Clyde’s Kudos are a Staff Association initiative celebrated each month on Communique. Nominations are also recognized through a variety of forums including the Staff Association website, the Staff Association newsletter, event shout-outs, handwritten cards and other methods of distribution.
Clyde’s Kudos: March 2023
Teams:
Luke Doster, EPIIC program, and UCCS Garage | Olivia McDonald, Gabby Hensley, Jeff Foster, Craig Decker and Web Services Team | T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center | The Bachelor of Innovation student teams Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 | The UCCS Parking student and staff team |UCCS Catering
Individuals:
Casi Frazier | Clyde the Mascot | Cody Parish | Craig Ginter | Debi O’Connor | Dr. Rory Lewis | Dr. Terry Boult | Elizabeth Wyatt | Ginger Boult | Heath Wagner | Heidi Wardell | Jerilyn Taylor | Jesse Perez | Katherine Placzek | Katie Engler | Katie Harris | Katie Parker & Devin de Leon | Leah Harris | Lindsay Coppa | Margie Oldham & Sam Frank | Noelle San Souci | Sarah Hutton | Season Doebler | Shad Harder | Wendi Clouse (X2) | Whitley Hadley | Whitney Porter
Teams
To: Luke Doster, EPIIC program, and, UCCS Garage
From: Anon.
Luke has breathed new life into these programs, allowing student and community entrepreneurs to move their ideas off the drawing board and into the market. He gives generously of his time and insights to these entrepreneurs and works to make their experience valuable and productive.
To: Olivia McDonald, Gabby Hensley, Jeff Foster, Craig Decker and Web Services Team
From: Eric Nissen
Thanks to this team, the UCCS homepage has a stunning new look, streamlined navigation, and improved pathways for our prospective students to find what they are looking for. Great design, web strategy, and technology enablement all evident in this new look and user experience.
To: T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center
From: Dr. Ben Kwitek, Innovation Director
The Bachelor of Innovation faculty gives a huge shout-out to the entire staff of the T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center for their support of the Innovation Career Fair held March 8 at Berger Hall. Brie Escobedo worked with students to educate and support the planning and execution of the fair. Thank you for all your support!
To: The Bachelor of Innovation student teams Fall 2022 and Spring 2023
From: Corinne Harmon, Bachelor of Innovation Associate Director
The following students are recognized for planning, developing, and implementing the first Bachelor of Innovation Career Fair on March 8. Thanks to all their work,over 30 employers spent over 5 hours with our students.
Fall 2022 Student Team: Leader Blake Eaton, members Owen Bach, Hunter Marino, Aimee Branine, Hailee O’Neill, Jonathan Zalewski. Spring 2023 Student Team: Leaders Celeste Burel and Chase Culver, Members Hayden Cranz and Aidan Woughter.
To: The UCCS Parking student and staff team
From: Dr. Ben Kwitek, Innovation Director
The Bachelor of Innovation faculty and students send kudos to the UCCS Parking staff and students who assisted in the Innovation Career Fair held March 8. Parking worked with students to assist vendors and make parking easy and efficient. We so appreciate all of you and your willingness to support students and help all of us learn how to handle parking at this level of participation. Thank you! You all rock!
To: UCCS Catering
From: Leah Harris
Jeremy Anderson, Jill McAllister, Polly Knutson, and Em Moore- the team that makes catering a possibility at UCCS! I am so grateful to be able to work with you all as a campus partner, and value the hard work and collaboration you bring to the table. Thank you for all you do to support our clients!
Individuals
To: Casi Frazier
From: Anon.
Casi is a UCCS superstar, but a recent addition to the Ent Center for the Arts staff and we are SO incredibly happy to have her. Casi has been here a matter of months and from the very first day has jumped in to problem solve, refine processes, and educate our staff at all hours of the day. While she may not see it as anything but normal, the way Casi makes herself available to us is above and beyond expectation. She is quickly bringing our systems and staff up to speed and her institutional knowledge is a major asset to our unit. Casi’s attitude is always positive and optimistic, which can’t always be easy, but it contributes to healthy morale among the staff here. I can’t say enough nice things about Casi and I hope she feels appreciated every day she is with us!
To: Clyde the Mascot
From: Colleen Stiles
Colleen Stiles gives huge kudos to Clyde the Mascot who attended the Bachelor of Innovation career fair on March 8 in Berger Hall. Clyde made the atmosphere fun, was a great judge of people, and was able to keep the crowd moving. In addition, Clyde demonstrated a tremendous understanding of toddlers when he kept this little girl happy (her grandma has to take her to the fair when the babysitter didn’t show).
To: Cody Parish
From: Stephen Cucchiara
Congratulations to Cody on facilitating and leading a wonderful Chancellor’s Leadership Class Interview process. You gave us all the tools to be successful and were so organized with this process. Thank you for all you accomplish and the opportunities you provide for our students and prospective students…. BY GOSHHHHHHHH (in the jim ross voice)
To: Craig Ginter
From: Anon.
Officer Craig Ginter truly embodies the UCCS spirit of building community and serving others. He takes the time to get to know everyone and goes above and beyond to make campus a safe, welcoming place for everyone here. Thank you, Officer Ginter, for all that you do to build community at UCCS!
To: Debi O’Connor
From: Mike Sanderson
Debi goes out of her way to be a resource, team player, and problem solver.
To: Dr. Rory Lewis
From: Colleen Stiles
Dr. Lewis certainly has a reputation for being a strong faculty that knows what he is talking about with Business Law. Students learn how to write and submit patents, trademarks, general intellectual property protection and so much more. What most people don’t know is that Rory has a heart for students and his team. Here is Rory supporting the celebration of Dr. Terry Boult as a Distinguished Professor. But you can also find Rory meeting with students privately, mentoring them, challenging them to be better and challenge themselves more. His commitment to students is always present. Thank you for supporting Dr. Boult at the event, thank you for supporting the Innovation Career Fair and thank you for being a great team member.
To: Dr. Terry Boult
From: Colleen Stiles
Dr. Terry Boult was recognized as a CU Distinguished Professor this month. He received the honor during Covid. The Bachelor of Innovation team of faculty, staff, students, lecturers, alumni, and Ph.D. students joined Terry and his spouse Ginger Boult to celebrate this prestigious honor.
To: Elizabeth Wyatt
From: Andrea Cordova
Happy 3-Year Workiversary to Elizabeth Wyatt! Elizabeth started working at UCCS in the Chancellor’s Office on March 16, 2020 — the week COVID sent us all home to work remotely. I want to thank Elizabeth for her amazing work over the last three years. We are lucky to have her here!
To: Ginger Boult
From: Colleen Stiles, Bachelor of Innovation faculty, and student leaders Celeste Burel and Chase Culver
When the rubber hit the road and students needed to recruit volunteers for the Innovation Career Fair, Ginger Boult answered the call. Ginger jumped right in with Swag Bags, decorations, and was a hospitality ambassador. She came early, stayed throughout the entire event, and assisted when needed (including toddler duty). Few people know that Ginger Boult is the cornerstone of the Bachelor of Innovation and our founder and her spouse Dr. Terry Boult. Ginger has been our secret sauce that makes our events work. Thank you for your generosity with the career fair and always with our Bachelor of Innovation graduation celebrations every semester. Your genuine love for students and their learning translates into your pure joy when you hear how they grow up to be successful. We love you Ginger!
To: Heath Wagner
From: Jerilyn Taylor and Kaley Espindola
Thanks for offering a day for faculty and staff to eat at the dining halls. It was nice to get out of the office, experience a bit of campus through a student’s eyes and connect with colleagues during lunch. The food was great and the service was excellent!
To: Heidi Wardell
From: Margie Oldham
Heidi is our coordinator for the National Student Exchange (NSE) program at UCCS. This year, as in previous years, she achieved 100% student placement acceptance at the 2023 national placement conference. Heidi is so attentive to the needs and desires of our students wanting to go away on exchange. I am so thankful for her management and commitment to our program and the UCCS students.
To: Jerilyn Taylor
From: Angela Bender
Jerilyn developed, created and rolled out the New Leadership Development Series offering three new leadership training options for faculty and staff.
To: Jesse Perez
From: Anon.
He deserves a shout out! He is always willing to write recommendation letters, nominate staff for awards and drop anything to help out. He is currently serving on two searches, working to complete his PhD and running the Languages & Cultures Center with innovative ideas for engaging and supporting campus! Just wanted to make sure he received some recognition for all of the hard work he’s doing. It’s noticed!
To: Katherine Placzek
From: Leyna Bencomo
Katherine is the most cheerful person to be around. She always remembers and celebrates everyone’s birthday. It’s a pleasure to hear her laugh in the office. Whenever people approach her with problems, she is generous with her solutions, advice and comfort. You always walk away from her feeling lighter. She is a breath of fresh air in OIT and everywhere on campus and in Teams.
To: Katie Engler
From: Season & The Entire FDC School Family!
Katie has such a positive “we’ve got this attitude” and the FDC is so lucky to have her. Through recent administrator and teacher turnover, Katie took on extra responsibilities that ultimately lead to a successful transition to, and onboarding of, a most fabulous FDC Team. The entire FDC Team is so appreciative of her hard work and dedication and we would not be who we are without her leadership!
To: Katie Harris
From: Matt Metzger
Katie goes above and beyond just “scheduling classes” to come up with creative ways to ensure that were staffing our courses with the best possible people while juggling the changing needs of the students, college and instructors. Her ability to proactively navigate all of these moving parts with good humor and empathy is widely recognized and an important part of the culture within the College of Business.
To: Katie Parker, Devin de Leon
From: Cindy Brown
Thank you Katie and Devin! The College of Education appreciates each of you for your work on the conference room project and your continued support while we learn to utilize the new tech. We appreciate the cooperation and kindness that you both displayed under such(sometimes)strenuous timelines. Your constant updates and feedback have been much appreciated. Again, thank you so much!
To: Leah Harris
From: Cody Parish
Great job, Leah, in chairing the Event Services Clubs and Orgs Search Committee, especially given that this is your first time serving on a search. You’ve done a fantastic job keeping it organizing and on track to finish within the intended timeline. You’ve also been a great partner as you’ve assumed additional duties in event scheduling for clubs, organizations, and departments. Thank you for the impact of your work on campus life.
To: Lindsay Coppa
From: Anon.
Lindsay is an amazing coworker and always strives to keep the office engaged. From rallying us to join the Staff Olympics to walks around campus to get water, she effortlessly helps everyone feel included and excited about tackling the day’s tasks. Her thoughtfulness and enthusiasm help brighten the day and we are SO lucky to have her as coworker and a friend!
To: Margie Oldham & Sam Frank
From: WEST
WEST would like to thank both Margie and Sam for their support of goWEST!
To: Noelle San Souci
From: Mr. C
Noelle organized, managed and supported an amazing Student Government election process. Students loved her ideas, and she was able to manage many of the “magical moments” with any student government election. Noelle you are truly an amazing individual, and even with the stressors of running elections, you were still able to do your other day-to-day duties extremely well! Thank you for all of your hard work and creating transformational experiences for our students.
To: Sarah Hutton
From: Suzanne Cook
Sarah is proving herself to be an invaluable member of the Department of Languages and Cultures. She has consistently been prompt and always gracious and positive-minded when asked for help with any HR or Finance related question. If she has not yet learned a process, she finds out immediately. This time of the semester requires program directors to organize recognition and awards based on data Sarah provides us, and Sarah has quickly learned the ropes to obtain the required student data while observing FERPA rules scrupulously. I could not do my job as French Program Director without her professionalism, and coming to work would not be as uplifting without her contagious energy and positive attitude. Thank you Sarah!
To: Season Doebler
From: Anon.
Ms. Doebler goes above and beyond in her role as the Director of the Family Development Center (FDC). She cares deeply about the children and families who attend the FDC, as well as supporting the well-being of her staff. Even though she is director, she will step in and help wherever she is needed (e.g., serving breakfast to toddlers if a classroom needs an extra hand). We are lucky to have her as the FDC director!
To: Shad Harder
From: Erin Klein
We had a new copier installed in our office over spring break. Shad answered numerous phone calls and then immediately walked over to assist in person. He also made sure I had the right instructions for my colleagues, so they could get set up, too. Shad was so kind and patient! Thank you so much.
To: Wendi Clouse
From: Jena McCollum
Wendi was remarkable in getting us critical data quickly for a proposal we submitted recently. She was both super helpful and gave us exactly what we needed! Thanks, Wendi!
To: Wendi Clouse
From: Tamara Hudgins
Wendi stepped in to help with finding data that was needed for a grant proposal. We were at our wits’ end and even though it is not her job to help proposal writers and principal investigators find data for funding proposals, Wendi stepped in and expertly helped us. She made a proposal that was probably going to be declined (on the basis of no data available/accessible) to a good proposal that has a fighting chance. Thank you, Wendi!
To: Whitley Hadley
From: Kimberly Guyer
Congratulations to Whitley who has been selected to receive an honorable mention for the 2023 President’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards in the staff category. This commendation recognizes and honors individuals and units who demonstrate outstanding commitment and make significant contributions to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the University of Colorado community. The award will be presented to Whitley on April 20th at the award reception. Congratulations, Whitley!!!
To: Whitney Porter
From: Jena McCollum
Whitney is one of the best people I have worked with for proposal support. She is thorough and hard-working! I am so grateful to have her on our team! Thank you for all you do, Whitney!
Want to celebrate your staff colleagues? Submit kudos anytime through the Staff Association website. Communique publishes Clyde’s Kudos each month.