DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Verleen Gray
Verleen Gray
Verleen Gray helps keep the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine running smoothly while encouraging clients, students and staff.
As a communications operator, Verleen answers the phone and directs calls to small animal admissions and the clinic. She also handles work orders for items that break and operates the gate to let clients into and out of the hospital. Logging visitors’ names, times and destinations helps keep CVM secure.
“We also have two new classrooms, so I’ve been giving directions to students coming here from the main campus,” she added.
Before coming to CVM, Verleen worked in a variety of customer service jobs. On campus, she worked at the bookstore and then as a dispatcher for the MSU Police Department.
“I’ve always been a big customer service person, I like helping other people,” Verleen said. “I feel like you have to be a very compassionate person to work any customer service job. What might not be a big deal to someone else is a serious issue to the person on the other end of the phone. Here at CVM, I try to comfort clients and assure them everything is going to be okay with regard to their pets.”
Verleen never imaged her training as a police dispatcher would come in so handy in her job at CVM. During the 2015 active shooter incident, Verleen was asked to make announcements over the intercom.
“I had to tell everyone we were on lockdown and relay whatever Dr. Burt advised me to say,” Verleen remembered. “I stayed calm and gave people directions. Later I heard someone say ‘whoever was making those announcements had experience,’ and that made me feel good.”
Verleen said she works hard to smile and greet everyone who comes by the operator’s desk.
“I love helping make people’s day better,” she said.
She credits her faith in God with her desire to be an encourager.
“That’s where we get our start being compassionate,” she observed. “The bottom line is I just love to help.”
Outside of work, Verleen enjoys attending church and spending time with her two daughters, a freshman in high school and a freshman at MSU.
Editor's note: The Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Spotlight Employee profiles are provided by the Office of Agricultural Communications at Mississippi State. For more information, please click here.
