Superlative Staff: 2022 Year-End Celebration

On December 8th outside of the Meinel building, the final staff recognition awards were presented after a fantastic meal during the Wyant College Staff Recognition and Holiday Luncheon. Awards presented included the 4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer, two SPOT awards in November, and the Honorable Mention and Employee of the Year.

4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer

Nominated by multiple coworkers; Jini Kandyil, Anna Marie Garcia, Ruth Corocoran, and Victoria Bautista; the 4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer award was presented to Cindy Robertson, Distance Learning Program Coordinator for the College. Cindy received a plaque and $250, issued through payroll. 

4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer Nominations

Excerpt from Jini's Nomination:

Cindy is one of the hardest working individuals we have in our College...As her co-worker, I know I can rely on her, and I also know she serves as an inspiration to other staff. Even in the face of tremendous adversity, she shows up to work and puts in 200% of herself into her responsibilities. She is an asset to the College and to Academic Programs.

Excerpt from Victoria's Nomination:

Cindy is always willing to work with you. I appreciate her honesty and positive work ethic...She always makes sure all is running correctly to record classes and colloquiums.

Excerpt from Ruth's Nomination:

Cindy is solely responsible for recording all OSC Distance Learning classes every day, which she does with minimal help...The amount of time and effort that is required to monitor and run our Distance Program is monumental and Cindy has mastered the process.

Excerpt from Anna Marie's Nomination:

Cindy is always willing to assist with any issues we may have. I enjoy coordinating the needs of our Colloquium speakers with her. I admire her professionalism when interacting with the Colloquium speakers to ensure their equipment is functional for their presentations.

November SPOT Awards

SPOT Nomination for Cindy Robertson

Cindy Robertson was nominated by Professor Brian Anderson for the month of November. He spoke highly of her, saying:

For well over a decade, Cindy has worked tirelessly for the benefit of Optical Sciences, helping faculty, staff, and students achieve their goals and meet their needs...Her dedication and top-notch performance are well known throughout the college, and although she has not been recognized with a performance award since 2020, she has performed at this impressive level since that award was given, and moreover since long before she was a staff member of Optical Sciences and ran our distance learning program when we were still recording in Harvill. At that time, she recorded two of my own classes over there, and based on my personal interactions with her at that time, I was among the handful of professors who urged her to apply for the Distance Learning Coordinator position in Optical Sciences. While this nomination technically covers a short period of time, Cindy’s contributions are worthy of recognition every month, and every award period. If there was an award for outstanding employee of the last two decades, I believe Cindy would be one of the strongest contenders college-wide for the award.

SPOT Nomination for Amber R. Soergel

Amber Soergel was nominated by John Koshel for the month of November. John said of Amber:

Amber works all the time to create a family community within the undergraduate student program in Optical Sciences - she goes the extra mile to help the undergraduates feel at home, answer their questions, and assist them on their journey to success in our program...As an example, she has invited the foreign undergraduates to her house for Thanksgiving. She is hosting five of them for dinner so that they got to experience American Thanksgiving, get to relax with their friends while making new friends, and get to talk optics, careers, and so forth. This is just one example of how Amber goes the extra mile to create the community that we so desire in Optical Sciences. In fact, on an ad hoc basis I hear from the undergraduates (in these exact words),"We [undergraduates] love Amber."

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 2022

The Employee of the Year for 2022 award went to Cindy Robertson, Distance Learning Program Coordinator for the college. Cindy was also the recipient of the 4th Quarter Peer-to-Peer award and November SPOT Award. Tom Koch, the dean for the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, presented Cindy with a beautiful glass award during the Staff Appreciation and Holiday Luncheon. She also received $1,000 for her commitment and dedication to the Wyant College of Optical Sciences.

Congratulations from all of us, Cindy! 

Honorable Mention

Additionally, at the Staff Appreciation and Holiday Luncheon, the Employee of the Year 2022 Honorable Mention was presented to Cyndy Barcelo by Tom Koch. Cyndy had previously been the recipient of the 3rd Quarter Peer-to-Peer award, and received a glass award as well as $500.

A very big thanks and congratulations to all of the 2022 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 2023's incredible Wyant College staff.

For more information on the program, see the official Staff Recognition Program on our Staff page, under the Human Resources section.