APPLAUSE AWARDS

Dolores Bainter, Administrative Coordinator - Modern Languages & Literatures

Upon the departure of Kelly Mackura from the office of the Dean of Arts and Humanities, Dolores Bainter took on all of Kelly's duties related to the Arts & Humanities Research & Creative Works Forum, including arranging rooms and organizing equipment for talks, often at the last minute.  She has gone far beyond the call of duty in her patience with last minute requests and has even lugged equipment into place and helped set it up when necessary. The Forum couldn't have happened this semester without her, and I would like to thank her for all of her help! - Suzanne Toczyski, Chair, Modern Languages and Literature

Victoria Chavez, Cook I - Dining Services

Victoria is another of the really amazing people with whom I have the distinct honor of working. Victoria is the person responsible for creating all the food for the Charlie Brown Cafe, and she is outstanding at her job. I remember when "VV" moved into production for CBC, and was most unsure about her skill set.  Now, VV is part of the team which has become synonomous with quality food and service as well asmaintaining commitment to our vision and values. The only thing that Victoria has lost in the past two years is her desire to question her talents. Victoria arrives for her shift most days at 2:30 a.m. to begin preparing the food for the day's needs. Victoria's beans and rice recipes are brought to us from her own home as are the good intentions with which she creates all of our dishes. Without Victoria, much of this side of campus would either go hungry, or go elsewhere. Again, I know how fortunate I am to have another amazing team member on the CBC/TOAST team. Gracias mi amiga, gracis. - Tracy Ramsdell-Ray, Ops. Mgr., CBC/TOAST.

Monica Flores, Director of Student Services - School of Education, Credentials

I applaud this person because she is not only a loyal friend and colleague, but she goes beyond her call of duty to help students at all levels. But what is even more important, Monica cares and advocates for all students to preserve their roots and identity which is so vital to succeed in any society. The daughter of migrant parents, Monica graduated from Stanford and was a high school teacher before becoming a key person with BECA (Bilingual Enrichment Career Advancement). Currently she is a key person in the School of Education credential program as director of student services. When I learned that Monica, along with her Mom Graciela, spends every Saturday training students from Geyserville in the traditional dances from Mexico, I thought this was an awesome gesture and commitment given that she has a very demanding job. The Geyserville dancers performed at the Day of the Dead in the downtown Santa Rosa event, and recently, at the Teacher Diversity Project event at Cali Calmecac Charter School in Windsor. These young people see her not only as their dance teacher but as the Latina role model they want to become. Thanks Monica! You are awesome beyond words! - Ellie Galvez-Hard, Teacher Diversity Project, School of Education

Karen Hatton, Human Resources Assistant - Employee Services,

Karen Hatton enhances the quality of life at SSU by kindness, which is a quality I find essential in the workplace.  Here is a specific example:   About once a week, I receive a phone call or visitor who wants to speak personally with Karen.  They consistently say to me things like, "I just want to thank her personally.  She was so helpful when I called (or visited) before." I think that I am the only one who really gets to see these moments of gratitude and I am happy that I do get to see them.  For potential applicants, Karen frequently "makes their day."  And watching that happen makes my day, too.  A little bit of kindness can go a long way, and Karen is very generous with kindness. - Betsy Ward, Human Services Assistant

Modesto Llanes, Media Circulation Coordinator - Information Technology

Very recently, Mo saved the campus from a major computer, network and phone outage with quick action.  During one morning's heavy rain, the drain just outside the hallway to the Data Center, PBX room and NOC got clogged and water was starting to flow into the hallway. Mo jumped into a giant knee-deep puddle and kicked the debris out of the way, allowing the drain to flow again. He got totally soaked in the process, but without his quick actions going far beyond the call of duty, we would have had a massive outage within minutes. (That water was rising fast!). - Eric Eisenhart; Unix/Linux Systems Administrator

Jaime Russell, Human Resources Generalist - Human Services

Conducting a successful recruiting campaign for graveyard shift custodians can be an exhausting, very time-consuming process to locate just the right candidates for our open positions. Jaime has worked tirelessly on supporting our needs in this area for the past year and has really gone the extra mile to assist in scheduling candidates for early morning interviews. She sacrificed her own personal sleep to arrive as early as 6:30 a.m. to meet and interview prospective employees. She is a very valuable asset to the University and a strong partner for supervisors to have when going through the recruitment process! - Doug Bishop, Custodial Supervisor, Facilities Services