Our people: Avid giraffe statue collector has over 100 pieces

Edwina Gower is most recognizable around the Eastern New Mexico University campus. Gower also known as "FLOE" (First Lady of Eastern) spends much of her time reading, digging through university history, and collecting giraffe statues.

Gower began her giraffe collection after Christmas in 1984 when her husband Jeffrey Elwell first gifted her a giraffe statue.

Tell us about yourself in a few sentences:

When you're 58 years old, there's a whole lot of ways you can answer that. We'll do fun facts about me.

First fun fact, I collect giraffes, I have about a hundred giraffes.

Second fun fact, I am 6-feet tall.

Third fun fact, I am a huge Chicago Cubs fan.

Fourth fun fact, I love people and I find them endlessly fascinating.

Fifth fun fact, I love history and enjoy knowing how we got to where we were.

I've dug really deep into the (Eastern New Mexico) university's history.

How did you meet your spouse?

This is a fun story. I was a student worker in the financial aid office at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Jeffrey went in to see if we had received his student loan check from California. This was back in the day when they actually sent a physical check in the mail.

The lady that handled the checks in our office was very persnickety.

Jeffrey asked me to go ask her if we had received his check. So I go creeping down the hall to ask her.

I let Jeffrey know that we've received the check and he decides to wait for it. He sat in the waiting area for over an hour just flirting with me.

The shorter answer that we usually give people to this question is "She gave me a $5,000 check so I asked her out."

Do you have a favorite hobby?

I love traveling and reading. I also really enjoy interacting with people and going to support them doing what they do.

I don't watch a lot of TV, because I find watching TV to be very passive. I like watching sports especially the university sports because I know most of the athletes.

What is your favorite holiday?

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, because it's a day we set aside to just be thankful. It's not about conspicuous consumption, it's just about gathering together as a family and being thankful.

Thanksgiving is so laid back. It's just about good food, good friends, and being thankful. It's also a beautiful time of the year, I love the fall.

What is one thing you've always wanted to do but never had the chance?

I wanted to go up in a hot air balloon. Our family took a trip to Australia and we had the opportunity to go up in a hot air balloon at dawn. The family wasn't really interested in going and I didn't want to go by myself. So, we ended up not going and I regret not doing it.

Every year we have the opportunity to go to the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, but there's always something going on and we can't make it. But some day I'll go up in a hot air balloon.

Where is your happy place?

The beach because you're beside that "big beautiful thing that God made" and you realize the vastness of the Earth and you're usually barefoot in the sand, so you're connected.

You feel the rhythm of life there and it's just perfect.

How do you define success?

Achieving whatever goal you've set for yourself. Don't focus on the financial side of success, but the intrinsic satisfaction side.

I think a lot of times when people say "he or she is successful" they mean they have financial stability. When you don't have money that is so important in life - once you can feed yourself, clothe yourself, and house yourself there's a lot more to it.

What's the best thing to do on a cloudy rainy day?

Read a book. Just read a book, wherever you are. Although, I'd rather be at the beach with a glass of wine reading a book.

- Compiled by Correspondent Nicole Trujillo