Shout-outs to Staff
The following are Libraries staff who have received a shout-out from one or more of their colleagues for going out of their way to be extra awesome at their job.
Allison Hughes
Allison is did such a great job with the Last of the Brickyard Book Sales. What makes it really special is that she made it such a good experience not only for the buyers but also everyone helping out too. It was so fun to volunteer and see how excited all of the book buyers were and I think it is a testament to how hard Allison and the whole Community Engagement team work to make things special for the Libraries and our wider University and Library community. Thanks for all the work you do!
- Beth Ashmore, Apr 14, 2022
Hilary Davis
I recently joined the Libraries and Hilary has been amazingly thoughtful and supportive in helping me acclimate to the organization. She has been so proactive in anticipating my questions and with connecting me to people, notes, and context. Furthermore, Hilary served as interim head of my department, Research Engagement, for more than a year during the pandemic. It’s clear to me that she did an outstanding job not just leading and managing the team, and also with helping staff to thrive, all while managing her own department too. It’s been no easy task to be a manager during the pandemic. I’m grateful for all Hilary has done to support Research Engagement colleagues and for her care in helping me transition into the organization and into my new role. She’s a fantastic leader and colleague!
- Kim Duckett, Jan 24, 2022
Shaun Bennett
Recently I received an enthusiastic message of appreciation from a faculty member in the Poole College of Management for Shaun Bennett's outstanding work. He had emailed Shaun a request for some articles in an accessible format, and he shared that "within 24 hours I had those articles.... [Shaun] also cross-checked the articles with the Disability Resource Office to ensure that what he had was in line with what was needed.... Initiative, responsiveness, and expertise, all of those traits were quite evident, even while we were on winter break hours." The faculty member went on to praise Shaun as a "hidden hero" for helping him and his students to succeed.
Hannah Rainey, Assoc. Head of Research Engagement, adds, "This recognition is very well deserved. Shaun is trustworthy and consistent in all the work he does to support the NC State community. I'll add my kudos and say that Shaun is also a joy to work with."
Thank you, Shaun! You're terrific!
- Carolyn Argentati & Hannah Rainey, Jan 3, 2022
Nellie Maurer
When Patricia Butler left the Libraries in July, Nellie took on a large amount of her workload on an interim basis. Note that she was doing this in addition to the other interim responsibilities she had already taken on due to Jennifer Garrett's old position being vacant.
This all happened at a time when the university was changing many of their HR procedures due to COVID and related restrictions on hiring and other HR actions. Nellie developed new flowcharts and forms for various new HR procedures including the multiple changes that occurred in student employment.
Now Nellie is assisting in the training of Maria Muresan (our new Patricia!) and helping to get things ready for Tarida Anantachai, our new Director of Inclusion & Talent Management.
We really would be lost without Nellie. I'm so happy to have her on our team!
- Laura Blessing, Oct 22, 2021
Jackie Gadison
I am not the biggest fan of writing documentation. It always sounds easy at first, but the more you get into it, the tougher it gets to encapsulate a process into words and pictures. That is why I feel so lucky to work with Jackie Gadison. Jackie is a first-rate problem solver but she doesn't just want to solve a problem for herself, she wants to solve it for you too and she does that through documentation. So many of our Acquisitions & Discovery processes changed during the pandemic and many of those changes are now a part of our regular practice even though we work onsite again. Jackie was there to not only make those changes in her own practice, but to also help us document them for training each other. Last week, Jackie completed an update to a very complicated and multi-faceted set of instructions and as we looked at them together to make sure everyone was up to date, I was reminded how grateful I am to Jackie on our team.
- Beth Ashmore, Sep 1, 2021
Pete Schreiner
Pete’s role on the Pack Ready Team and his efforts as the Ask Us Librarian during COVID-19 have been invaluable to the Libraries. Pete developed the Libraries' spring enforcement plan that promoted adherence to NC State’s Community Standards and elevated the health and safety of everyone in our buildings. Pete worked countless hours at the Ask Us desk, created and posted COVID-19 signs, collaborated with the Staff One guards, advocated doing what is right over what is easy, and so much more that cannot be listed in this short space. I am grateful for his leadership and selflessness over the past year and a half.
- Joe White, Aug 26, 2021
Tina Adams, Reggie Brown
Tina Adams and Reggie Brown have really stepped up to help out in Libraries Human Resources to get all of our student employees hired during the busiest part of the school year and while we've been short-staffed. They both work incredibly well with each other and with me to make this process as seamless as possible.
- Nellie Maurer, Aug 18, 2021
Nellie Maurer
It's hard to put into words all that Nellie does and how valued she is! For as long as I've had the immense privilege of working with her, she has always gone above and beyond to ensure that we are supporting current and future colleagues with the utmost respect, care, and also key - fun & friendly joy! Over the last 1.5 years of COVID, Nellie has only done MORE and more excellent work - taking on key roles like serving as search manager, moving/creating materials and communications for the virtual environment, really perfecting our use of Zoom for interviews, and so so much more! Nellie never hesitates to offer help and support to all her colleagues and is always willing to expand her knowledge and take on new responsibilities in support of our organization. It's beyond accurate to describe her as holding everything together :-) I am continually learning from Nellie, laughing about random things with her, and just feel so thankful to call her a colleague!
- Jennifer Garrett, Jul 30, 2021
Alex Valencia
Alex brings people together. His work on inclusive programming and outreach has expanded and diversified how students and community members experience the Libraries. He builds community with colleagues across campus Departments and Centers. In particular, he has strengthened ties with staff and students across campus as chair of the Hispanic Latinx Advisory Group. Alex was officially recognized on campus as a nominee for the Chancellor's Creating Community Award.
Anyone who has the pleasure of meeting and working with Alex has experienced how he puts people at ease and makes everyone feel valued. Also, he is a ton of fun!
- Hannah Rainey, Jul 15, 2021
Erik Olson, Robin Davis, Meredith Wynn, Andreas Orphanides, Eric Pauley, Josh Boyer, Sarah Hawks
Simply put, Web Team solves problems, and fast. An increasing number of Libraries departments are producing different kinds of content across different platforms. Web Team has been adept at not only enabling departments to produce new kinds of content, but also helping External Relations leverage and re-use that content. The team has been incredibly responsive to (and patient with!) out-of-left-field, what-if questions by thinking through the implications of back-end changes from both a technology perspective and a consistency one. They respond quickly with solutions and implementations informed by the Libraries' overall mission, rather than playing defense against changes to the complex infrastructure that they have to maintain. Web Team is always helpful, thoughtful, reasonable, and fast.
- Chris Vitiello, Jul 9, 2021