Staff of the Month

Financial Aid Office

Nominated by: Erica Johnson

This year, the Financial Aid Office led Westminster's response to a significant overhaul of the federal student aid process. Through collaboration and a commitment to innovation, they partnered with offices across campus to redesign the institution's financial aid process in response to these change. Despite hurdles and delays, they have demonstrated a commitment to serving students and families throughout this process. These innovations and commitments are critical to our enrollment success.

Oliver Anderson

Nominated by: Jessica Brazell-Brayboy

During the 2023 - 2024 academic year, Oliver Anderson has served as Assistant Dean of Students, Director of Student Engagement and Belonging, and the Acting Director of Residence Life. While providing leadership to two separate departments, Oliver trained and inspired a team culture of positivity, productivity, and student-centered practice. Oliver is generous in his willingness to assist peers and drive positive change. He has served on numerous committees and national organizations.

Katherine Paterson

Nominated by: Emily Swanson

I would like to nominate Katherine Paterson for the Collaboration Award. Katherine has collaborated with many departments across campus this year. She worked with Keaton Shrank to create the Giovale Library Seed Library. To keep the library stocked, she has worked with Staff Council to accept seed donations. In the first months of the seed library’s existence, 35% of the seed packets were used.

This year, Katherine collaborated with the Student Engagement and Belonging office to create the Library’s Community Collections. This collection was a student’s idea and Katherine worked with the Student Engagement and Belonging’s affinity groups to make the idea a reality. These book collections are curated by Student Coordinators from Raíces Unidas, Queer Compass, AAPI Life, Disability Justice, and Black Excellence. Each year, students will add more titles to the collection, and they will continue to grow and highlight diverse voices. On April 11th, Katherine and the student groups hosted an event to celebrate the new collections and mark the start of a long partnership.

In the fall, Katherine collaborated with students from the Honors College Diversity Council to put on an event celebrating Banned Books Week. Banned Books Week is an annual event promoted by the American Library Association with the goal of promoting books that have been censored. On October 12th, the Honors College Diversity Council and the Giovale Library held a panel called “The Freedom to Read.” The panel included a discussion between students, librarians, and community advocates against censorship. It was an incredibly impactful event. Students left with information about how they can take action against book banning and make a difference.

In addition to these large projects, Katherine also participated in the Pride Planning Committee. She helped to host the Queer Coffee House at the Library. She was also on the planning committee for Women's Week and hosted a book talk with President Beth Dobkin. Katherine has also participated on the WCore Committee's assessment task force. Katherine is always looking for partnerships and collaborations that can support students and the Westminster community.

Char Crear

Nominated by: Valentina Rojas Gutierrez

Char joined the undergraduate admissions team in the summer of 2022 after completing her Honors degree at Westminster. As a first-year admissions counselor, Char has overseen the recruitment and application processes of Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico and the Southeast. Most notably, she has been a key player in making sure the onboarding of new incoming students is seamless. Char is the student engagement liaison, a role in which she collaborates closely with the Dean of Students Office, Residence Life, First Scholars/STEPS and the Outdoor Program. She has created a more streamlined residency exemption form with collaboration of the rest of the committee. She has helped in the recruitment efforts for First Scholars, increasing the number of admitted students into the program. She has also facilitated meetings for the rest of the undergraduate team to be aware of all the goings of the student onboarding process. She is a true collaborator!

Jose Hernandez Zamudio

Nominated by: Yvonne Francis

Jose puts students first; his care and attention to student well-being is an amazing attribute to campus. He's always prepared to work with students where they are to help them feel successful. He fosters campus partnerships to make sure that he can be the best resource and guide to students as possible. I have watched stressed students go to Jose and leave his office feeling better, with a concrete pathway in front of them. He's always willing to help and he cares about the students' success.

2024

November

Matthew Vanderlaan

I would like to nominate Matt for Employee of the Month. Since joining Westminster, Matt has made a fantastic impact by successfully opening the Testing Center for Fall and efficiently organizing its calendar. They bring positive energy to the team and enjoy connecting with faculty, staff, and students.

Matt's thoughtful approach and eagerness to learn are evident in their prompt adoption of new software and participation in training courses. They have also inventoried checkout items and collaborated with library staff to ensure proper distribution to students. Matt has enhanced the testing environment to ensure student comfort and has swiftly taken on the coordination of the Tutoring Program.

While preparing to bring on student staff for additional support, Matt is currently managing operations solo with a cheerful attitude. Their hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed and are greatly appreciated.

Nominated By: Emily McCoy

October

Laura Kendellen

Laura jumped to the rescue late on a Friday afternoon to help with some form issues for Science Saturday Camp. We received a few emails and phone calls from parents who were receiving errors while trying to register their children for camp, and Laura immediately started implementing solutions. Her communications were so helpful in terms of what she could and could not do, as well as what I could share with parents to help them successfully register. This camp requires support from a lot of folks around campus, and I'm really grateful that I can rely on Laura (and Maddy) to help with the website!

Nominated by: Jessica Johnston

August

Shari Duckworth

As a parent of an incoming freshman, Shari was my go-to for all things related to tuition remission, registration, next steps, and other general questions. She was able to provide answers to all my questions, while always making me feel at ease.

Recently, a former parent sent an email expressing frustration about his son’s experience. It’s important to note that at the end of the email he wrote, “Closing on a positive note: Shari Duckworth was amazing with her knowledgeable technical, administrative, and emotional support.” I cannot think of a better way to describe Shari's demeanor.

Additionally, as a member of the University Applications Roundtable, Shari is extremely informed and always has great input.

Shari genuinely cares about student success. She is a true asset to Westminster and deserves to be Staff of the Month.

Nominated by: Sharon Gibbons

July

Conor Bentley

Planning and execution of the Westminster Athletics Golf Tournament. This annual golf tournament continues to raise more money every year to provide scholarship support for our 260+ student-athletes

Nominated by: Grace McEachern

March

Janet Reyes

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2023

May

Chanté Jiménez

I've known Chanté Jiménez for approximately five years. During this time, she has worked as the Assistant Dean in the School of Education. Over the years I've been very impressed by her professionalism, leadership abilities, and outstanding support for our teacher candidates. Chanté has many qualities that make her an excellent educator and leader, but the quality that stands out clearest is her deep concern for our teacher candidates. She regularly focuses on ways to effectively prepare them for the challenges of today’s classrooms. Chanté really cares about our teachers! For example, she regularly meets with district HR directors to identify the best school placements and mentor teachers for teacher candidates. She not only assigns university supervisors to provide them with ongoing support, but also makes classroom visits herself to provide our teacher candidates with additional encouragement and instructional coaching. Chanté is a true professional in every sense of the word. She is extremely conscientious, ethical, and fair-minded. She has exceptional rapport and works well with district administrators, school personnel, university faculty, and students. She is skillful at addressing difficult issues and clearly articulates the areas of concern in a positive manner and identifies win-win solutions while maintaining high expectations for our teacher candidates.

Nominated By: Lowell Oswald

While I (Kellie Gerbers) don’t have an opportunity to partner with Chanté Jiménez as much as some of my other colleagues on supporting teacher candidates, I can speak to how Chanté supports and serves others a part of our team. Chanté is a relationship-builder. When I spend time with Chanté, I notice that she commits more time asking questions and listening than she does talking about herself—it’s a quality that I strive to emulate! Whoever Chanté is with, they can count on really being heard and having Chanté’s energy and focus on them. It makes a big difference and it's something that I hope we never take for granted in a fellow colleague and educator. Chanté is brilliant and curious and adventurous. She is kind and humble. We are so very lucky to have her as a part of our community, and honestly, it’s a shame that so much of her great work happens behind the scenes where we (me included!) don’t fully get to appreciate or understand how much energy and effort Chanté puts forth in supporting our students and programs. Simply put, Chanté is standout employee and deserves any opportunity we have to recognize and thank her publicly!

Nominated By: Kellie Gerbers

April

Andrea Cornett

Andrea recently coordinated and hosted a group of first generation students from Park City High School to come to the Westminster University campus, and have academic major discussions and discussions about university life and next steps. She was able to bring together other campus partners including the honors college and a campus tour. She utilized her Westminster community and her social connections to share Westminster University with community prospective students. She was able to give a positive experience to these students. On their bus ride back to their school, the students were raving about Westminster.

Nominated By: Madi Anderson