30-Year Profile – Janice Van Alstyne

Janice Van Alstyne

Financial advisor Janice Van Alstyne’s long career with Sacramento State actually began before she graduated in 1973. Her father had passed away making it necessary for her to work her way through college. Often she had more than just one job on campus.

“I even worked my graduation,” said Van Alstyne. “You know, I was a starving student.”

After graduation, she was offered two jobs, one with the State Controller’s Office and the other at Sacramento State. “What made me want to work here is the environment,” Van Alstyne said. “Not just the people, but the beautiful park-like campus.”

For more than 30 years, Van Alstyne has spent most of her lunch hours feeding the birds and squirrels in the Arboretum. “I just love animals,” she said. “Once a wild turkey flew in. I held my hand out filled with shelled peanuts. Boy, was I surprised when he ran right over to me.”

Van Alstyne’s job includes working with students and teaching them about all the benefits that go with their student loans.

“You never know when you begin a job, how it will evolve,” she said. “I’ve had a number of students come back to visit me with their children.”

She has also made a number of very close friends over the years. River City Days was a campus open house event celebrated for a number of years that Van Alstyne enjoyed participating in. Staff members decorated their offices, choosing a different theme each year.

“You really get to know each other when you’re working together on a common goal,” she said. “We dressed up in costumes and had contests to see who had the best decorations.”

Many long-time employees will remember her for her delicious cookies.

“A lot of people know me as the Cowboy Cookie lady,” she said. “We used to bake things to sell for office fundraisers.”

Van Alstyne and her twin sister first began to bake the oatmeal cookies chockfull of M&M’s while they were still in high school to send to the soldiers in Vietnam. Later, the two sisters would take the cookies to the veterans’ hospital at the Presidio. Often they invited soldiers home with them to enjoy some family time.

“I think they really enjoyed visiting with us and our friends and family,” said Van Alstyne. “It was really important to my sister and me to feel like we were helping.”

Van Alstyne hopes to retire in the next few years and enjoy traveling and spending time with her pets.