Carbondale's administrative services director Jane Boyd gave the city of Carbondale 34 years.

Boyd started as an administrative assistant for the city's urban renewal program in February 1972 and will officially retire today.

"When I first started here, we had to go through every file by hand to make sure the paperwork was filled out correctly," Boyd said.

Within a year, she was promoted to deputy director of the urban renewal program after the program director left. A major reorganization in the city offices in 1992 left her with the title of administrative services director.

"There's never a dull moment here," Boyd said. "There's always something new and different to deal with and solve."

Boyd was born in Muskogee, Okla., and raised in Rhode Island, where she earned a bachelor's of arts with a major in sociology and a minor in English from the University of Rhode Island.

She came to Carbondale in 1970 where she finished her master's degree in sociology and demography from Georgetown University by mailing in her thesis. Her former husband was finishing his schooling at SIUC, which is where she found employment. She started as an office worker in the purchasing department and auxiliary enterprises.

"They probably don't even call it that anymore, it has been so long," Boyd said.

Boyd said after a few years of clerical work with the college, she was looking for a more professional job, which took her to the city.

"Through the years, I've met so many people," Boyd said. "It comes down to people more than anything. You can pay tuition to learn, but you never learn like you do on a job. I've learned so much here."

As for her plans for the future, the door remains wide open.

"I sometimes feel like my life has been defined by my job," Boyd said. "I don't really have a plan. I just want to find myself."