Karlee Criado's Album: Wall Photos

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I met Pauline just a year ago in February 2019 when I started at R&Q. The impact she had on me in such a short amount of time truly speaks volumes of her character. Pauline was the Greek mother I didn’t know I needed. She commanded the office from her front desk area while a group of us were at the desks behind her. She referred to us as “her girls” and we quickly realized that with this title came some responsibility. As anyone who has worked with Pauline knows, she wore many hats at R&Q and took each of them very seriously. It was not uncommon to get an IM from Pauline on the days she could not be in the office (which were the least fun days) to ask one of us to greet the new hires, assist the visitor at the door, set up a WebEx, check for a package delivery, clean up after a luncheon, etc. etc. etc. Of course, these tasks always ended with a “thank you and love you <3”. Pauline always did so much for us, so helping out wherever we could was the least we could do.

One of my absolute favorite memories of Pauline was when she returned from her trip to Mexico with her daughter and best friend Alexandra. The two had a blast relaxing and soaking up the sun – truly, Pauline’s tan from this trip lasted for months. She told us stories and we watched the videos she had taken for weeks following. It was spring break when they took the trip, so you can imagine the big smile on Pauline’s face when recalling the memories. Her favorite memory by far was the foam parties at the pool, which soon became a daily topic in the office. Whenever work felt stressful or the skies of Pittsburgh were extra dull and gray, one of us would say “we could really use a foam party right now.” In lieu of a foam party, Pauline settled for playing upbeat reggaeton music at her desk loud enough for us all to enjoy, even at 9AM on a Monday. This is just one of the many things I loved most about Pauline. She was so bright and full of life and always encouraged us to have FUN.

Another favorite memory was when Pauline was planning for the company’s quarterly meeting in downtown Pittsburgh. Coordinating a meeting for a company that is dispersed across several states is no small feat. To do this remotely takes a lot of effort, so you can imagine the obstacles faced when the meeting was to take place off-site in a downtown office space. The Pittsburgh and Cleveland teams were invited to attend the entire day, which meant food, drink, workstation space, transportation, parking and more had to be considered. The meeting was in mid-September, which meant Pauline and team were preparing during the summer. She and other team members took several trips to downtown Pittsburgh to check out the space, make the necessary arrangements and, of course, make sure everything was set so the meeting would run smoothly and perfectly as they always did when Pauline was involved. One day in July, Pauline was preparing to take her trip to the off-site location to test out the streaming and sound system. As she was leaving, I said, “Oh, that building is right next to Millie’s ice cream shop! I love their mint chocolate chip ice cream.” About an hour or so later, I receive a text from Pauline asking, “So say they are out of mint chocolate chip, what is your next favorite flavor?” In the midst of all of the planning chaos, Pauline returned back from her busy day with a pint of cookie dough ice cream just for me. As we can all agree, Pauline ALWAYS went above and beyond for others.

I could go on and on about the wonderful memories I have of Pauline. I am so very grateful to have these stories to share and I hope they bring as much joy to those reading as they do for me. While my heart hurts without Pauline here, I know I am a better person for having met her.

I hope you’re having a blast at an infinite foam party up there, Mama P.

Love Always,
Karlee