.

My dream job: Human resources has been the focus of my career and I'd want to do HR for one of the large cultural institutions in New York City like the Whitney Museum or the Met. I'm a big art person, and I lived in New York before I moved to North Carolina.

If someone wanted to start a conversation with me they should ask me about: Books or my kids. I'm a huge Jane Austen fan. I own 14 copies of Pride and Prejudice - it's my favorite. I think her work is great social commentary that translates well through history. The themes in her books are timeless. I also like talking about my two sons because I think they're the cutest kids in the world and I have a lot of funny stories to share.

The best advice I ever received: My father passed away about a year ago, and we quote this thing he used to say: "Don't worry about everything. Live life to be happy and don't sweat the small stuff."

What I love about Duke: It's such a diverse community. Not only the types of jobs here, but the people who come from all over the world.

When I'm not at work, I like to: I recently learned how to run. I was a little bored with the treadmill at my house and I didn't know what else to do, so someone recommended a "Couch to 5K" program. I'm not an athlete, but I started running because my brother inspired me. He did an Ironman race and I thought, 'If he can do that, I can run a 5K.' Right now I am in the Duke Run/Walk Club and it is a ton of fun running outside with other Duke employees.

Something most people don't know about me: I am somewhat Star Wars obsessed. It's a family passion, so my mom and brother are into it too. I love the movies because it's a combination of great imagination and wonderful character development.