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Jo Bouhasin did not have to fill out an application for employment when she came to Saint Louis University.
Now, as the telephone services manager completes her 50th year of service here, she recalls a rather unusual screening process. Bouhasin came to the University straight out of Elias Michael High School in 1947. Her sister, a nurse at Saint John's Hospital, knew there was an opening at the University's switchboard.
The opportunity interested Bouhasin, who headed to the University to meet with Valentine Roach, SJ, minister of the Jesuit community at that time. Bouhasin recalls that Roach knelt down and asked her why she wanted to work at Saint Louis University. He asked the young Bouhasin questions for a few minutes, then offered her the job. She never even filled out an application.
None of the Jesuits had phones in their offices then. When they received calls, Bouhasin used morse code to get their attention.
"If they were available, they'd leave their room, go out to the hall, pick up the phone and identify themselves," she said. "That was our paging system."
The paging system has changed since Bouhasin started, along with the telephone system and almost everything else at the University. From day one, she has rolled with the changes, learning as she goes.
"I'll never forget the first day I got so confused that I just unplugged everything and started over," she said. "People were on calls, and I didn't care. I just said a prayer and started over."
Because the University was smaller when Bouhasin started working the switchboard, she said she got to know a lot more of the students. She has watched over the years as the University has grown in size and enrollment. "I've seen a lot of buildings go down and a lot of buildings come up," she said. "The only change that has really surprised me is the beauty of the campus since Fr. Biondi has come."
Bouhasin and her six siblings grew up in south St. Louis, where she attended St. Vincent's Grade School. While at St. Vincent's, she was stricken with polio, and her legs remain paralyzed. Her school work was sent home, where she completed it until she was old enough to go to Elias Michael.
Though some of her siblings have left St. Louis, Bouhasin's brother, John Bouhasin, M.D., is a pediatrician at School of Medicine. She has 18 nieces and nephews and more great nieces and nephews than she can count.
In her time away from the University, Bouhasin spends time sewing, knitting and cooking. She enjoys travelling, especially to the Pacific Northwest. Her local travels often take her to the riverboat casinos, where she fancies the slot machines.
As she reflects on her many years with the University, Bouhasin does not even stop to ponder retirement.
"I have no desire to retire right now, as long as I'm able, strong enough and the brain keeps working," she said.
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