This week’s ‘Thumbs Up’ recipients

Megan Hershey

All of us at Purdue Musical Organizations knew implementing a new ticketing system for our fall events wouldn’t come without some hiccups, but Megan (Hall of Music) and the Hall of Music box office staff were so helpful during our first event this past Friday. We learned what worked, what didn’t and what to change for next time, thanks in no small part to their assistance. — Christopher Wolford (Purdue Musical Organizations)

Carrie Brunke and Evan Hawkins

I am extremely grateful to Carrie and Evan (both Administrative Operations — Purdue University in Indianapolis) for working with me to resolve a space issue a student group was facing. Resolving this issue will allow students to maximize their engagement and enhance their Boilermaker experience. Thank you for working through the many complexities and for centering students in our work! — Scotty Secrist (Student and Community Engagement)

Trevor Miller

Trevor (Operations and Maintenance) is the Zone 4 indoor air quality technician and usually the first on the scene whenever there is a leak or repair needed. Trevor does good work, goes above and beyond, keeps the Facilities office updated, and follows up with the customer to ensure satisfaction. A small example is a recent leak above a ceiling in Rawls Hall. Trevor got the water shut off and the repair completed. When he replaced the stained ceiling tile, the new tile was just slightly different from the original, so Trevor swapped out a less obvious tile in a back corner and then used the matching tile to complete the repair. It added a bit of work and time for him but made all the difference to the office occupant. Little considerations like that do make all the difference. Thank you. — Michael Humphrey (Mitch Daniels School of Business)

Brad Neff and Doug Roth

A big thank-you to Brad and Doug (both Operations and Maintenance) for fixing the third-floor roof leak in Lilly Hall. This was a long-standing problem in the building, and Brad and Doug went way above and beyond to get this resolved. All the extra time and effort are greatly appreciated! — Will Werline (Agronomy)

John Petrarca

It is human nature to highlight concerns and issues, but it isn’t uncommon for John (Purdue Global), adjunct faculty member for the health care administration program, to receive messages of appreciation from his students. Just recently, a new student in the graduate health care administration program sent one such message: “I would just like to personally thank you for the impact you have had on me during this first term. When I first started, I was so nervous, and I doubted myself a bit. But once I attended my first seminar, my worries went away. You have been an excellent educator, and I appreciate your knowledge, understanding and humor! You have also been a great resource and one that I will utilize in the future.” Thank you, John, and all the faculty, for your endless work in helping students achieve their educational and professional goals. — Nancy Szwydek (Purdue Global — Health Sciences)

Mike Harrington, Ted Fondak and Josh Anderson

Mike, Ted and Josh (all Purdue IT) have been amazing with their support in getting my computer working properly. They respond quickly when an issue arises, and I’m so thankful for their availability of being on-site. They take my concerns seriously and respond to my many questions with patience and grace. — Lavonna Kuhn (College of Education)

Hospitality and Tourism Management Food Service team

Big thumbs-up to Bruce Goad, Caitlin Sullivan, chefs Dawn Sieber and Ryan Tate, and the whole HTM Food Service team for their hard work and ingenuity regarding the picnic basket lunch for our retreat. The amount of prep and planning for this innovative way to get us out chatting on campus was inspiring. Thank you for all the hard work you do! — Amber Morrow (Hospitality and Tourism Management)

Justin Bryant and Dio Chavez

For the start of the fall semester our Agriculture IT team members Justin and Dio (both Purdue IT) took the time to visit each undergraduate studio for a brief 15-minute session to introduce themselves, share their office location, and provide a quick overview of the tech support and resources available to our landscape architecture students. Their approachable and informative presentations helped build stronger awareness of available tech support and ensured students were set up for success from the start. Many thanks to Justin and Dio for their proactive engagement and dedication! — Kristina Cooley (Horticulture and Landscape Architecture)

Justin Bryant

I’d like to give a big thank-you to Justin (Purdue IT) for his outstanding support and collaboration. Justin worked closely with me to create undergraduate and landscape architecture faculty LISTSERVs to improve communication efficiency across the department. He thoroughly reviewed every LA student account and coordinated with the business office to identify students with outstanding print balances that needed to be resolved before the semester began. Thanks to his diligence and initiative, I was able to send proactive notifications to students before they arrived on campus, ensuring they were informed and prepared to make payments without delay. His efforts directly contributed to a smoother start to the semester and exemplify the commitment to a great place to work. — Kristina Cooley (Horticulture and Landscape Architecture)

Jonathan Duncan, Jeremy Hopper and Nathan Jekal

Thank you all for the quick professional response to Owen student laundry. Two eight-foot lights had fallen in the student laundry at Owen Hall. Project team members Jonathan, Jeremy and Nathan (all Operations and Maintenance) quickly responded and resolved this safety issue for us. They all are great examples of teamwork! — Dave Burford (Operations and Maintenance)

Rendi Tharp

A huge shoutout to Rendi (College of Engineering) for teaching a Qualtrics 101 for dummies during our professional development minute in our most recent Campus Support Staff Advisory Committee meeting. I learned enough to be dangerous. Thank you, Rendi! — Terri Griffin (Operations and Maintenance)

Riley Madden, Brian Jowers, Steve Musick, Grant Richards and Marc Caffee

I would like to thank Riley and Brian (both Nuclear Engineering) in the reactor, Steve and Grant (both Engineering Technology) in the Smart Learning Factory, and Marc (Physics and Astronomy) in the PRIME Lab for taking time out of their busy schedules to speak with our leadership team last week. Their expertise guided our visits to each facility and provided valuable insight into how information technology support intersects in unique ways across the research enterprise. — Joshua Harley (Purdue IT)

Lori Crossler

We would like to recognize Lori (Finance) for her incredible support over the past several weeks. With a teammate on leave and the onboarding of a new manager, Lori has stepped up in a big way to handle a much larger volume of our business office requests. While she has always played a key role in our work, during this time she has been our go-to for everything business office related. She never hesitated to take on new tasks, even if it meant finding out how something was done or who could help. Lori’s willingness to jump in, her positive attitude and her dedication to keeping things moving smoothly have made a huge difference for our team. We are so grateful for all she’s done during this busy time! — Teaching and Learning Technologies