If it were up to Nick Lockwood, he wouldn’t have been named Employee of the Quarter – and he certainly wouldn’t have an article written on his hard work and efforts on campus. Thankfully, his colleagues recognized his dedication to UCCS and the students here and nominated him anyway.
“It’s hard to accept these type of awards when you think of all those things happening on a daily basis on campus,” Nick said. “There are so many tremendous things that others are doing on this campus that may not be at the forefront of our awareness, and you think about the people you work with that deserve this recognition. So it’s very humbling.”
Nick, who began his UCCS career a decade ago as a success coach, has been welcoming new students to campus as Director of Orientation for the last eight years. Like many roles on campus, Nick’s days and duties vary, but helping students is a constant in his work.
“My main function is to provide exceptional service, onboarding and welcoming experience for new students and families, so that entails supporting the orientation department which consists primarily of over 30 student employees who facilitate the whole process,” Nick explained. “Our three pillars are to welcome, prepare and celebrate, so the lens and approach that my work takes is balancing those three. How do we welcome students, make them feel reassured that this is a wonderful place and promote that excitement and then lastly, how do we help ensure that they are partnered in their preparation with the campus community?”
Despite having managed several orientations over the years, Nick never gets complacent about them. He constantly looks for feedback and ways to improve and adjust the process, showing his dedication to welcoming new students and genuine enjoyment in watching them succeed.
“There’s three wonderful things about this job,” said Nick. “The first is, of course, working with new students and their families. It is an amazing experience to be part of such a meaningful stage in their life. While many of them may forget orientation, I just hope that they don’t forget the experience of coming to UCCS and what it’s like to stay and achieve goals and face challenges. Being a part of that journey and seeing it through the eyes of family members as well is really incredible because there’s so much pride that they have at that moment.”
“The second thing is that our student staff are incredible,” he continued. “I always like to say that they’re the lifeblood of orientation. We could not do what we do without them, and being a part of their development and journey and leadership growth is phenomenal. And then lastly, I love the constant evolution and strategic thinking that goes into the programming. Looking at assessments and seeing where students are finding the orientation program valuable or where they’re finding it problematic. I love looking at it through that lens because it changes every year.”
Even when those student employees graduate and eventually move on from UCCS, they often stay connected with Nick. Being able to witness their journey and positively impact it is another rewarding aspect of his role.
“I feel very, very fortunate to work for some incredible mentors, to be able to feel valued in so many different ways by the campus community and to feel like I can share that same experience with others,” he shared. “That’s been the main driver and motivation, to have that small impact in some sort of way that others in the community have had for me. And going to the big life events of our student employees that they feel honored enough to share with you, even those down the road. Whether that’s a graduation, a wedding, a baby shower, whatever it may be, all these moments in their life that your work has possibly helped them achieve, those are the highlights for me.”
Though Nick’s own two children have many years before they think about college or orientation, becoming a parent has helped him think about what he’d want for them as they get ready to start their college career and how he can adjust orientation accordingly.
“We have a six-year-old and a three-year-old, and that in itself has changed my perspective too,” Nick said. “What would I want their experience to be like, or how would I want to be treated as a family member? You’re reminded that every stage and interaction matters in the whole transitory phase, even if it’s just waiting in a line or finding parking. Those things are going to set the tone for the rest of their experience here, so how can we make that easier for them?”
Nick spends most of his time outside work with his little ones, Siena and Decker, and his wife, Amanda. They are avid cyclists and can be found biking most weekends, or working on arts and crafts at home between his kids’ other activities like soccer, which Nick helps coach.
“I ‘coach’ soccer, but I mostly see myself as a shoe-tying professional,” he laughed. “And we’re biking everywhere on the weekends. Art is also huge for me, I find a lot of outlet in it. I usually work with wood and metal, but with the kids we try all kinds of different things. Just the other weekend we were creating keychains and working on lemonade stands.”
“I take a lot of pride in my kids,” he added. “Just immense and unwavering pride. They teach me each and every day how to approach life in a different way, so seeing that and being part of their experiences is just wonderful.”
Nick emphasized that he considers the work and success leading to him being named EOQ a collective effort, including that of Orientation Assistant Bruce Ziegler – who nominated Nick – and their many student employees.
“I feel honored, and I feel like it’s a better representation of the work we do more so than me,” Nick said. “I am comprised of the team that I work with, and so I see it as more of a reflection of them than anything, because, truly, there’s no way I could do this by myself. I need and rely on all their efforts and contributions. Bruce is our lone staff person, and I’m so thankful for him and for all the work that he does. He leads a lot of our student staff, and they very much look up to him. You can always hire great employees, but I’m very pleased to say we hire great people.”
“Orientation is truly a culmination of campus wide efforts,” he added. “There’s so much investment on the side of the campus community to support those. Everything from the academic areas, to all our student services, student clubs, parking, dining, hospitality, event services. There’s so much that goes into that. I’m very, very grateful for the campus support and collaboration and prioritization to welcome all those students and family members.”