2024 PRIME Staff Changes
PRIME extends farewell wishes to Freda Cruél, Academic Program Coordinator, and welcomes Destini Evans, who started at MSU on April 22nd and will be taking over full time for Freda beginning on May 13th. Also, Ansley Duke, PRIME undergraduate student worker, completed her last day on Friday, April 26th.
Freda began her Michigan State University career in October of 1988 as a part-time
front receptionist with University Stores. Freda has since worked in the Payroll Office
for 2 years processing Clerical-Technical (CT) and Labor payroll, followed by the
Office of Admissions for many years overseeing the front reception area and up to
12 student assistants covering the phones, emails and walk-in college advising appointments.
Freda worked in the Plant Biology Department for 7 months before coming to PRIME in
July 2016.
She grew up in East Lansing, and attended Whitehills Elementary School, MacDonald Middle School and East Lansing High School. Her family owned a dry-cleaning business in the 300-block of Grand River Ave called Louis Cleaners, which was actually her grandfather’s business that her father took over. That location is now occupied by Five Guys, a burger restaurant. The apartment above is where Freda lived while attending Lansing Community College.
After college, she moved to San Francisco because her best friend Marsha moved there
and told her it was the place to be! She worked for Solzer and Hail, Lithographers
located close to the base of the Bay Bridge. Freda relayed that one morning a cute
co-worker asked to borrow her phone book, then asked her to lunch. Thirty-seven years
later, Leo is still her favorite husband! The Cruéls live 4 miles from MSU, and biking
the river trail to work has been one of her greatest joys.
Freda comments that her favorite memories from her time at MSU include the “people, first and foremost. Lifetime friendships have been forged. I truly have enjoyed my decades at MSU. Working with students, faculty and staff has been fulfilling!” Regarding her favorite memories, she continued that there are "so many to pick from! Building relationships with the students” was by far the most enjoyable part of her job. Sporting events were also top on her list—football, basketball, hockey, and women’s volleyball. She added to her list, “Fall weather, kicking off the academic year, and listening to the band rehearse on my breaks and lunches.” Leo and Freda love going to the Wharton Center and will continue after her retirement.
Destini Evans is a current graduate student at MSU working on her Master of Science
in User Experience as a part of the Department of Media and Information in the College
of Communication Arts and Sciences. Destini received her undergraduate degree from
Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, in Mass Communications, Journalism, and
Media with a minor in Technological Entrepreneurship and Management.
She was born and raised in Lansing, MI. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and traveling in her free time. Her favorite places to vacation are the Turks & Caicos and Louisiana (specifically during Madi Gras). Destini loves building relationships with new people and looks forward to getting to know all the new faces she will meet working in PRIME.
When asked what brought Destini to PRIME, she stated, “When I was in grade school, I had a love/hate relationship with math which led to me selecting a major that didn’t require any additional math classes after my pre-req classes were met. After graduating with my undergraduate degree, I encountered a woman that I had a very interesting conversation with, and she enlightened me on the true importance of math and encouraged me to amend the love/hate relationship that I once had. I took that conversation and held onto it for a while then I started to conduct my own research on the importance of math and realized that math isn’t limited to the “1+2=3” mindset I once had behind it. Instead, the depths that mathematics can go are endless, impressive, and interesting. So, what brought me to PRIME? After gaining knowledge of the complexities of mathematics and the depths the subject can go, I was instantly intrigued. Taking the advice of the woman I once spoke with; I saw this opportunity with the PRIME Program and applied. My last position was in higher education and I loved the experience of building relationships with students and the community, and although I graduated without mending that relationship with math for my own academic purposes, I can now contribute to the success of future generations of students with hopes that they have a love relationship with mathematics instead a love/hate relationship like I did.”
Destini will take over fully from Freda beginning May 13th. We wish her the best in her journey here at PRIME.
Ansley Duke has been the undergraduate office assistant for PRIME for the 2023-2024 academic year, and she is in her third year at MSU. She helped with office records, events, writing articles and posting events for the website, and many other things.
She is a public policy major in the College of Social Science. In the fall, she plans to have a legal internship and begin her application process for law school. We appreciate all the assistance Ansley provided to PRIME over this past year and wish her well in her internship and future aspirations! Ansley’s last day was April 26th. Her position will be replaced in the late summer/early fall.
Please stop by our PRIME main office to welcome Destini and bid farewell to Freda!
