“I love helping people ---and there’s nothing more special than giving yourself to a little being,” College of Social Work Alumna Patricia (Pat) Grise says about her role as a volunteer “baby cuddler.” For more than twenty years, Pat has been cuddling, bathing and bottle feeding premature and newborn babies at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare (TMH) to help them thrive.

Grise chaired this group of volunteers, increasing their numbers and adding shifts to better serve the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Pat now co-chairs the TMH Cuddler’s group and is vice president of the hospital auxiliary.She jokes that her friends think of her as the busiest retirees they know.  “First and foremost, I love helping people,” Pat says.

Grise received her MSW degree in 1971 from FSU College of Social Work and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts. She then started her career at Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida before moving into administrative roles with the former Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services and Department of Children and Families.

After the birth of her daughter, Pat found a part-time position as an aide to Adele Graham, former First Lady of Florida and wife of Former Governor and Senator Bob Graham. She and Adele Graham also collaborated to create Finish for the Future, a book about model dropout prevention programs in the U.S. She went on to also work with the United States Senator Bob Graham during his Senate tenure and for Congressman Allen Boyd.

She credits her MSW as a “magic degree” that was versatile and fulfilled her desire to be of service. “An MSW affords one to choose a multitude of different and diverse occupations, as it did for me,” she explained. “I believe that I utilized the skills I learned in social work in all the different and varied careers I had. I think there was no better school that could have prepared me as the FSU College of Social Work.”

After a second retirement from working with government representatives, Pat reinvented her career again working as a reservist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be on-call to assist disaster survivors and first responders. She also served as congressional affairs specialist during several declared disasters in the U.S. before finally retiring for good.

Pat enjoyed a rich career in public service at local, state and federal levels, preferring to serve behind the scenes rather than in the spotlight. Despite her humble approach to public service, she was acknowledged this year among the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper’s 25 Women You Need to Know, a program that honors women who lead.

As a first-generation American citizen, Pat particularly values civic engagement and strongly encourages personal empowerment through voting and finding a cause to be passionate about. She noted that although there is already a waiting list to become TMH Cuddlers, there are other ways to get involved in your community.  “There’s a multitude of ways you can serve,” she encouraged. She suggests contacting the TMH Volunteer Office and other community organizations like Elder Care Services, the Guardian Ad Litem program, the local school systems, and Volunteer Leon County.

In her spare time as a busy retiree, Pat also finds time to travel and entertain, bake, knit, garden, and spend time with her godchildren and grandson.