Staff of the Month

December

Elyse Correa

I’m nominating Elyse Correa for the Staff of the Month recognition. Her exceptional attention to detail and willingness to go above and beyond greatly contributed to the success of our recent event. She took on additional responsibilities beyond her regular duties, which allowed me to focus on building connections and engaging with attendees. Her hard work, reliability and dedication are deeply appreciated.

Nominated By: Emmalee Szwedko

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

Janet has been the core of Student Engagement & Belonging since starting at Westminster last fall. Janet has single-handedly supported each student identity program within SEB (AAPI Life, Black Excellence, Disability Justice, Raíces Unidas, and Queer Compass), including each of their socials and programs. Just this month alone, Janet helped AAPI Life with a very successful and meaningful Lunar New Year Celebration and helped get 23 students into the theaters to watch "Bob Marley: One Love" for a Black Excellence program. Janet also helped facilitate the Black Excellence poster instillation in Shaw, featuring six notable Black and African American leaders, poets, activist, and scholars - to help bring awareness of their great accomplishments and impact on the world today. Janet is unbelievable in her ability to foster inclusive spaces for her students and leads with a compassionate heart and grateful mind. We are extremely fortunate to have Janet in our community.

Nominated by: Oliver Anderson and Jessica Irvine

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