Beth Anne Spacht
Hometown: Blue Bell, PA
Education: MNS, Master of Nonprofit Studies, University of Richmond; B.A., English and Latin American & Iberian Studies, University of Richmond
Sheetz or Wawa? Never Sheetz. Wawa all the way.
Who would play you in a movie? Pam from "The Office."
What is the most embarrassing fashion trend in which you've taken part? Swishy pants and butterfly hair clips in elementary/middle school. Also 90% of the shoes from the 90s that make it onto those Buzzfeed-esque “shoes you forgot you were obsessed with” lists.
What is the coolest feature or piece of architecture on campus? Why?
There are little squirrel gargoyles on the top of Jepson Hall. It took me 10 years of being on campus to discover them!
What is one piece of advice you’d give students for the college search/application process?
I don’t believe there’s a perfect soul mate college out there for everyone. Any college can become home with the right attitude. I find that those who are most open-minded have the least stressful college journey. When a student tells me, “I have a few favorite college choices right now,” I know they are going to be okay.
Do you have any favorite restaurants or local cuisine within your travel region? What do you do with your scant free time when you’re on the road?
My absolute favorite travel go-to is the Arawak Cay fish fry in the Bahamas to eat conch fritters, but a close second would be a dessert of coconut ice cream and guava empanadas in Puerto Rico. Also up there: NJ bagels. After a high school visit a few years ago, a student presented me with a hand-drawn map to the best place to buy a true Jersey bagel. I’ve been hooked ever since!
Let’s talk about RVA. What do you like about living here? What are your favorite things to do in the city/region? What should visitors be sure to check out?
Richmond is big enough to attract national attention but small enough to get to know. It’s drivable, walkable, and accessible via public transportation all at the same time – I love its community feel. Richmonders love their food, and I’m no exception. My go-to hang out is the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts – they have free jazz on Thursday nights and a delicious restaurant on the third floor that overlooks their fountains and gardens.
If you had to put together a “Richmond Top 5” (experiences from your college years), what would they be?
1. Studying abroad in Valencia, Spain, during Las Fallas. It’s one of their biggest festivals. The city shuts down for a week and everywhere you go, the streets are lined with the most incredible light displays and food.
2. Attending "Subject to Change" improv comedy shows on Wednesdays at midnight in the Jepson Quad. My favorite shows were often in the dead of winter, bundled up with blankets and hot chocolate purchased from 8:15 (the coffee shop in our library).
3. All-Day-Dhall. Swipe in for breakfast, leave at dinner. I did some of my best paper-writing and friendship-building during these all-day events!
4. Volunteering in an elementary ESL classroom with my Spanish professor. She was even gracious enough to give me rides to and from the school for an entire semester.
5. Interning in RVA the summer after my junior year with my three best friends. After that summer, I knew I wanted to stay in the city after graduation.