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: September 2023
Teams:
Becca Cherpak & Aidan Clark | Gabby Hensley & Jeff Foster | Noelle San Souci, Brian Arnold, Cody Parish, Heather Marx & Becca Cherpak | Paige Koster & Shanna McCown | Student Life Team | Student Life, Fire Safety, & Event Services | Willow Meyers & Andrew Archuleta
Individuals:
AJ Vafiades | Alex Baker | Ariadna Coffman | Ashley Lawless | Brian Arnold | Carol Pina | Cheryl Fedorkowicz | Cindy Rupp | Craig Decker | Dan Lemack | Danielle Wright X2 |Deann Barrett | Dr. Lissanna Follari | Ellen Burkart | Jennifer Newcomb | Jennifer Schabert | Kassie Manguilli | Kathy Stetler | Kayla Gronseth Boyer | Lee Files | Lily Cosgrave | Lisa Harner | Margie Oldham | Megh Freeland | Mikayla Greenfield X 7 | Monica Sedillo | Patrick McClellan | Pauline Hoyte | Polly Knutson | Rachel Seton | Sabine Allenspach | Sara Daum | Sarah Hutton | Sergeant Lisa Dipzinski | Shal DeLuna | Shannon Rogers | Shelly Raney | Steve Werling
Teams
To: Becca Cherpak & Aidan Clark
From: Stephen Cucchiara
Working constantly with student clubs and ensuring processes are well understood, rolling out two versions of club orientations, and the success of the first club workshop. Way to go team!
To: Gabby Hensley & Jeff Foster
From: Sarah Long
Gabby and Jeff are incredible humans who work on demanding deadlines and moving targets for marketing requests. I know, because I am one of those people who asked for some marketing materials and they worked swiftly to get it done. THANK YOU for all your hard work and dedication. You are so appreciated.
To: Noelle San Souci, Brian Arnold, Cody Parish, Heather Marx & Becca Cherpak
From: Stephen Cucchiara
Thank you all for your hard work and assistance during homecoming weekend. Having you all work some of the late night events and other occurrences during homecoming made the weekend that much more successful! Thank you thank you!
To: Paige Koster & Shanna McCown
From: Anon.
They have made our department more aware of self-care with Wellness Wednesdays and Wellness Bingo.
To: Student Life Team
From: Crista Hill, staff and parent of a freshman
What an amazing first couple of months packed with events for students! Great job of planning and executing multiple activities. The smiles of students and the energy around campus says it all!
To: Student Life, Fire Safety, & Event Services
From: Brad Bayer
Props to the Dept. of Student Life, Event Services, Fire Safety, and Public Safety for supporting and promoting a fun, engaging, and safe UCCS Bonfire event as part of the 2023 UCCS Homecoming Weekend. UCCS saw a record student turnout for this campus tradition, and you all made it possible!
To: Willow Meyers & Andrew Archuleta
From: Chris Beiswanger
Willow and Andrew are a joy to work with! I greatly appreciate how they approach conversations and challenges with care for the person and organization.
Individuals
To: AJ Vafiades
From: Benjamin Kwitek & Innovation Program Team
AJ has been a wonderful supporter of the Innovation Program. She has helped us with multiple matters this semester. Her quick responses are always welcome and her good work is done with enthusiasm and team spirit!
To: Alex Baker
From: Crista Hill
Alex, your passion and commitment to students is the definition of above and beyond. In a time where so many students are in crisis, you stand strong in support and advocacy for them. Know that all you do does not go unnoticed. I am so glad you are part of this team!
To: Ariadna Coffman
From: Jeff Foster
Ariadna’s excellent work (above and beyond!) helping to manage the process of translating major Admissions materials into Spanish was invaluable! Linguistic reviews, help with making sure the UCCS brand is appropriately represented in another language was critical, and very appreciated. Thank you!!
To: Ashley Lawless
From: Anon.
Ashley continues to tirelessly support her IECE Team and constantly works to refine and enhance the educational experience for all UCCS IECE students. From weekend phone calls with instructors to on the job direct support, she has helped create an environment where the team can grow, learn and love together so we can do all what is needed for our students. I can attribute much of my growth as a new higher education professor to her care and leadership through a variety of professional opportunities such as supporting a conference presentation and paper, professional dialogue and critical Canvas support. Thank you, Ashley, for all you do!
To: Brian Arnold
From: Stephen Cucchiara
Brian is Student Life’s new Assistant Director of Student Engagement! He has worked tirelessly since beginning his time here at UCCS. In his first week, he powered through Panhellenic Recruitment, and in his third week, he had Homecoming Weekend! He has already made his presence felt with the staff and students at UCCS and am really excited to see all the great work he continues to accomplish! Welcome to the team Brian!
To: Carol Pina
From: Kim Sanes
As a new GPS lecturer and faculty member–I’ve had to learn a lot in a short amount of time. I am blessed to have a great co-teacher and we have strived to make our student’s experiences engaging by incorporating several guest speakers and activities. I wanted to add a pizza party to an event with CASA as well as create basic needs bags for youth supported by The Place COS (they support youth experiencing homelessness)…Carol guided me through all the steps and helped take some of the burden off my shoulders. It shifted my worry and helped me move forward with these plans. Awesome support!
To: Cheryl Fedorkowicz
From: Anon.
Cheryl is so helpful! While I was on vacation recently, she kept track of wires that belonged to our clinic so that I wouldn’t have to go back weeks to look for them. I appreciated that so much! Her kindness saved me mounds of time!
To: Cindy Rupp
From: Anon.
I would like to recognize Cindy Rupp for her kindness and collegiality in her role as Executive Assistant to the Dean at Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Cindy always displays a positive and friendly attitude if I have a question or concern. This sets a positive and welcoming tone in the Dean’s office. Cindy goes above and beyond her normal responsibilities to help others. In my role I receive many packages. Cindy graciously offered to help move these items to my office. She also ordered some equipment for my office, and followed up frequently to ensure that all the equipment was installed and working properly. She is a wonderful asset to our department!
To: Craig Decker
From: Sarah Long
Craig is such a staple in the UCCS community. He is constantly working to improve processes and works quickly when issues arise. I am so grateful to have Craig as a go-to person.
To: Dan Lemack
From: Elizabeth Wyatt
I sincerely appreciate all Dan’s help, expertise, and patience with IT! Dan has been extremely helpful with the numerous computer issues I have been experiencing lately, and is always willing to troubleshoot and try new approaches to address IT challenges. As much of my work world depends on a reliable computer set-up, I appreciate Dan’s quick and consistent assistance to keep my set-up running efficiently…and to help when it is not. Thank you, Dan, for your continued patience and IT support!
To: Danielle Wright
From: Elizabeth Wyatt
A big kudos to Danielle Wright who hasn’t missed a beat in covering the numerous events on campus in September. There have been many events — often several events on one day — and Danielle has been a strong force to keep everything running with a smile! Thank you, Danielle, for all you are doing to support the campus! You are greatly appreciated!
To: Danielle Wright
From: Elizabeth Wyatt
Danielle has provided incredible support for Advancement and Chancellor Office events this fall! Her dedication and assistance are tremendously appreciated! There are weeks when Danielle has been coordinating and overseeing multiple events on each day of the week, and she is still smiling and providing terrific customer service and support to ensure success. Thank you so much, Danielle – you are greatly appreciated!
To: Deann Barrett
From: Benjamin Kwitek & Innovation Program Team
Deann is an exceptional manager and HR leader in LAS. She has a positive, can-do attitude. She combines a professional work ethic with a friendly spirit and kindness. Everyone in the Innovation Program is grateful for her support.
To: Dr. Lissanna Follari
From: Anon.
As a personal and professional inspiration, Dr. Follari has demonstrated a significant depth of capacity and passion for inclusive educational work that extends well beyond the walls of a classroom. I have been extremely fortunate to learn through her open guidance and observe her unwavering efforts to make higher education accessible for students. Dr. Follari has supported a variety of opportunities to develop my skill in higher education through mentorship and opportunity as she modeled for me how to develop and deliver presentations on strong inclusive early childhood education practices. Thank you, Dr. Follari, for all that you do to support the IECE program and the people!
To: Ellen Burkart
From: Ashley San Miguel
Ellen consistently goes above and beyond in her support of students and her staff as the director of the Student and Family Connections Office. Thank you so much for your constant support and guidance as we navigate the beginning of the school year and the unorthodox situations that pop up. Thank you, also, for letting me vent to you when we hit roadblocks and for always looking out for what’s best for us as a team. Your work is appreciated!
To: Jennifer Newcomb
From: Anon.
Jennifer has taken initiative in restlessly helping, training and encouraging our new ASP employee. She resonates a welcoming environment and consistently has a positive attitude. She has gone above and beyond in helping a fellow co-worker!
To: Jennifer Schabert
From: Amanda Salazar
Always going above and beyond what is expected of her when working with students and performing her job duties. She always exudes a positive attitude and extends a helping hand.
To: Kassie Manguilli
From: Bill Craighead
Kassie Manguilli was the driving force behind the UCCS Economic Forum event, held on Sep. 7 at the Ent Center. The event had over 450 people in attendance and was covered by KOAA TV, the Colorado Springs Gazette, Colorado Public Radio and the Colorado Sun.
Kassie worked with the venue, set up and managed the registration process, designed the programs, arranged the catering and handled communications with the attendees. That is, she took care of almost all of the behind-the-scenes details that made for a successful event.
To: Kathy Stetler
From: Rachel Gibson
Celebrating the incredible employee and team player Kathy Stetler is to Disability Services and the UCCS campus. She responds with kindness, empathy and listens to each student question, complaint, and story. She’s processed and coordinated hundreds of requests for accommodations and services these past 6 weeks. Our department would not run as efficiently without her attention to detail and thoughtfulness. She is valued, appreciated and is worth all the kudos!
To: Kayla Gronseth Boyer
From: Justine O’Neil
I want to extend a BIG shoutout to Kayla. Thank you for your assistance with all my SFMC requests, especially the last-minute and complicated ones. Your expertise has been a game-changer, and I genuinely appreciate your support.
To: Lee Files
From: Lillian Hogan
Despite being a new member to the Housing Front Desk Assistant Team, Lee jumped in feet first and took on the responsibility on becoming the Lead FDA. He is a hard-worker and brings a positive attitude with him wherever he goes. Thank you Lee!
To: Lily Cosgrave
From: Anna Faria
LAS is well-served by Lily’s incredible assistance. Without her, the LAS Curriculum and Requirements committee would not work. She takes charge, is efficient, professional and incredibly competent. We are all lucky to have her! Thank you, Lily!
To: Lisa Harner
From: Nick Lockwood
A huge thank you to Lisa for all her support with Orientation data visualizations. Lisa has provided tremendous support that has helped informed our program of successes, gaps, and opportunities. Lisa is a thoughtful collaborator and consistently eager to assist. I am very grateful for her support and expertise. Thank you, Lisa!
To: Margie Oldham
From: Anon.
Margie went completely above and beyond to organize two stellar events for the English Department in August: an alumni panel and an alum book signing and reading. She partnered with the Career Center so we could host events in the Center and with Alumni Relations to provide recognition to speakers. She took several steps to make flyers, collect RSVPs on Mountain Lion Connect, and spread the word to students. Both events were a wonderful success! Students who attended were interested and connected with alums, and our alums felt celebrated and valued. Thank you, Margie, for all that you do!
To: Megh Freeland
From: Anon.
Thank you for all you do for our team and all of us! We appreciate you and are so glad you are on our team!
To: Mikayla Greenfield
From: Marcus Davis
Mikala has done an outstanding job for all of us here at Facilities Services. She has been a fantastic liaison for us with HR questions as well as helping us with employee electronic time sheets and procurement card monthly reports. She always seems to make herself available to anyone who needs help and assistance. She is definitely the heart and soul of Facilities Services. Kudos to Mikayla for being such a great role model for our facilities staff and keeping q wonderful positive attitude through as all these challenging times. Please give her serious consideration for her nomination for a big Kudos. Thank you.
To: Mikayla Greenfield
From: Mark Ferguson
Mikayla consistently goes above and beyond her duties to ensure service delivery to campus. She takes on all challenges and completes work with attention to quality. She is dedicated to supporting facilities staff to overcome any obstacle. Her office is where solutions are found. Mikayla maintains a positive attitude and willingness to help others no matter how busy she is. Mikayla’s work is appreciated by all who work with her.
To: Mikayla Greenfield
From: Anon.
Mikayla truly embodies the values we all hold dear at UCCS. She is kind, compassionate, honest, and hardworking, everything you could want in an administrative professional and more. As the HR liaison for her department, she routinely takes on the additional workload of training hiring committees, interacting with a plethora of candidates, and flawlessly completing all the behind-the-scenes paperwork throughout the entire process. Despite covering the workload of two vacant positions as well as her own stringent deadlines, Mikayla is always happy to help, greets everyone she sees with a smile, and continues to be a pillar of support for a department that cannot say enough good things about her.
Each year, Mikayla’s group is responsible for submitting all the departments performance evaluations to campus HR. This entails verifying that each PMP is completed in its entirety, scanning it into PDF format, and then properly filing it and sending it to HR. Usually this work is shared between 3 positions, but this year the brunt of the work fell to Mikayla. Despite this, she was happy to answer questions, understanding of mistakes, and continues to ensure that all PMP’s are submitted as quickly and as accurately as possible. All that while still managing to review and verify all the departments procurement reports, managing student payroll, managing accounts payable, and a host of other duties, many of which are never seen or considered by much of the department.
To: Mikayla Greenfield
From: Kim Childress
Mikayla is phenomenal – She is currently covering three jobs due to open positions and continues to lead and support the division. She is an example to our team with her positive, supportive, responsive and thoughtful demeanor. She handles “fires” of all types, both real and administrative!
To: Mikayla Greenfield
From: Natasha Lemmermann
Since my first day at UCCS, Mikayla has always been incredibly helpful, a team player, and go-getter. She always steps-up and offers help to those who need it. She supported the entire Infrastructure and Sustainability Division on her own, for months, while her BFS team positions were being re-filled. She is a vital asset to all of us and we love having her positive attitude and support for our division.
To: Mikayla Greenfield
From: Anon.
Mikayla has been an integral part of the Infrastructure and Sustainability Division team. She has been backfilling two additional positions while ongoing hiring searches have been being conducted and is always willing to help even if it falls outside her day-to-day job. She has taken the initiative to fill any role that the team requires to make sure the mission is successful, recently heading up our division recognition committee. Finally, Mikayla always brings a positive attitude to any situation fostering a culture of inclusion and acceptance to all individuals she meets.
To: Mikayla Greenfield
From: Anon.
If it wasn’t for Mikayla we would all be lost. “Everyone” goes to her for answers, advise, and sometimes just to see her smile. She is the hardest worker I know and has taken on so much for facilities….and keeps smiling. She is so proud of where she works and shows it in all the things she does to support us, “EVERYONE” in facilities and beyond LOVES her! Kudo’s to you Mikayla for being you!
To: Monica Sedillo
From: Anon.
Monica has done a fantastic job at managing the search processes and assisting search committee members through a slew of hiring positions for the hybrid Physical Therapy program with Anschutz. Without her support and high level of knowledge, these searches had the potential to have gone a lot differently to say the least. Kudos, Monica!
To: Patrick McClellan
From: Chef Michael Plant
Patrick has been an amazing help as I settle into my new position as retail chef. He not only keeps the back of the house kitchen running, but he also mentors student workers and brings a positive and encouraging mindset to his job every day. He not only ensures the stations in café 65 are stocked and prepped, he extends himself to the stations to help and also serves as an excellent guiding resource to the student workers. With all of his responsibility and hard work he also finds time to help out at the fork whenever he can. Patrick is truly a huge asset to my team.
To: Pauline Hoyte
From: Anon.
Pauline is always extremely helpful and responsive. She is an ally to the entire team. She makes working together, easy, with her knowledge and abilities.
To: Polly Knutson
From: Larry Lee
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Polly for stepping up and taking the lead on the farm when we needed someone to rely on. Polly’s dedication and expertise were invaluable in successfully organizing our first farm day at the university. Her vision for the future of the farm has set us on a promising path. Once again, thank you, Polly, for your outstanding leadership and contributions.
To: Rachel Seton
From: Jennifer Newcomb
Rachel, thank you for sharing your talents with the College of Education! I admire your ability to identify a need and then create a well-organized plan to resolve it. I appreciate you!
To: Sabine Allenspach
From: Sara Thurman
Sabine is not only an amazing person but she’s an absolutely incredible teacher. She goes above and beyond for her students. She always takes extra time for them to help out as much as possible. I have seen students stress about her class and after having a one-on-one meeting with her, they leave her office with a huge sigh of relief feeling much better about the class. She is just amazing and deserves all the kudos in the world.
To: Sara Daum
From: Sarah Long
Sara has been helping me with some pretty large campus wide initiatives and has been my go-to person for not only educating me on processes, but just being a person I can process my ideas and thoughts with. Thank you so much for your support, Sara. I appreciate it.
To: Sarah Hutton
From: Jesse Perez
I feel it is always refreshing when we come across individuals whose dedication and commitment to excellence shine as brightly as Sarah’s. Her unwavering commitment to always doing her best is inspiring. Her helpfulness and diligence make such a significant difference to the areas she works with, and she has continued to create a positive and collaborative atmosphere. To Sarah, thank you for setting such a high standard and for your invaluable contributions. We are truly fortunate to have you on campus.
To: Sergeant Lisa Dipzinski
From: Ann Amicucci
Sergeant Dipzinski went above and beyond to provide police support for a visiting speaker event I hosted. Not only did she patrol the event and ensure the safety of participants, she got to know our visiting speaker and other people who attended, and she made everyone feel calm and welcomed. She even helped set up tables and chairs when we had to rearrange a room. Thank you, Lisa, for ALL of your support!
To: Shal DeLuna
From: Mark Ferguson
Shal’s dedication to campus and her team is something that is remarkable to witness. She demonstrates acts of kindness and caring for her team that are above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis.
To: Shannon Rogers
From: Anon.
Shannon has been a shining star taking initiative in event services with the onboarding and training of new staff members all while taking over responsibilities outside of her job scope to help the whole department to become more efficient and overall curate an environment that promotes an inclusive engaging community for all. She has really stepped up as a great campus leader in her new role as the interim director of event services demonstrating an infectious positive attitude and approach that works to inspire, connect, and support such a diverse community of faculty, staff, students, and the greater community. Her kindness, initiative, inclusion, adaptability, hard work, and dedication has really made a difference and I look forward to seeing how this new role will lead to an even greater positive impact on campus and beyond.
To: Shelly Raney
From: Jerilyn Taylor
I received a call from a widow of a former long-time UCCS employee. She wanted to make sure we knew how great Shelly was in helping her get an answer to a question that nobody else seemed to know. Thanks for taking care of her and finding the answer to her question.
To: Steve Werling
From: Sarah Long
Steve is always there when I need his help and always responds so quickly! Whenever I run to a web/e-mail issue, Steve is on it right away and is always so kind about it. Thank you, Steve!!
Want to celebrate your staff colleagues? Submit kudos anytime through the Staff Association website. Communique publishes Clyde’s Kudos each month.