Superlative Staff: July & August SPOT Awards, 1st - 3rd Quarter Peer-to-Peer Awards
Congratulations to the Wyant College of Optical Science's latest Staff Recognition Award winners! Amber R. Soergel was nominated for the July 2024 SPOT Award by John Koshel. Ian Arnold was nominated for the August 2024 SPOT Award by Brandon Chalifoux. The Quarter Peer-to-Peer Awards were as follows: 1st Quarter, Amee Hennig, nominated by Gretchen Wirges; 2nd Quarter, Nathan Martinez, nominated by Amee Hennig; and 3rd Quarter, David Munoz, nominated by Greg Smith.
John Koshel's nomination earned Amber R. Soergel, undergraduate academic advisor, the July 2024 SPOT award. Amber received $50 along with her certificate. John writes about Amber:
Central advising at the UA, under the direction of Sharon Aiken-Wisniewski, ran the NACADA Survey on advising by contacting the undergraduate student body. Amber's results were stellar. In fact, it was explicitly noted to me and Amber that 'One student wrote, “I wish more programs had advisors like Amber Soergel.” Another student shared, “I appreciate everything that Amber does. I would not be where I am in pursuing my Optical Engineering degree without her guidance.” Since Sharon arrived on campus, she has found Amber to be a student-centered advisor, which clearly emerges in these comments.' She was one of only a few advisers across campus who was positively noted in the survey, and it was not once, but twice. I can say with ease that Amber has been integral to the growth of the undergraduate program for this upcoming year. For the new or recruited student, yes, the student-made video helped open the door, but Amber blew the door wide open. She developed individualized tours for interested students visiting the College...I cannot say enough about how much she means to the success of the undergrad optics program. Amber goes beyond the call to assist our current students and to recruit new students into the BS Optical Sciences and Engineering Program....
Brandon Chalifoux's nomination earned Ian Arnold, research engineer, the August 2024 SPOT award. Ian received $50 along with his certificate. Brandon writes about Ian:
Ian is consistently helpful to everybody around him. I have noted that more and more, people inside and outside our group approach him to ask for his input and help, on things like equipment hookup to proper laser operation, proper cleaning, machining, etc. He's a jack of all trades, and people have come to greatly respect his input. This has become especially apparent with the move to GCRB. Ian frequently teaches students how to use equipment safely and effectively, run experiments effectively, and many other day-to-day tasks...Ian has been instrumental in initiating, planning, and making continual improvements to our lab operations to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the students...Ian exhibits a rare mix of attributes that is extremely valuable to an academic lab environment. The value he provides to the college extends well beyond our group. He is rightfully well respected by the community, and I think a Spot award would help recognize that respect.
Amee Hennig, media content manager, was nominated for the 1st Quarter Peer-to-Peer award by Gretchen Wirges. She received a certificate recognizing her award, and will receive a check for $250 via payroll.
Gretchen wrote in her nomination about Amee:
Amee has been such an amazing ambassador to the Wyant College of Optical Sciences! I started at the end of November and Amee went out of her way to welcome me and help me to feel included in the team. I asked her to post a video I made to our YouTube channel. Not only did she do this, but told me about having access to Adobe Creative Cloud AND all of the courses that are available to take to learn more about using the tools. She even offered to take the courses with me. She also introduced me to box.arizona.edu as a collaboration tool. What I learned from her in just a few interactions has made my job infinitely more efficient. AND she did it all with great kindness.
Nathan Martinez, administrative associate, was nominated for the 2nd Quarter Peer-to-Peer award by Amee Hennig. He received a certificate recognizing his award, and will receive a check for $250 via payroll.
Amee wrote in her nomination about Nathan:
Nathan is always a pleasure to work with. He has a great attitude about a full plate of duties and handles it with grace and enthusiasm. He and Julissa have worked tirelessly to improve the process of the Colloquium and have totally turned around a disjointed and difficult process that made it challenging to advertise upcoming colloquium into a smoothly run process that allows us to obtain information quickly and fully. This often means he often needs to follow up multiple times with speakers to ensure that they've sent in all of their information, and in the process he is professional and polite. Nathan has also learned to use Adobe Express and is able to create advertisement flyers for both the colloquium and the special seminar speakers. This was a huge help and has made it so much easier to advertise speakers and draw a good crowd for each talk. On top of it all, Nathan makes time to review every Watts Up newsletter ahead of time to check for typos and make suggestions on how wording could be improved for readability. I love working with him and it's been so great having his feedback throughout this process to make our colloquium better.
David Munoz, research technician III, was nominated for the 3rd Quarter Peer-to-Peer award by Greg Smith. He received a certificate recognizing his award, and will receive a check for $250 via payroll.
Greg wrote in his nomination about David:
David deserves recognition for exemplary initiative and collaboration in daily activities with the optics shop. He is meticulous, consistently produces high quality work, and goes the extra mile to make the team successful. One example is the help he provides with mirror surface measurements...David's many self-started tasks improve team efficiency and accuracy. Beyond initiative, David brings exceptional observation, organization and precision to the team. Whether it is assembling delicate parts in a cleanroom, or performing other shop activities, David's attention to detail prevent many potential issues...Having worked in the team for only 1.5 years, David is already an exemplary contributor, and deserves to be recognized for his efforts.
A very big congratulations from all of us at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences!
If you would like to nominate someone, please see the official Staff Recognition Program page on the OSC website, which includes an easy-to-use online nomination form.