As Georgetown’s director of student organizations, Martha Swanson has responsibility for overseeing Georgetown’s five funding advisory boards and all of the student clubs on campus. She often acts as a liaison between students and administrators and manages finances for the Center for Student Programs.

When did you come here? What drew you here?

I came in March 1984. I came when my husband was working [here] at the time. I used to ledger old fashioned paper accounting books. I would just sit down and would mark student groups’ budgets down. I started out working part time, and it just blossomed into this position.

Has anything changed about Georgetown?

John Thompson was here. ’84 was when we won the national championship. Georgetown was not known the way it is now. It’s gotten much more selective and is more academically well-known. It’s just recognized more. The basketball team put us on the map in a lot of ways. The drinking age change had a big effect, the way people drink changed completely. Many more faculty and administration, although the number of students is still the same.

What are your favorite activities and hobbies?

College basketball. I go to all the games, unless I absolutely can’t get out of work. My husband is an assistant athletic director here, so we were lucky to go to the Big East tournament. I like lacrosse – I really like sports teams. We go to plays, and I love to read.

If you could change one thing about Georgetown, what would it be?

I would make our endowment like Harvard’s. And have 50 times as much space! Space is just so hard for us on so many levels. There’s no place to program. There’s no place for people to practice dancing for Asiafest – they break the classrooms, they break the chairs. We have so many dance groups. . We need more space to do parties, lectures. We have people who come and speak and we have no place to put them. We won’t even talk about the athletic fields and the fact that our 20 club sports teams have no place to practice.

Why do you come to Georgetown each day?

The two reasons I come to work each day are the students who are wonderful. They’re so interesting and bright and motivated. And the people I work with! The people who come to work at Georgetown because it’s different and special and the fact that it’s a Catholic institution really does make a difference. Two things distinguish it: one, it’s in D.C., and two, it’s Jesuit, and that’s very, very special.

– Interview by Fred Lestina