The Smiling Face at Reception

Name: Arnetta DavisPosition: Staff specialist, Duke Clinical Research InstituteYears at Duke: 21 What I do at Duke: I greet the visitors, I answer the phone and I book conference rooms, but the thing I like most is that I call patients for the physicians here to remind them of their appointments, and then they tell me things that they need and some just want to talk. I let them and I also laugh with them. I feel that the doctors need a person like me, not bragging, as a liaison between them and the patient. It means so much to be able to give people comfort.If I had $5 million, I would: Pay off my house, give some to my church, help my children out of their financial difficulties, save money for my grandchildren’s college tuition, and I would like to take a trip to Seattle, Washington.My first ever job: I taught kindergarten for 12 years at Scarborough Nursery School. It’s the oldest nursery school in North Carolina. It’s still there.If someone wanted to start a conversation with me they should ask me about: God. If you start talking with me about God, I’ll talk forever, as He is the source and strength of my life.The best advice I ever received: From my grandma. She told me, ‘Be who you are before you get found out.’ She always told me to be true to who I am and true to my fellow man. A pet peeve: When people lie to me, and I know they’re lying. What I love about Duke: The people. Just being available to the people, for the people. That’s what keeps me here and they’re always saying, ‘I don’t know what we’d do if you weren’t here,’ and that makes me feel good. I hope God is going to put me at His reception door one day.When I’m not at work, I like to: Read. I love James Patterson, and I like black and white movies. My kids always tease me. ‘She’s looking at black and white movies and will not answer the phone.’ I love Turner Classic Movies. If I could have one superpower, it would be: To make everybody’s life happy.Something most people don’t know about me: People don’t know that I am very shy. An interesting/memorable day at work for me: In May, I got surprised by being rewarded by the DCRI Fellows (A DCRI mentorship and training program for postdoctoral fellows and medical students). They gave me a nice award and I didn’t know I was going to get it. They fooled me and asked me to go to the banquet to help out. As the program went on and on, it focused on me, and I was just so surprised, I was nervous, shaken, scared, about ready to have a heart attack, and somebody said, ‘You’re in the best place to have it.’