Superlative Staff: 2024 Year-End Celebration
On December 12th outside of the Meinel building, the final staff recognition awards were presented after a fantastic meal during the Wyant College Staff Appreciation and Holiday Luncheon. Awards presented included the 4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer, a SPOT award, Honorable Mention and Employee of the Year.
4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer
Nominated by Hillary Mathis; the 4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer award was presented to Jason Orlowski, mechanical technician. Jason received a certificate and $250, issued through payroll.
4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer Nomination
Excerpt from Hillary's Nomination:
At the end of October I was faced with a time sensitive task. I acquired 2 lab rooms for the teaching labs when Hong Hua vacated them and moved to new lab space. I needed to get the space cleaned and ready for new equipment being moved in for the spring semester classes. At the exact time the space became available to me, and work was ready to begin, our building manager left OSC. I was faced with potentially tackling the cleaning and moving equipment and tables by myself...Jason was instrumental in my success in getting the rooms ready. Of the many things that Jason helped with, the largest task was moving 2 4 ft x 10 ft optical tables and a table top enclosure from one lab room to another. In order to do this we needed to use an optical table moving device that neither of us had used before. Jason and I worked together to figure out the device, use it properly and move the two tables. With the absence of a building manager, I would not have been able to accomplish my tasks without Jason’s assistance. The work took longer than I expected, but Jason was there and willing to help until we finished everything. I appreciate his willingness to step in and help out with a department that was not one he was required to do work for.
SPOT Award
Nominated by John Koshel; the November SPOT award was presented to Hillary Mathis, lab manager for instructional laboratories of the college. Hillary received a certificate and $50.
SPOT Award Nomination
Excerpt from John's Nomination:
Hillary took on the challenge of getting the additional rooms/labs in the Teaching Labs hallway, which became available with the move of research labs to GCRB. She moved out unwanted furniture, moved optical tables, used power tools to break down some previous lab structures, got the floors refurbished, found new furniture via surplus, and the list goes on! She did such with minimal assistance from others due to wanting to get it done so senior design has more space, so the fabrication course could move now, and OpSci is without a building manager. She has also been handling the mural project for the Teaching Lab hallway. She took on this initiative to beautify and add more optics to the hallway walls.
Employee of the Year
All staff that have been previously recognized through a SPOT or Peer-to-Peer award are eligible for Staff Employee of the Year and Honorable Mention. To determine the awards, the committee has the difficult job of evaluating the content of all nominations, factoring in the number of Peer-to-Peer and SPOT awards received throughout the year, as well as the impact of the employees' daily performance.
Employee of the Year 2024
The Employee of the Year for 2024 award went to Nathan Martinez, administrative associate for the college. Nathan was also the recipient of the 2nd Quarter Peer-to-Peer award. Tom Koch, dean of the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, presented Nathan with a beautiful glass award during the Staff Appreciation and Holiday Luncheon. He also received $1,000 for his commitment and dedication to the Wyant College of Optical Sciences.
Congratulations from all of us, Nathan!
Honorable Mention
Additionally, at the Staff Appreciation and Holiday Luncheon, the Employee of the Year 2024 Honorable Mention was presented to Ian Arnold, research engineer in the Precision Instrumentation Group, by Tom Koch. Ian had previously been the recipient of the August 2024 SPOT Award, and received a glass award as well as $500.
A very big thanks and congratulations to all of the 2024 Staff Recognition winners for their commitment to ensuring that the Wyant College of Optical Sciences remains at the forefront of optics education. We look forward to highlighting and recognizing 2025's incredible Wyant College of Optical Sciences staff.
For more information on the program, see the official Staff Recognition Program on our Staff page, under the Human Resources section.