This week’s ‘Thumbs Up’ recipients

Nolan Klutzke

Nolan (Purdue IT) was quick to assist and spent 30 minutes on the phone with me while resolving an issue with my computer. He was kind and personable, and if I find myself stuck with a computer issue again, I hope it’s Nolan on the other end of the line. — Steven Yeagley (Dean of Students)

Building Services

Lambert Fieldhouse has had significant classroom construction this summer, and construction is messy and dirty. I want to give a huge thumbs-up to Building Services staff members for their hard work getting things shiny and clean before students returned! — Christy Daugherty (Health and Kinesiology)

Jason Garvey and Talay Herman

Big thanks to lead instructional designer Jason (Purdue Online), and videographer Talay (Innovative Learning) for their exceptional course development support for AGR 290 (Introduction to AgLeadPro)! Jason and Talay provided terrific guidance, instructional design, technical support, video recording and editing from initial brainstorming through delivery, and they were a true pleasure to work with. We are excited to launch this new leadership and professional development program in the College of Agriculture and want to say thanks to Jason and Talay for all they did to make AGR 290 a reality! — Christine Wilson (Academic Programs) and Jay Akridge (Agricultural Economics)

Alli Loy, Becky Engwall and Brittany Ledman

A heartfelt thank you to Alli, Becky and Brittany (all Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars) for their incredible work in coordinating this year’s Graduate Gold Rush event. Their tireless dedication and countless hours of planning resulted in an outstanding and impactful experience for hundreds of incoming graduate students. The programming was not only well-executed but also meaningful, welcoming and a true reflection of their commitment to graduate student success. — Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars

Work Request Center staff

Thank you, Lisa Snider, Kevin Guiney, Terri Griffin, Kathy Bryant and Joe Morgan (all Operations and Maintenance) for your dedication and expertise in helping create a smooth and welcoming experience for students moving into the residence halls. Thank you for the many extra hours you’ve invested and for being such an integral part of our success. Your hard work does not go unnoticed, and we deeply appreciate everything you do. — Caleb Koontz (Operations and Maintenance)

Steve Clingenpeel

Steve (Operations and Maintenance) has been putting in a ton of effort to get our refrigeration units up and running, and he’s working even harder to keep them that way. Thank you, Steve! We really appreciate all the hard work you do for us. — Eric Coates (Hillenbrand Dining)

College of Engineering Boiler Gold Rush Welcome Events Organizing Team.

A huge thanks to Meghan Beals, Tyson McFall-Wankat, Caryn Morgan and Stephen Stewart (all College of Engineering) for their tremendous efforts in planning, organizing and hosting the College of Engineering Boiler Gold Rush college welcomes in both Indianapolis and West Lafayette. This team coordinated with dozens of College of Engineering programs, schools and outside vendors to welcome thousands of students over two days, and the success and smooth operation are a testament to their efforts. Thank you all and all who participated! — Nate Engelberth (College of Engineering)

Stacy Bogan

Stacy (Political Science) consistently goes above and beyond to support students and fellow graduate coordinators. Her dedication to growth and collaboration makes her an exceptional campus partner. Thank you, Stacy, for all that you do! — Carly Brown (Registrar)

Cara Cray

Cara (Mitch Daniels School of Business) executed an amazing student welcome event Aug. 22 that was original and so welcoming. She spent months planning so our incoming first-year students had a welcome event that gave them the opportunity them to interact with each other by major and also take part in something they will remember for the rest of their lives. They were part of a LEGO display of the new building designed by Tyler Clites. For two hours, the Daniels School took over the ballroom, and that space hummed with energy as students connected with staff and each other. The first-year students were truly welcomed and teamed together in exceptional ways. It was amazing and a testament to Cara’s creativity, vision and planning. She had a transformational impact on these students. — Cara Putman (Daniels School of Business)

Chris Teague

A big thank-you to Chris (Purdue IT), faculty fellow for McCutcheon Hall and director of communications infrastructure, for his help in making the faculty fellow movie night happen last Sunday! Without Chris’ help and quick thinking, our event couldn’t have happened. His troubleshooting and assistance helped move us past roadblocks and deliver a great evening to our students. All those smiles on all those faces are because of you, Chris! — Kristofer Yambao (Resident Activities)

Yujian (Ivy) Wang

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Ivy (Undergraduate Admissions) for all of her support with my students. Her willingness to help students has been invaluable. — Maria McKenna (College of Science)

Kim Vi

Purdue Polytechnic Institute Welcome Week at the West Lafayette location was a huge success due to the coordination of Kim (Polytechnic Institute). She had student ambassadors, faculty and staff coming together to make the first week of the semester brighter for all PPI students. — T.R. Oneal (Polytechnic Institute)

Purdue Polytechnic Institute’s Marketing and Communications team

Another version of “I’m A Techie” shirts are on campus. Each year the Purdue Polytechnic Marketing and Communications team creates a unique design for all PPI students. These shirts are distributed during Purdue Polytechnic Welcome Week at both the Indianapolis and West Lafayette locations. Thanks to Heather Boswell, Payton Drake, Miah Moore, John O’Malley, Nick Pompella and Zach Rodimel. — T.R. Oneal (Polytechnic Institute)

Ted Fondak

I’m absolutely blown away by Ted’s (Purdue IT) support in my first few days at Purdue. Ted has helped me with a number of different inquiries and problems so quickly and with such kindness. I’ve joked that he must be a chatbot because he is so on top of everything. He takes my questions and confusions seriously and goes above and beyond to support my understanding and offer solutions. I can’t say enough about how grateful I am to Ted for his partnership and for making me feel so welcome here. — Sarah Larison (College of Education)

Bret Marsh

Dr. Marsh (College of Veterinary Medicine) has put tremendous effort into getting to know all of the veterinary students on a personal level and always has encouraging things to say to brighten peoples’ days. — Joseph Lafiosca (Animal Science Farm)

Nate Engelberth, Stephen Stewart and Caryn Morgan

Thank you to Nate, Stephen and Caryn (all College of Engineering) for all your help this summer and last week on making the Engineering Boiler Gold Rush Welcomes a successful event! Your efforts, especially physical efforts, are very much appreciated! Whether it was help with lifting heavy objects, ordering supplies or brainstorming solutions, I couldn’t have done this without you. Go team! — Tyson McFall-Wankat (College of Engineering)

Those who helped plan Indianapolis Boiler Gold Rush welcome event

A big thank-you to Virginia Johnson (Boiler Gold Rush), Nichole Turner (College of Science), Stew Bauserman (Daniels School of Business), Dustin Harrison (Honors College), and Lacretia Githiri and John Madrigal (both Polytechnic Institute) for all your hard work in making the Indianapolis BGR welcome event a success! Planning big events exclusively through virtual meetings can be tricky, but it was a pleasure to work with all of you. The students had a blast dancing, visiting, crafting and eating popsicles. Cheers to another school year and Boiler Up! — Tyson McFall-Wankat (College of Engineering)

Brittany Ledman and Becky Engwall

A heartfelt thank-you to Brittany and Becky (both Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars) for their incredible hard work and support during Graduate Gold Rush. Their reliability, positivity and teamwork were invaluable in helping me coordinate an event that welcomed hundreds of new graduate students. I couldn’t have done it without them. Thank you both for being such amazing individuals and for being the world’s best teammates! — Alli Loy (Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars)

Winifred Parker Building Services staff

I wanted to take a moment to personally thank the Winifred Parker and Honors College Building Services staff members for the excellent work done during move-in the past few weeks! Your dedication, attention to detail and professionalism truly made a difference and did not go unnoticed. Their efforts have contributed greatly to our success, and I genuinely appreciate the time and care they put into the students getting moved in. Thank you again for going above and beyond; it’s a pleasure working with a group as committed and capable as they are. — Shellie Lawson (Residential Housing Operations)

Angela Canarecci

Thank you, Angela (Benefits), for always taking the time to answer questions and for being so thoughtful! — Katie May (Public Health)

Lesa Beals

Thank you, Lesa (Registrar), for always solving problems — even the silly ones! I really appreciate all your help! — Katie May (Public Health)

Shauna Stapleton

Thank you, Shauna (Public Health), for all that you do for the students, faculty and staff in the Department of Public Health! You did an amazing job with the hooding ceremony, orientation, welcome back event and ice cream social! Thank you for always building community and offering us all support. — Katie May (Public Health)