2020 ICYC Recipients

 Neal Culbreth, Student Financial Services

Neal has prompt response times and is very organized. His emails are efficient and he is very attentive. He has a great willingness to help.

Wesley Babcock, IT

Wesley arranged a prompt during the transition to Windows 10 which involved multiple computers and hard drives. Thank you for your helpfulness.

Matt Davidson, IT

Matt executed a prompt during the transition to Windows 10 which involved multiple computers and hard drives. Thank you for your helpfulness.

Weston Rogers, IT

Weston took care of the Windows 10 conversion on my laptop. He was very considerate and helpful in getting me up and running again. I'm very appreciative of the quality of service the IT reps provided in helping me move to Windows 10 on all my VSU computers.

Jenna Schott, IT

Jenna and Matt took care of replacing my old desktop with a new Windows 10 machine and making sure I had everything I needed in order to get back to work as quickly as possible. I'm very appreciative of the quality of service these IT reps provided in helping me move to Windows 10 on all my VSU computers.

Matt Davidson, IT

Jenna and Matt took care of replacing my old desktop with a new Windows 10 machine and making sure I had everything I needed in order to get back to work as quickly as possible. I'm very appreciative of the quality of service these IT reps provided in helping me move to Windows 10 on all my VSU computers. 

Terence Sullivan, Academic Support Center

We needed some students for a last-minute photo shoot of the VR Lab Classroom in Odum Library for a magazine article that had a hard deadline that day. It was after 4 pm when I contacted Terence to hopefully see if they still had some tutors or students in the Academic Support Center. A few minutes later a handful of students showed up and saved the day. We got some great photographs of VSU students in a regional magazine with a 500,000 circulation.

Dr. Natalie Kuhlmann, College of Education and Human Services

Dr. Natalie Kuhlmann is a shining star at Valdosta State University and in the College of Education and Human Services. She is able to take on complicated tasks. She is hard-working, smart, a great problem solver, kind, and humble. We are so lucky to have her at Valdosta State University!

Sonja Jenkins, Social Work Department

Ms. Jenkins is consistently there for the MSW students, the Graduate Assistants, and the Student Assistants. She knows how to get things done and always puts the interest of the students, the programs, and VSU first.  I really appreciate her.  

Michael Holt, New Media Center

Michael Holt gave outstanding help to students in my Senior Seminar on Ancient History when they went to the reference desk. He not only answered questions about finding information and locating materials but also helped students with some aspects of organizing and editing their papers.  I found this out from students who were talking among themselves in class one day about getting help at the reference desk. They were commenting on how extremely informative and interested he was with regard to their projects. 

Gary Thomas, Central Warehouse

Gary always has a smile and friendly disposition when he comes into the office. I know he is pulled in different directions as a worker in the warehouse, but no matter what he is asked to do he always arrives to complete the work order with a smile and a friendly hello. 

Alison Downey, eLearning

Alison quickly and efficiently helped me handle a problem with student enrollment when there was an error with a ticket submission. Her dedication to the student's needs and her calm head during a moment of frustration was both encouraging and admired. Thanks so much for your help, Alison! 

Patrick McElwain, Registrar

I just want to take the time to thank Patrick for all that he does for me and the campus. Although I've never met him, we've worked together for years and I just really appreciate the effort he puts into getting things processed quickly. He is dedicated to getting the job done and even extends himself after hours.  This semester alone he helped me to register and process more than 100 internships for LCOBA.  He is definitely a valuable asset to VSU and I could not get my work done as efficiently without him. I appreciate you, Patrick! 

Matt Davidson, IT

Matt replied to an urgent laptop service request and he made customer care a priority. He did a wonderful job by helping us out on expediting our work-order. Thank you so much for your support and dedication, Matt! 

Jenna Schott, IT

I was so scared about the death of Windows 7 and Jenna helped me through the entire thing. She went above and beyond to get adapters to make my old ergonomic tools to work on the new system. She checked on me when she was in the building. She was delightful, intelligent, capable, and a calming force when I really needed it. My mind is at ease just knowing she is in IT. 

Dr. Marc Pufong, Political Science

Dr. Pufong constantly encourages me and makes me want to continue my education. I truly believe he is an extreme asset to VSU and all his students. Being in college you have highs and lows so you have to have a strong support system. I hear all the time without any support some students will not continue college because you get discouraged. However, Dr. Pufong truly takes time to tell me I will make an impact. He makes me want to be a better student but going for middle grades education a better teacher as well. I am very glad that VSU has a professor like him. He truly is one of the most principle men I have ever met. 

Michelle Carter, Nursing

Michelle Carter, CONHS Clinical Coordinator, has made a seamless transition into the CONHS. Both students and faculty wonder how we survived without her. She is efficient, personal, and strives to do a professional job with both internal and external stakeholders. We are lucky to have her on board. 

Samantha Paul, Odum Library

Samantha Paul is the embedded librarian in two of my doctoral courses this semester. I have already contacted her several times with questions. Her responses are timely, and she goes the extra mile to provide "on target" information. As a distance learning student, I'm thankful for people like Samantha Paul who make learning easier and more accessible! 

Kristen Jowers, College of the Arts Advising Center

Ms. Jowers met with my daughter and me about registering for summer classes. During this time, my daughter opened up about having major anxiety attending college classes which has led to a drop in GPA. Ms. Jowers was so compassionate and respectful of my daughter's feelings. She made excellent suggestions for dealing with anxiety, directed us to more than one option for counseling and made suggestions for adding a minor to Gabrielle's degree that will help her in the future. My daughter stated that she has never had an advisor that explained things so well or took as much time to make sure she was confident in her next steps. As a parent, I was overjoyed to see someone that was compassionate and could see my child's potential despite some missteps. I am delighted that she will be my son's advisor as well. Ms. Jowers is excellent at her job and deserves recognition for going above and beyond for her students. 

Madeleine Hardage, LCOBA Technical Unit

Madeline does fantastic work keeping our computers up-to-date and helping us non-tech people. She worked long hours over the break to get our computers updated to the new windows and has since helped deal with the various glitches.  She always answers questions and finds solutions to a myriad of problems. Today I returned to find a new installation completed in my office that will allow me to work much more efficiently.  Thanks, Madeline. 

Jessica Lee, Library

I have been unable to connect to the library's website this semester. Ms. Lee worked with me by contacting the State's library consortia to help resolve the problem, which happened to be a niche issue involving IPs, URLs, and log-on accounts and ended up with the consortia changing the library search URL for the entire state to make sure this does not happen to anyone else. Luckily - I work in libraries and am proactive in contacting librarians for help, but there are most likely many people who were also affected by this problem but did not know or think to ask for help. Now, thanks to Ms. Lee's hard work and persistence in finding the root of the issue those people will be able to continue their research unhindered. 

Jennifer Griffin, Bursary

Jennifer shows dedication and perseverance. She is a true demonstration of caring about your job. 

Jeremy Hardin, New Media Center

I had no idea how to put together a PowerPoint presentation Fall semester. I have been out of school for 20 years. Jeremy always had time to help me- with a big smile on his face. He is a fantastic employee! 

James Jenkins, Custodial Services

These individuals led by Wesley gave amazing support by coming in unprompted to vacuum, wipe down our tables, and shampoo our carpet in the New Media Center. The day before January 7th we asked Wesley if we could have all of this done during the low peak volume. We were happy to have the building services team come in the next day for support. The place looks great. Thank you! 

Peter Holloway, Campus Services

These individuals led by Wesley gave amazing support by coming in unprompted to vacuum, wipe down our tables, and shampoo our carpet in the New Media Center. The day before January 7th we asked Wesley if we could have all of this done during the low peak volume. We were happy to have the building services team come in the next day for support. The place looks great. Thank you! 

Michael Williams, Campus Services

These individuals led by Wesley gave amazing support by coming in unprompted to vacuum, wipe down our tables, and shampoo our carpet in the New Media Center. The day before January 7th we asked Wesley if we could have all of this done during the low peak volume. We were happy to have the building services team come in the next day for support. The place looks great. Thank you! 

Wesley Brooklin, Campus Services

These individuals led by Wesley gave amazing support by coming in unprompted to vacuum, wipe down our tables, and shampoo our carpet in the New Media Center. The day before January 7th we asked Wesley if we could have all of this done during the low peak volume. We were happy to have the building services team come in the next day for support. The place looks great. Thank you!

Ryan Hogan, Admissions

We had an exceptional Open House once again!  Ryan and his staff should be commended for putting on such an outstanding day for our potential BLAZERS! This was a tremendous undertaking! Job well-done Admissions!

Student Health

Student Health came by the Counseling Center with cupcakes and candy wishing the Counselors and staff a wonderful School Counselor Appreciation week. We are thankful for the support and appreciation from a department we work so closely with to support our students on campus. Thank you for your kindness and gratitude.

Nicole Foster, Student Health

I was having difficulty working on a document that needed to be updated electronically. I called Nikki and she was willing to stop what she was doing at the time, come to the office and walk me through how to complete the document electronically. I was thankful for her time and patience with me to help complete the work that needed to be done. She is such a positive and helpful person.

Ryan Pearson, IT

Ryan has been the Project Leader on updates to the COEHS evaluation system in APEX since we began the project last spring. We gave him and Chase a lot of challenging feature requests at the onset of this project and they have worked hard to meet all of them. This system has been live for several months now, and there have been several times when the system doesn't quite work right and everyone here panics. Despite this sudden chaos at the start of each semester, he treks through the issues that come up and corrects them with patience and rapidity. Our candidates and supervisors are appreciative of the new system, think it is more user-friendly than the old system, and are excited about the expanded opportunities it will bring. We will definitely miss Ryan when he graduates.

Annjannette Atkins, Creative Services

Today Anjie helped me with login issues. She has always provided excellent customer service. She is prompt, patient and understanding. She has even sent screenshots to help me with step-by-step instructions. Thank you.

Bailey Raffield, IT

I just wanted to highlight that Bailey was super helpful to me this morning with an issue regarding a student who wanted to update her admission to the Summer so that she could take courses. He’s a keeper!

Suzanne Ewing, Continuing Education

Suzanne Ewing and Susan Bailey were very helpful to me when I was trying to determine if my mom would be able to do any of the Living in Retirement classes. They were extremely informative and didn't mind answering any questions I had. They told me that my mom could come to try the classes she was interested in before signing up for a membership. I appreciate the help so much. I should have encouraged my mom to check out the offerings 4 years ago. Excellent program!

Susan Bailey, Continuing Education

Susan Bailey and Suzanne Ewing were very helpful to me when I was trying to determine if my mom would be able to do any of the Living in Retirement classes. They were extremely informative and didn't mind answering any questions I had. They told me that my mom could come to try the classes she was interested in before signing up for a membership. I appreciate the help so much. I should have encouraged my mom to check out the offerings 4 years ago. Excellent program!

Dylan Ellzey, Institutional Research

Dylan has worked with Barrie Fitzgerald in creating a more intuitive, effective, and efficient method for us to measure the impact of the Supplemental Instruction program on students' achievement and persistence. When paper-based, this process could take up to two months to complete one course. Once the electronic option was available, this process could take up to a week but would not account for nuances such as grade changes and the like. With the new system correlation of the data and corrective measures are put in place. We are ever grateful for their services and the anticipatory manner in which the system was created. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Barrie Fitzgerald, Institutional Research

Barrie Fitzgerald has worked to create a more intuitive, effective, and efficient method for us to measure the impact of the Supplemental Instruction program on students' achievement and persistence. When paper-based, this process could take up to two months to complete one course. Once the electronic option was available, this process could take up to a week but would not account for nuances such as grade changes and the like. With the new system correlation of the data and corrective measures are put in place. We are ever grateful for his services and the anticipatory manner in which the system was created.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Clinton Cauley, IT

Clint is so willing to help anytime that the Bursary reaches out for assistance. From the most common request to the most difficult request and he will stay on top of the request until it has been resolved. Thank you for all that you do for our area!

Sydney Land, Event Services

I reserved the Rose Room for an Advising Retreat and with no fault to the Event Services staff only my own, tables were not available for setup in that particular room. Sydney, Amanda, and the assistants at the front desk were able to provide immediate attention to getting me another location with the number of tables and chairs I needed in order for the retreat to be a success. Thank you so much for literally helping me in the last hour. You all are amazing!

Amanda Hoch, Event Services

I reserved the Rose Room for an Advising Retreat and with no fault to the Event Services staff only my own, tables were not available for setup in that particular room. Sydney, Amanda, and the assistants at the front desk were able to provide immediate attention to getting me another location with the number of tables and chairs I needed in order for the retreat to be a success. Thank you so much for literally helping me in the last hour. You all are amazing!

Trent Talton, IT

Trent Talton performed exceptional service to fix a technical issue we were having with the projector at our very first meeting. He saved the day and everyone at the meeting was very grateful, we would like to formally thank this employee for his exceptional service.

Laura Carter, Nursing

Ms. Carter spent a considerable amount of time this month to locate over 150 documents that were needed for a large institutional accreditation report. I appreciate her time to identify, retrieve, scan, and send these very quickly.

Renee Whitmer, College of Education and Human Services

Ms. Whitmer spent a considerable amount of time this month to locate over 200 documents that were needed for a large institutional accreditation report. I appreciate her time to identify, retrieve, scan, and send these very quickly.

Dr. Jonghoon Kang, Biology

I came to know of Dr. Kang when he came up to me and gave interest in the calculus homework I was doing. Without knowing who I was, Dr. Kang told me I could go to him if I ever needed help in the subject. Because of this interaction, I chose to take two classes with him. In these classes, he made learning the material a joyful experience. He did a good job of making sure all the students did well in the class. He also invited his classes to do research with him. His focus was on providing opportunities so that the students could further their knowledge of the material learned in class. In my case, he urged me to do research, and as a result, I believe my application for graduate programs is stronger because of him. A specific time could not be given as to when these events occurred because Dr. Kang does these activities all the time. I have seen it with myself and with countless other students. His compassion for helping others is why he deserves recognition.

Terence Sullivan, Academic Support Center

Dr. Sullivan was a critical member of the search committee for the AD position at Campus Recreation. In this role, he did an amazing job of helping with this search.  It is important to note this search was longer than expected due to some changes that happened. Dr. Sullivan went above and beyond the normal duties expected of a member of a search committee.

Dr. Lauren Holzberg, Dept of Kinesiology & Physical Education

Dr. Holzberg was a critical member of the search committee for the AD position at Campus Recreation. She did an amazing job even though this search faced some unique challenges and was longer than anticipated.

Brian Williams, School of Health Sciences

Brian Williams was a critical member of the search committee for the AD position at Campus Recreation. Brian worked very hard on this and did an amazing job. The search when longer than expected and had some unforeseen challenges. Thank you, Brian.

Dr. Mark Kasper, School of Health Sciences

The search for the AD position at Campus Recreation was longer than expected and had some challenges. Dr. Kasper not only was on the search committee, but he was the chair. He worked long hours and worked through a number of unseen challenges. Dr. Kasper not only made sure things went smoothly but kept the team on a fast track and motivated in-spite of setbacks. Thank you, Dr. Kasper.

Jeff Grant, Creative Services

I submitted a print order for a postcard our team needed to be printed for an upcoming national conference. There were some issues with the graphics, but Mr. Jeff was quick to assist me via phone and walked me through the steps needed and the postcards turned out beautifully! Thanks, Mr. Jeff and our print team!

Shannon Zapf, One Card Services

Shannon came to campus to make me a new One Card after mine was past repair and was not working, meaning I had no access to my office. Shannon, thank you!

Marsha Dukes, eLearning

Ms. Dukes and the Center for eLearning have been instrumental in providing GAP services for the university and each responding department. We are so grateful for her intentional services and insight on solving unpredictable problems. Her contributions ensure that we can continue to offer quality service to our students.

Jordan Shell, IT

It always makes me happy to see Jordan consistently being helpful and kind to all our patrons. His customer service skills are excellent. Thank you, Jordan for your hard work!

Jimmy Dao, IT

I want to give kudos to Jimmy. As the past few days has been very busy with faculty and staff transitioning to online classes, Jimmy has been very helpful and kind. He helped faculty and staff in the most professional way possible. Jimmy is a good asset to TRU desk. Keep up the good work!

Glenn Blount, Physical Plant- Maintenance

Glenn Blount really came through for us. Glenn went above and beyond to ensure a project requested by several departments in Ashley Hall was a success. We are very grateful to Glenn for his innovative idea on how to make the project work and doing the installation. He was also in communication with IT to coordinate the installation of the equipment. We are very thankful to Glenn for his hard work and commitment to excellence.

Adrian Taylor, IT

Adrian Taylor really came through for us. He went above and beyond to ensure a project requested by several departments in Ashley Hall was a success. He sent the needed equipment and coordinated with the plant electrician for the installation. We are very grateful for Adrian's help and consideration.

Wade Bugby, IT

I incurred several speed bumps setting up remote access and Wade came to my rescue. He was quite informative as we worked through the issues. It took quite a bit of time over a 2-day period but it all finally came together.  I appreciate his patience and encouraging words along the way.

Dr. Heather Kelley, Psychology

Dr. Kelley took personal time on the weekend to come to campus to assist her student assistant and Graduate Assistant workers impacted by the COVID-19 situation to pack and move out of their dorms and campus offices. She is a thoughtful and passionate advocate for her colleagues, staff, and students.

Dennis Conway, Mass Media

Dennis Conway, a professor of mass media and the chairman of my thesis committee, has gone above and beyond the requirements of his position several times. He has helped to edit my thesis in face to face sessions wherein we've gone page by page. His care for students is exemplary, and his work ethic serves as a shining example of what it means to be a member of Valdosta State's incredible faculty.

Travis Nolley, IT

Travis worked so quickly to create teams for my office on Microsoft Teams while we were all trying to make the transition to working remotely. I am sure that IT was just as, if not busier than we were, but Travis made sure to create all of the teams I asked for and add students to each of those teams. Because of this commitment to customer service, we are now better prepared to serve our students through the coming weeks.

Aimee Nicolosi, University Advancement

Aimee worked so quickly to help me get time-sensitive checks cut from the Foundation. Due to her dedication to customer service, students were able to complete their trip to a conference in Atlanta that provided them with a multitude of opportunities and ideas. Thank you, Aimee, for being so awesome!

Kalina Winska, Art and Design

Kalina offered to help tutor faculty on how to teach online by adding faculty as co-instructors in her online class. Additionally, Kalina provided copies of teaching resources, which can be adapted and used in other online classes. Bravo!

Evelyn Davis-Walker, Art and Design

As faculty were working to determine the most effective way that they might transition from face-to-face to online learning, Evelyn hosted two different demonstrations for faculty as to how they might use the Kultura platform to communicate to students. Rather than expecting thanks for her service, she actually thanked the participants of these useful presentations for their time and attention. For this reason, I am turning to this platform in order to show her how appreciative the participants were for her thoughtfulness as well as her expertise!

Douglas Carlson, Archives

I requested a copy of an obit and misread that the reference I cited was for a different person. Instead of just saying "No, sorry we don't have it" he actually went the extra mile to find the referenced article and found an obit for this person's brother, which was very helpful! Thank you for providing this service and your wonderful staff!

Carl Brown, IT

Carl went out of his way to move, set-up, and troubleshoot three offices full of computer equipment, printers, phones, and way too many cables! Carl helped the move go smoothly and as stress-free as possible. Thank you, Carl.

Dr. Bruce Mackh, Department of Art & Design

With the coming of the coronavirus, VSU has been working hard to help faculty become more adept at teaching online via BlazeVIEW should a closing become necessary. Bruce Mackh has been using his knowledge and experience to help all the faculty within the College of the Arts with the particular transition of converting studio-based courses into effective online experiences. He has prepared many, many documents, fielded phone calls, and even run help-sessions on BlazeVIEW. Please extend him my extra-special thanks for so generously sharing his expertise with so many of us during this challenging time!

Carl Brown, IT

The Mathematics department got a new Xerox machine. Carl went above and beyond, making sure that all of the needed features were restored and accessible, in a timely manner. He was always professional and courteous. He is truly an asset to VSU.

Irina McClellan, International Programs

I wanted to share my sincere appreciation for Irina’s help with getting an international colleague through Atlanta’s immigration office after he was unexpectedly detained at the airport. We are so thankful for her help, especially since we were asking for her assistance late Friday night. Without it, the colleague very likely would have been stranded in the airport for the weekend.

Michael Brown, Physical Plant- Maintenance

Because of the way you responded, we were able to return to operations quickly. We appreciate your excellent customer service skills, attention to detail, and efficiency.

Susan Jones, Plant Services

Because of the way you responded, we were able to return to operations quickly. We appreciate your excellent customer service skills, attention to detail, and efficiency.

Michelle Carter, Nursing

Ms. Carter spent a considerable amount of time this month to locate over 150 documents that were needed for a large institutional accreditation report. I appreciate her time to identify, retrieve, scan, and send these very quickly.

Carmen James, Human Resources

Carmen has worked tirelessly to transform her face-to-face new employee training into an online/virtual training to accommodate our current pandemic. While this is impressive on its own, what is truly phenomenal is the way in which she has personally reached out to each of the faculty and staff presenters to ensure that they are comfortable with Collaborate Ultra, presenting, navigating the session, etc. As I type this, she is facilitating a practice session and empowering each presenter through technical difficulties. Carmen is a force and represents the Blazer Creed with everything she does. I'm so proud to know her and work with her!

John Hall, IT

My password had been reset, but I was not aware and had to call for help. Grant was very patient, kind, and personable. I was in a panic because I had an online synchronous class coming up within 30 minutes, and the first reset just made my screen go blank. We had to try again, and he just could not have been nicer.

Carrie Yarbrough, Human Resources

I discovered that I missed registration for classes. As a TAP student, we receive emails that it's OK to register, and somehow that email went into a junk mail folder. Ms. Yarbrough pointed me in the right direction and followed up with emails to be sure everyone knew I was approved. Thanks to VSU Human Resources, the Bursary, and the Registrar's offices I get to start dissertation research this summer!

Veronica Graham, Registrar's Office

I discovered that I missed registration for classes. As a TAP student, we receive emails that it's OK to register and somehow that necessary email when into a junk mail folder. Ms. Graham pointed me in the right direction, connected me with Ms. Culbreth, and got the issue resolved. I am so thankful I get to start dissertation research this summer!

Neal Culbreth, Bursary

I discovered that I missed registration for classes. As a TAP student, we receive emails that it's OK to register, and somehow that email went into a junk mail folder. Mr. Culbreth took care of what I needed online. After my weekend of panicking, he enabled me to continue my dissertation research for the summer!

Jeff Shipley, Dean - COBA

Jeff Shipley and his team have been spectacular in helping us stay on board, updated, and generally acting as the best support system we could have asked for in the IT department.  With an engaging personality, a winning smile, and tech-savvy talent one never feels abandoned or bewildered with the great care he administered. The words "thank you" seem meaningless compared with the service you have provided. Thank you, Jeff.

David Pulliam, IT

Given our current campus closure and social distancing requirements, 1Card Services had to make some very quick and complex changes to our photo upload portal. David has spent a considerable amount of time helping us implement these changes, and the process is ongoing. Dozens of emails and multiple conference calls have been necessary, and David has been so patient and thorough. We would absolutely be lost without his help right now, as would our incoming freshmen!

Blake Foster, Plant - Building Maintenance

Blake Foster, Nikkolas Jackson, Tracy Stanton, and Joseph Ritter did an incredible job of painting for the Department of Psychological Science's main office in Converse Hall. The physical plant employees are very appreciated on campus and always go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that we have the best looking and operating facilities. A sincere thanks from everyone in psychology for all that you do!

Nikkolas Jackson, Plant - Building Maintenance

Blake Foster, Nikkolas Jackson, Tracy Stanton, and Joseph Ritter did an incredible job of painting for the Department of Psychological Science's main office in Converse Hall. The physical plant employees are very appreciated on campus and always go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that we have the best looking and operating facilities. A sincere thanks from everyone in psychology for all that you do!

Tracy Stanton, Plant - Building Maintenance

Blake Foster, Nikkolas Jackson, Tracy Stanton, and Joseph Ritter did an incredible job of painting for the Department of Psychological Science's main office in Converse Hall. The physical plant employees are very appreciated on campus and always go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that we have the best looking and operating facilities. A sincere thanks from everyone in psychology for all that you do!

Joseph Ritter, Plant- Building Maintenance

Blake Foster, Nikkolas Jackson, Tracy Stanton, and Joseph Ritter did an incredible job of painting for the Department of Psychological Science's main office in Converse Hall. The physical plant employees are very appreciated on campus and always go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that we have the best looking and operating facilities. A sincere thanks from everyone in psychology for all that you do!

Neal Culbreth, Bursary

This year our program had several late registrations. I appreciate Robert O'Neal Culbreth's efficiency in getting these forms processed so promptly. He also reached out to the students and provided information to them about how to proceed in the process. Thank you.

Annjannette Atkins, Creative Services

Anjie has been so helpful and patient with me as we have redone our department's web pages since the merge of the MSRD and Elementary Education department and then again as we added KSPE and Special Education. There were so many issues involved with updating the pages and making sure links were correct. Anjie is always right there to patiently and promptly help me when I get confused or need her assistance. I cannot thank her enough.

Clinton Cauley, IT

I had a couple of issues I was working with, and when I was troubleshooting them, I contacted Clint to help me with the technical aspect of the problem. Throughout my multiple emails with many questions, Clint was patient and helpful, not only helping me solve the problem, but also giving me useful information and tips for the next time a similar problem comes up. I couldn't have solved the problem without him. He is truly a rock star!

Dylan Ellzey, Institutional Research

Dylan has totally revamped our Supplemental Instruction data reporting process to make it more efficient and timely. When we started the program, we hand-coded our data and each semester it would take months to complete. Even when we created some of our own efficiencies it would still take weeks.  Now, with Dylan's assistance, it only takes days. I have been so impressed and thankful for how quickly and efficiently he has turned around all of our data requests in the last several months.

Shanika Hezekiah, Financial Services

Shanika, working from home or the office, has been extremely responsive and helpful throughout the lockdown in getting answers and assistance to grant-related questions. She has made purchasing on grants easy during a difficult time and preparing for virtual summer activities to go smoothly because of her quick and efficient help. She is an integral part of Financial Services and is greatly appreciated.

Douglas Carlson, Archives

Mr. Carlson looked up an obituary for me and it helped me a lot. Thank you.

Louise Nathan, Housing and Residence Life

I needed a form notarized as quickly as possible. After calling many offices I was able to reach Louise in Housing. She quickly agreed to notarize the form and said I could come right over. She quickly took care of the needed form. Her assistance made my day far less stressful.

Kristen Jowers, Advising

Ms. Kristen Jowers provided wonderful service for our daughter. Briefly, due to COVID-19, we were having some anxiety about our daughter returning to campus. On Saturday our daughter emailed Ms. Jowers and requested a phone call. Being so kind and giving up her time on a Saturday, Ms. Jowers called and spoke with our daughter and me for over an hour. She answered all our questions, helped us to think through the process, and gave us as much time as we needed to figure out our situation. Ms. Jowers was a tremendous help and we would like to recognize her for being the special employee that she is. We can't thank her enough for giving up her time on a Saturday. Ms. Jowers truly showed how much she cares about the student and their success at VSU. We are so glad our daughter chose VSU and we have been so impressed with the caring administration, advisors, professors, and custodial staff we’ve met. Thank you for all you do!

Joseph Ritter, Plant- Building Maintenance

Joe was extremely helpful in assisting the SON Graduate director and myself set up for our "telemedicine" OSCE that we administered to students. We are very appreciative of him going above and beyond! You rock!

Neal Culbreth, Bursary

We had concerns that our 529 plan payment would not arrive by the August 4 deadline. Neal let us know what we needed to do to enlist the help of the 529 plan to provide confirmation of payment to the Bursary. It was great to have his guidance and he always responded in a timely manner. Thanks, Neal!

Stanley Jones, Registrar

I could not access the grade entry online and needed help. I contacted Stanley via email. He responded with the answer within a few minutes, even though it was before the start of the business day. I was able to complete the grade entry on time. What a great help!

Carlie Shoniker, Advising

Carlie is nothing short of amazing in her advising role in the College of the Arts. She works incredibly hard for our students and sets them up for success in their coursework. She is always in communication with program and departmental faculty. She also does a great job of explaining degree-specific information for those of us less savvy in those areas. The College of the Arts is incredibly lucky to have her!

Kristen Jowers, Advising

Kristen is nothing short of amazing in her advising role in the College of the Arts. She works incredibly hard for our students and sets them up for success in their coursework. She is always in communication with program and departmental faculty and really works as one of the team. The College of the Arts is incredibly lucky to have her!

Alicia Roberson, Advising

Alicia is nothing short of amazing in her role as Senior Advising Officer in the College of the Arts centralized advising team. She is a great leader to her team, and is someone we can always count on to have accurate and reliable information. She advocates for our students and is a great sounding board for college, departmental, and programmatic considerations. The College of the Arts is incredibly lucky to have her!

Catherine Wills, Human Resources

Catherine is very prompt when dealing with issues.  She works to ensure proper data is submitted and collected in a very timely manner.

Jennifer Griffin, Bursary

Jennifer has always been so helpful to me when it comes to making sure everything is paid on time each semester. With being employed full-time and a full-time graduate student, Jennifer goes above and beyond to help make things easier on my end. She handles each interaction I have with her professionally and with so much grace. I cannot imagine how I would still be enrolled if it weren't for her. Thank you, Jennifer! Your hard work and dedication to VSU do not go unnoticed!

Neal Culbreth, Bursary

Mr. Culbreth resolved an issue on my account immediately for me. There was no delay or needless back and forth with emails. It was simply taken care of and my mind was put at ease. Thank you!

Addison Archer, IT

Addison called me during the week of July 20^th with a question from a student. She was so thoughtful and considerate when trying to obtain the correct information and assisted the student to the best of her ability. I then called the Solutions Center on July 27^th to get assistance with a very specific IT request, and she was able to carefully and thoroughly assist me with getting my request sent to the right people. She has been so helpful, cheerful, resourceful, and diligent. She has shown great care for students and staff. I am so glad she is a Blazer!

Obediah Hall, CELT

This summer I was asked to assist CELT as an Interim Training Specialist. Obi has assisted me along the way with how to complete specific tasks and directed me on where to send materials on short notice. He has demonstrated a high level of patience and willingness to assist whenever help was needed. His highlight moment was when he assisted me with recording a training workshop for faculty. He volunteered to participate as a student despite a significant workload of other activities going on at the same time. Unfortunately, I made multiple mistakes during the initial recording and had to request that he participate in a second iteration of recording that workshop. He volunteered without hesitation and brought positive energy to the workshop despite it taking even more of his time. Obi and the other members of CELT and eLearning should be commended for all of their great work and patience while working with faculty to assist faculty in preparing for the Fall 2020 semester! Thank you!

Alison Downey, eLearning

Alison has provided invaluable assistance to me through tips in BlazeVIEW and VoiceThread this summer. Her highlight moment was when she assisted me with recording a training workshop for faculty. She volunteered to participate as a student despite a significant workload of other activities going on at the same time. Unfortunately, I made multiple mistakes during the initial recording and had to request that she participate in a second iteration of recording that workshop. She volunteered without hesitation and brought positive energy to the workshop despite it taking even more of her time. I appreciate how Alison is willing to assist faculty whenever it is needed. Thank you!

Karen Noll, Communication Sciences & Disorders

She's always so caring, patient, and thorough with the students. She has done a fantastic job adapting everyone to online therapy!

Shanika Hezekiah, Financial Services

With all the disruption in the spring semester, Shanika has been incredibly helpful and supportive in preparing budget reports for our African American Male Initiative (AAMI) grant as the spending and programming on the grant changed dramatically with our move online. Furthermore, Shanika has provided wonderful support for a grant with the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) over the last six years. In relation to the AAMI and CUR grants, I so appreciate her assistance, attention to detail, and timely responsiveness.

Dr. James Archibald, Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology

Dr. Archibald did an outstanding job working in collaboration with my office in order to communicate with and admit new graduate students. This collaboration has ensured the timely onboarding of graduate assistants that are critical to our department. He utilized strong communication skills and a true collaborative spirit to advocate for the expedition of this process. Because of him, both my department and his program have graduate students with bright futures ahead here and ready to learn both through their program and their assistantship.

Neal Culbreth, Bursary

Mr. Culbreth is always quick to respond to any questions that we may have regarding our account with VSU. He is diligent and professional at all times as well as extremely helpful when questions arise.

Veronica Graham, Registrar's Office

Thank you for helping me resolve an ongoing student registration issue.

Kyle Culpepper, New Media Center

He is always friendly and eager to help. Thank you, Kyle!

Michael Schmidt, Art & Design

Micahel has been the contact person in the College of the Arts for many IT and facilities issues. He has not hesitated to make himself available to troubleshoot any of the numerous issues we have had with equipment. What a lifesaver! Thank You!

Michael Schmidt, Art & Design

Dr. Schmidt went above and beyond to help me through a stressful situation. He was calming, kind, and patient, and went out of his way to help me get on track when I was ready to give up.

Jessica Powers, Graduate Admissions

Jessica has been incredible throughout the entire COVID-19 situation. She's been working hard to make sure the students and faculty have their needs taken care of. Jessica is a gem, and we are all lucky to have her on our team.

Sheila Hall, IT

I want to thank Ms. Sheila Hall, for assisting with our new MSN orientation. Ms. Hall participated in two student sessions due to limited student capacities in the classrooms. Her sessions were very informative and well received by our students. Her flexibility and assistance are truly appreciated! Thank you!

Susan Jones, Plant Services

Susan volunteered to assist the staff of Campus Mail Student Mail Center and Kathy Barker for an entire week. Student Mail Center was understaffed at the beginning of the semester, and Susan jumped in and assisted us with professionalism and a bunch of energy.  She had such a pleasant attitude in assisting the students and made a huge impact on that week. Thank you very much, Susan!

Josh Rouse, Student Success Enhancement

I asked a small question for a student, and he went above and beyond to refer her to the ASC and sent a link so I could show her how they can go in and see all of the SIL's and Tutors to pick which one they would want.

Josh Rouse, Student Success Enhancement

Josh was incredibly helpful during SI training. He was always willing to answer questions with no problem.

Regina Lee, Human Resources

Regina Lee worked the weekend before classes began to ensure that teaching assistants and instructors completed the HR process that would allow them access to Banner and BlazeVIEW. Thank you!

Laura Pitts, Human Resources

Laura Pitts worked the weekend before classes began to ensure that teaching assistants and instructors completed the HR process that would allow them access to Banner and BlazeVIEW. Thank you!

Dr. Lorraine Schmertzing, Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology

Ms. Schmertzing went above and beyond to make sure that I could begin the EdS program this fall. I truly appreciate all the effort she put into helping me, despite the "COVID-19" bumps in the road. Thank you!

Mary Ann Redhage, COEHS Advising Center

Ms. Redhage inherited my daughter from a previous advisor who had unknowingly put her in the wrong major and thusly, misaligned her subject/class assignments. At her last face to face advisement, Ms. Redhage realized that my daughter’s goal was to teach deaf children, not just interpret them. She then realigned her summer classes and made multiple adjustments in the scheduling. Ms. Redhage made a superhuman effort to realign my daughter’s goals and major to have any of her previous efforts forfeited. Ms. Redhage orchestrated an online advisement session with the Deaf Education Dept. Dean could also advise and inform her of her status and needs list to accomplish her goals. Ms. Redhage has a heart devoted to those she advises, and my daughter is blessed for having this woman as her adviser.

Dr. Ruth Hannibal, Communication Sciences & Disorders

Thank you for going out of your way to ensure we had resources to aid our current learning and use after your class! I appreciate everything you do! Thank you for caring!

Shanika Hezekiah, Financial Services

After transitioning from Advising to OSPRA, I had and continue to have, many questions concerning how award contracts and monies are processed. Shanika has provided exceptional direction and guidance. She answers my questions patiently, professionally, and with a sense of humor. She is also highly organized, efficient, and exceptionally responsive to requests for assistance. Shanika is a valuable asset to VSU.

Dr. David Muller, English

Dr. Muller made an effort to create intelligent, entertaining, insightful, and easily understandable PowerPoint lectures and videos. He spoke and enunciated well, kept his face to the camera so his lips could be seen and read, and displayed multiple visual cues as part of his presentation. He also included the access dept., Ms. Byers, in part of his efforts to accommodate my daughter. The closed captioning was an extreme help to her. My daughter understood him quite well, and she even admitted to enjoying his class. I highly recommend him for other DHH, ASL, and closed captioning dependent students, as he has it down to a science.

Rafiah Jenkins, Nursing

Rafiah met with faculty members to help us set up and troubleshoot Collaborate for our first day of class. She willingly got to campus before 7:30 to help us and stayed with us until 9:30 in Collaborate to help us troubleshoot. After class, we had another issue with testing software, and during her lunchtime, she helped the student and faculty with the problem. Rafiah is amazing! If she does not know something, she will find out. We are lucky to have her in the CONHS.

Herb Reinhard, Athletic Operations

Herb was willing to help us with staffing shortages for two weeks. This helped us keep students using the Student Recreation Center safe and encourage them to follow social distancing guidance. His help was critical for the department of Campus Recreation while we had a staff shortage. Supporting the students using the Student Recreation Center makes a huge difference in those students' lives. I want to say thank you for helping us. You and your team helped us put students first and prove that VSU truly cares.

Dr. Vincent Miller, Student Affairs

Dr. Miller was supportive in helping Campus Recreation handle an issue. He was able to help our team find solutions to staffing challenges and helped us support our students that were impacted by this event. He truly puts the cares in Student Affairs. Campus Recreation thanks, Dr. Miller.

Dr. J. Richard Carter, Biology

Dr. Carter goes above and beyond for his students! I took three of his classes, and in each class, he gave his students tough love and challenged us to be the very best. He believed in my capabilities as his student and pushed me to limits beyond what I believed I could ever do! Thank you, Dr. Carter!

Honey Coppage, Academic Affairs

I want to take this opportunity to thank Honey Coppage for the tireless work she has done and continues to do to ensure faculty and students have the best experience possible. The details she has attended to for scheduling, safety protocols, and supporting academics should not go unnoticed. Her institutional knowledge, her ability to multi-task, and her commitment to excellence are all attributes that make her so valuable to VSU. Thank you, Honey, for all you do!

Honey Coppage, Academic Affairs

When visiting my classrooms before classes started, I found one that was completely not suited to my course as it had been planned. The dept. head contacted Honey on my behalf, and, within an hour, she found me a new room that will work perfectly for the course's design. I know rearranging scheduled rooms for socially distant classes has been tough, so her very quick attention to my concern was above and beyond.

Honey Coppage, Academic Affairs

Honey has worked tirelessly to ensure that faculty can teach hy-flex and regular classrooms with minimal disruptions. She has been an advocate for faculty.

Nicole Foster, Student Health

Nicole and her team did an amazing job helping the department of Campus Recreation with an issue. Nicole and her team did a fantastic job providing support to students and the department. Thank you, Nicole, and your team for putting the cares in Student Affairs.

Samuel Sandwell, IT

Mr. Sandwell's technical expertise helped resolved the issue efficiently.  His professionalism and demeanor were exceptional and refreshing. He is truly an asset to VSU!

Madeleine Hardage, LCOBA Technical Unit

Madeleine is talented and always willing to assist. Madeline is a wonderful example of customer care and expertise. She is always kind and patient, and she gets the job done. Thank you, Madeleine, you are appreciated!

Weston Rogers, IT

Weston is always exceptional. Anytime he is assigned one of our work orders, he is on it. Within 10-15 minutes, he is in our office and fixing our problem. He is always friendly and helpful with any questions I have.

Matthew Mozzo, IT

I was having a horrible time setting up my remote access at home; zoom; Teams...everything. Matthew gave me specific checkpoints and easily instructed me on how to correct all of my computer settings where everything worked. He did this just in time for an important Zoom meeting. Without his help, I would have never gotten everything to the correct settings. Matthew was so confident in knowing how to solve the problems that it put me at ease.  VSU is fortunate to have him!

Annjannette Atkins, Creative Services

I asked for a web form to be created for Housing/Dining Services, and it was done within 30 minutes! Exceptional, thank you!

Wade Bugby, IT

Every time I had a technical problem, Wade came to my rescue. He is efficient, patient, and kind in dealing with a novice like me.

Alfred Reed, IT

Alfred has provided exceptional service to our area. He is always willing to go the extra step to explain processes and procedures. Alfred returns our calls if he misses one in a very timely manner. He has been a real pleasure to work with.

Dr. Kadir Yalcin, Economics & Finance

I was very upset because I had just received very tough news. I am not in Dr. Yalcin's class but had taken him a year ago. He saw me on campus and noticed I was upset. Even though I was not his student, he cared about me and made time to talk about my problem even though he was not asked. His caring act and words of encouragement helped me get through the day.

Gary Miller, IT

My brother and I were driving to Valdosta and we were about 45 minutes outside of town. My brother's tire blew out on the highway, and it was pitch black outside. After seeing us, Mr. Gary stopped his motorcycle and asked me what happened. He pulled his bike to the side of the road and immediately began to help us. Noticing my brother's spare did not fit his tire, Mr. Gary told us about the 24-hour tire shop in town. He made sure my brother's car was safe enough on the side of the road and followed us into town behind my car to safely ensure we made it to the tire shop. Before this moment, I tried to give him some money to help us, but Mr. Gray wouldn't take it because he told me I was a Blazer, and he was assisting a Blazer in need. Once we made it to the tire shop, he handed us money to pay for the tire and for gas to get back into town. I'm so glad Mr. Gary stopped to help us because, honestly, we would probably still be sitting on the side of the road if it wasn't for his help.

Garrett Castleman, New Media Center

I am a graduate student at VSU and have had some major issues with my computer. I reached out to the New Media Center to get some recommendations on purchasing a new computer. I was teaching this fall and needed something to keep up with my needs. Garrett sent a very detailed email with different price points, including each suggestion's pros and cons, given my needs. He urged me to continue my research to find a computer that would work best for me, but it would have been an overwhelming and daunting task without his assistance. I went with one of Garrett's suggestions, and I feel confident in my decision. Big thanks to Garrett for going the extra mile. His help is appreciated, and he represents VSU well. The New Media Center is always unique, but Garrett made my experience over the top.

Catherine Bowers, Library

Catherine Bowers was asked to provide specific reference methods for a recent doctoral course. The course was an online synchronous Saturday morning course. She was asked to develop a presentation on specific reference methods. Students were engaged and informed by her presentation. She did a wonderful job provided exceptional service to our VSU students.

Colin Walker, Mass Media

Colin shared his expertise with the campus community to help us feel prepared and well versed in available technology by leading multiple CELT Webinars. He's an incredible resource and was so generous with his time to offer multiple sessions for each topic and provided asynchronous recordings of Blazeview 101 - 2020.

Dr. Dee Ott, School of Nursing

I want to thank Dr. Ott for going above and beyond to ensure a smooth transition during our MSN new student orientation due to an unexpected event. Dr. Ott assisted with technical difficulties and helped to mainstream a class under a time crunch. Thank you for being a great team player!

Britt Bugby, Center for eLearning

Britt has infinite patience and extensive knowledge. I learned so much more this summer as I made a move from face-to-face to online! She was patient, funny, and had solutions for every problem I posed. It was a delight to learn from her during this stressful time.

Britt Bugby, Center for eLearning

I was experiencing significant difficulty in a copy of two of my courses in BLAZEview. The copy included recorded lectures that did not cooperate. Brit took care of the copy(s) at lightning speed so I could continue with course prep and with a lot less frustration! Thanks, Brit!

Daniel Smith, Center for eLearning

Last week, my Kaltura permission or credentials were disabled. As everyone is teaching virtually, as well as face-to-face, this was a little catastrophic. Mr. Smith immediately began working with Kaltura representatives to correct the problem. He worked on this issue for over a week, and we tried several different resolutions. He was very patient and solution-oriented during the entire process. I am so grateful as my access allows me to provide quality instruction to my students. I can not thank him enough.

Daniel Smith, Center for eLearning

Daniel spent over a week helping solve the Kaltura Video Capture problem on Blazeview I was having. All my videos and embedded files were no longer accessible that I had spent months creating. He contacted Kaltura multiple times to get to the cause of this problem and get it fixed. He is truly a great asset in helping faculty navigate issues with all this technology and getting solutions to software problems. Thanks!

Bobby Flowers, Physical Plant - Landscape and Grounds

Bobby was willing to help us get barricades for the Happening. He allowed us to use his truck. The barricades played an important roll in helping our students stay safe at this event. Thank you, Bobby.

Doug Jordan, IT

I contacted Doug about getting some help using the very complicated equipment in Jennett Lecture Hall 2211, which I will teach for the first time this semester. Doug not only sent me helpful information via email; he arranged a time to show me how to work the equipment in person. As I am not even a member of the College that Doug works in, I can say that he demonstrated collegiality quite literally by offering his excellent assistance to me! As we all work very hard this semester to create both safe and effective environments for learning, I wanted to highlight Doug's help in that process.

Laura Byers, Access Office

Ms. Byers made a huge effort towards supplying the closed captioning for Dr. David Mullers' online lectures and videos. This had to have been a Herculean effort as it was supplied for a dozen-plus - 45 minute to 1-hour lectures on multiple authors and stories. Her efforts significantly contributed to my daughter's success.

Dr. Rodney Carr, Student Success

Dr. Carr, throughout the college process, has always been there to assist. They even took time out to FaceTime my freshman to help her with scheduling. Dr. Carr stopped by the freshman dorm during move in to say hello, assuring my freshmen and myself that she's not alone.

Bailey Raffield, IT

Bailey is always willing to assist the Admissions staff quickly and efficiently. After running into a few IT issues, he had a virtual meeting with me to help solve all my problems. Bailey is so great to work with, and I am so happy he is part of the admissions team assisting us!

Bailey Raffield, IT

I was having an issue with the DocuSign portal, and it gave me an error message to contact the system administrator. Others in IT were unable to assist me since they directed me to submit an incident report. However, that took a while, and I needed the Docusign issue resolved ASAP. I then called the IT Help Desk, and Bailey assisted me with the issue over the phone. He was patient, kind, and got it resolved in no time. Thanks, Bailey, for your help today! I appreciate you and your team that had to get Docusign working!

Lynn Darsey, Auxiliary Services

Lynn assisted my students and me in accessing the course materials. She contacted me to offer assistance and immediately solved an ongoing issue. Additionally, Lynn made me aware of the services offered to students by her department. I have worked here for several years but was previously unaware of the full list of services provided. What a wonderful resource for students!

Sabrina Daniels, Office of the Registrar

Sabrina has responded with lightning fast turnaround times for graduation applications this summer. On many occasions, students have requested to update their graduation term or are submitting the grad app later than the recommended two semesters in advance. Sabrina gives us feedback almost instantaneously, giving students the information they need to make informed decisions about their upcoming semesters and course work. Thank you, Sabrina, for being everything we needed during this season!

Christy Grimes, Office of the Registrar

Christy has gone above and beyond in processing graduation applications for our students this summer. In many cases, they provide extra clarity in the instances where a student may be missing something. Christy gives us feedback almost instantaneously, giving students the information they need to make informed decisions about their upcoming semesters and course work. Christy has always made herself available to my many questions and responds like she is happy to help. Thank you, Christy, for your role in graduating our students.

Patrick McElwain, Registrar

I want to acknowledge Patrick for being flexible and going above and beyond to assist with all the schedule changes for the Fall semester due to classroom size restrictions and an influx of new student admissions. Patrick was very expedient with his assistance through the numerous changes we had to accommodate. Thank you for being patient and helpful during this time!

Thomas Falkenhausen, Academic Support Center

He's been making sure everyone is doing well with their classes. He's gone above and beyond to help us and worked incredibly hard on our pertaining—all around, and he's just an incredibly awesome, kind, and caring person.

Pepper Croft, IT

We are always making adjustments in the Office of Admissions to make processes smoother for incoming students. During my 5 years as the Director, Pepper has always been helpful to implement solutions that help our department achieve the overall mission of the institution. Examples include assisting with new application processes, implementing the institution's first Customer Relationship Management System (CRM), as well as countless data requests to properly advertise recruitment related events. Most recently, we have had changes in personnel in our office. Pepper and her team have devoted 2 meetings per week (and countless time for phone calls and emails) to assist with training. We are most grateful for the consistent support we have always received from Pepper but even more so recently. Thank you!

Ramona Wing, Campus Services

Ramona Wing always goes above and beyond to help with anything that is needed in the Field House. I want to let her know that she is very much appreciated and we are thankful to have her at Valdosta State University.

Jason Gaskins, IT

Mr. Gaskins was quick to identify the email that went out that said "your email access has been blocked" when I could not send out emails.  Mr. Gaskins and his team notified me that this was a Microsoft Office 365 issue.  Thank you for being responsive, knowledgeable, and for demonstrating exceptional customer service for others to emulate.

Wade Bugby, IT

Wade has gone above and beyond to help me with a jump drive that crashed and my home computer. I work remotely 3 days out of the week and I use both a laptop and a desktop. When my jump drive crashed, Wade worked on it without ceasing until there was nothing else that could be done to restore my files. Then, my home computer crashed. After restoring the hard drive there were still things that the computer store didn't reinstall. I panicked because it was Sunday and I needed my computer on Monday. I called Wade on a Sunday night and he jumped right in to assist me with getting my computer set up so that I would be ready to work on Monday from home.  He spent a few hours making sure that everything was up and running like it was supposed to. He even checked back in with me on Monday to make sure that everything was okay. I can't thank him enough for his easy-going spirit and willingness to help someone in need.

Zonnya Lane, Financial Services

Zonnya is always so helpful and quick to get back to me. Sometimes I run into issues and she is always quick to answer my emails and many questions. She is a pleasure to work with!

Taylor Fulp, Auxiliary Services

Taylor assisted the Student Mail Center during a time when we did not have our student assistants working. Taylor enthusiastically volunteered to assist us until we got our students hired and trained. His unselfishness could not go without acknowledgment. His attitude and work ethic truly assisted us during our busiest time of the semester. Thank you very much, Taylor! We could not have done it without you!

Natasha Mitchell, LCOBA Advising Center

Ms. Mitchell is very polite and she delivers perfectly! She's an amazing person because she cares about her students and she gives them honest advice. I just wanted to thank her for her time and dedication to helping me and other students because it means so much. Thank you!

Dr. Ellis S. Logan, Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice

Dr. Ellis S. Logan exemplifies the professor any student would hope to have during this semester of challenges and uncertainty. While communication can seem broken, erratic, incomplete, and confusing, Dr. Logan has found a way to not be any of those. I can say this because I recently had the opportunity to work with him regarding a student in crisis. His caring, unwavering.  His presence, comforting. His discernment of his student's need, precise. As a fellow Sociologist, I can state confidently, Valdosta State University has a gem in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice.

Gracie Thurson, Athletics

I teach a fitness class in the PE Complex. One of my students told me she was having symptoms of an oncoming seizure. Gracie was located next door in the AT room. She was able to take care of the student for me while I taught the class and offered her expertise in the area. I am very grateful for her assistance today in a scary situation. She helped reassure me that my student would be okay and she remained calm through the experience.

Hilary Willis, Admissions

Hilary is always so helpful. I have been trying to get my admissions all squared away for some time so I can apply for TAP and it has been difficult given the state of the world right now. I emailed Hilary to see if she could help me and she called me 5 minutes later! She let me know what I needed, didn't need, gave me my advisor's information. She did it all! Every interaction I have had with her has been positive and so informative.

James Nelson, Campus Services

Nelson found some cash money on campus and turned it in to the Police Department. This shows Nelson's character and care for the students and/or fellow staff. Good job, Mr. Nelson.

Sandra Barrios, VPFA & Budgeting Services

I had issues regarding my job position which ultimately affected my pay. Sandra was extremely helpful and sympathetic to the issues I was having with this. I talked to her late in the business day and had the issue resolved before lunch the next day. She was kind and helpful throughout the whole process. She even offered to call or email me, so I would be updated through the whole thing. I have been dealing with this issue for almost a month and she was able to help me solve it in just a few hours.

Richard Peterman, Art & Design

Richard helped me repair a chair that had the seat barely hanging on. He managed to find the correct size screws to securely reattach the seat to the base of the chair. Richard always goes above and beyond when asked to assist someone. He is a vital asset to the Department of Art & Design as well as VSU.

Diane Bellflowers, Physical Plant Admin

I requested a tour of the remodeling of Powell Hall for interior design students in the Lighting and Building Systems course.  We were learning about acoustical design. Diane agreed to provide us with the tour. She went above and beyond to share information regarding acoustics, mechanical, and other design-related issues with the students. She even provided us with examples of the specifications of materials. Diane was very knowledgeable and well prepared for the tour. She provided well-developed answers to the students' questions. The students said they truly enjoyed the tour and learned a lot more by seeing the application of the theories we had discussed in class.

Crystal Miller, Library

I went to check out some books for research. One book was not in the system and Crystal took my email address to reach out to me with updates. Then, my due date was not registering correctly as a grad student.  She looked into the issue and had the problem resolved by the time I got back over to my office. She also told me someone else in the library had already handled the catalog issue with the book. Crystal was kind and helpful through this process and she followed up quickly to let me know me to know everything was handled. It is nice to engage with people who love what they do - and it shows! Thanks, Crystal!

Renee Whitmer, College of Education and Human Services

Renee is always so helpful to me when I have questions about teacher certifications. She explains things very thoroughly and never hesitates to assist me when I am unsure of processes or policies. I am so grateful to her for all the help she gives me on a regular basis.

Marsha Dukes, eLearning

She is patient, knowledgeable, and always willing to help.  Thank you for all your help!

Douglas Carlson, Archives

Thank you to Mr. Carlson for looking up an obituary for me in the Valdosta Paper. Thank you also to the library for having this information available to the public.

Kynthia James, Nursing

As a new nursing instructor at VSU, I would like to recognize Kynthia James for helping make this transition experience positive. Kynthia has gone above and beyond taking time to assist me with creating courses, understanding VSU policies, and answering specific questions in detail. Her support and guidance during this semester have made this an enjoyable transition. Thank you!

Mark Errol, Department of Art & Design

Professor Errol has been an excellent professor to me since day one. I am a new transfer this year and coming into this fall semester I had some health issues that I was facing. Prof. Errol dove in headfirst to help me succeed. He has made my 3D Design class very entertaining and enjoyable. A few weeks ago, I was having problems with my online math class. I had expressed my frustrations to Prof. Errol and he did not hesitate to go out of his way to help me even though it wasn’t his class. To me, this is such a genuine form of a phenomenal educator. He offered to sit down with me and help me create a plan of attack to conquer the struggles I was facing during this semester. He made a call to the tutoring department to reach out and find help for me without me even asking. Professor Errol cares deeply about his students and makes sure that we know this without a doubt. He doesn’t look for perfection, rather the effort and progress to reach the goal you have set for yourself as an artist. I am truly thankful for Prof. Errol’s act of kindness and wanted to make it known. Professor Errol, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being not only a wonderful professor but a genuinely great person to know!

Alfred Reed, IT

I had a report to complete for my digital learning environments course and was directed to Mr. Reed after calling the service desk for VSU networking information. Mr. Reed not only provided the information I needed but took his time and made sure he explained the complex concepts in a way I could understand. I called expecting to only get basic answers and came away with a clearer understanding of network infrastructures! Thank you! As usual, VSU IT customer service is doing a top-notch job. Thanks again.

Veraleen Wright, Building Services

She helps her employees so much. She goes above and beyond for anybody to make their day go smoothly. Veraleen is always motivating her staff to be the best they can be at their job.

Becky Murphy, Health Promotions and Wellness

Thanks to the amazing work of Becky Murphy, Madison Beaumarchais, Jennifer Grubbs, John Wright, Evan Fondren, Doug Jordan,  Quinncy Thomas, and the RSVP Taskforce for having 680 students attend a Take Back the Night event in which a Presenter discussed the topic of Toxic Masculinity.  Thank you all for working so hard to bring this important topic and program to come to VSU during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Madison Beaumarchais, Student Affairs

Thanks to the amazing work of Becky Murphy, Madison Beaumarchais, Jennifer Grubbs, John Wright, Evan Fondren, Doug Jordan,  Quinncy Thomas, and the RSVP Taskforce for having 680 students attend a Take Back the Night event in which a Presenter discussed the topic of Toxic Masculinity.  Thank you all for working so hard to bring this important topic and program to come to VSU during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Jennifer Grubbs, Athletics

Thanks to the amazing work of Becky Murphy, Madison Beaumarchais, Jennifer Grubbs, John Wright, Evan Fondren, Doug Jordan,  Quinncy Thomas, and the RSVP Taskforce for having 680 students attend a Take Back the Night event in which a Presenter discussed the topic of Toxic Masculinity.  Thank you all for working so hard for bringing this important topic and program to come to VSU during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

John Wright, Student Life

Thanks to the amazing work of Becky Murphy, Madison Beaumarchais, Jennifer Grubbs, John Wright, Evan Fondren, Doug Jordan,  Quinncy Thomas and the RSVP Taskforce for having 680 students attend a Take Back the Night event in which a Presenter discussed the topic of Toxic Masculinity.  Thank you all for working so hard to bring this important topic and program to come to VSU during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

John Evan Fondren, Student Life

Thanks to the amazing work of Becky Murphy, Madison Beaumarchais, Jennifer Grubbs, John Wright, Evan Fondren, Doug Jordan,  Quinncy Thomas, and the RSVP Taskforce for having 680 students attend a Take Back the Night event in which a Presenter discussed the topic of Toxic Masculinity.  Thank you all for working so hard to bring this important topic and program to come to VSU during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Doug Jordan, IT

Thanks to the amazing work of Becky Murphy, Madison Beaumarchais, Jennifer Grubbs, John Wright, Evan Fondren, Doug Jordan,  Quinncy Thomas, and the RSVP Taskforce for having 680 students attend a Take Back the Night event in which a Presenter discussed the topic of Toxic Masculinity.  Thank you all for working so hard to bring this important topic and program to come to VSU during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Quinncy Thomas, IT

Thanks to the amazing work of Becky Murphy, Madison Beaumarchais, Jennifer Grubbs, John Wright, Evan Fondren, Doug Jordan,  Quinncy Thomas, and the RSVP Taskforce for having 680 students attend a Take Back the Night event in which a Presenter discussed the topic of Toxic Masculinity.  Thank you all for working so hard to bring this important topic and program to come to VSU during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Janet Wade, Alumni Relations

Janet was contacted a few hours before an event involving five VSU alumni. She gathered up an assortment of VSU alumni items for us to use in gift bags. Janet was so pleasant and really went out of her way to respond to the last minute request.

Jeffrey Thomas, Campus Services

Jeff is exceptional at everything he does. He always shows up when we need him. He goes above and beyond at every task that is asked of him. Once he completes a request, we can count on him to come back by and make sure all is well. The VSU Speech & Hearing Clinic thanks you!

Douglas Tanner, Financial Aid

Mr. Tanner responded in a timely manner to my concern in regards to my daughter withdrawing from a class. He broke it down in detail so that I could understand without further questions. Thank you!

Heidi Gonzalez, School of Nursing

A letter from a student noted, "I experienced so many "aha" moments due to Dr. Gonzalez's great teaching in the clinical setting. She is a phenomenal instructor and for that, I will be forever grateful to her. I am motivated to work relentlessly as a result of Dr. Gonzalez's teaching of the importance of the nursing profession."

Matthew Mozzo, IT

Matthew resolved an issue I was having with my desktop this morning. I was unable to log-in due to the account being inactive. He was very patient and made sure I was able to log-in on time to process payroll. Thanks again!

Teresa Davis, Financial Services

I recently contacted Teresa regarding a purchase order for our department. She went above and beyond with her assistance. She even sent me a sample purchase order with all of the codes and information needed for us to submit our own paperwork. I had multiple questions regarding the process, and each time Teresa patiently and diligently assisted me with every inquiry.  Thank you so much for being such a kind and helpful person!

Daniel Smith, Center for eLearning

Thank you so much, Daniel! I recorded my class lectures to fulfill a student teaching requirement for my master's degree. I had no idea where to retrieve them. Luckily, Britt guided me to Daniel who basically saved the day! He remained in contact with me throughout the day, and his service was speedy. I appreciate you!

Britt Bugby, eLearning

Ms. Bugby responded to my request for help with one of my online classes. She was friendly and was able to walk me through how to access the information I needed in no time at all!

Glenn Blount, Plant- Maintenance

I was working on a project that ended up needing some electrical troubleshooting. Glenn was more than happy to assist immediately with no questions asked. Glenn is always so helpful when his services are needed. Thanks, Glenn!

Leigh Bryan, Communication Arts

Leigh Bryan is a model colleague and is so caring for students. She dropped everything to save the day for my class. My students were scheduled to give final speeches in our hy-flex course, but a speaking podium in the classroom had gone missing. The prior week, students picked this particular podium out of several in the building and practiced with it. Many of these students are dual-enrolled so this is their first time delivering a formal speech, let alone for college credit. Research shows that if students practice ahead of time with the podium and control the setting of their speech in other ways, then it will decrease their public speaking anxiety. I mention this context to emphasize how nerve-wracking it was for the students and me to arrive at the classroom and discover that the podium was no longer there. I sent a quick e-mail to the departmental faculty listserv, asking if anyone knew what happened to the podium and sharing my frustration. I did not expect to resolve the problem then, and certainly did not anticipate anyone being able to help because the building appeared empty due to people working remotely. But Leigh Bryan, a Lecturer in Communication, showed up unexpectedly at the classroom door, saying she found the podium elsewhere on the first floor of the building! I couldn't believe that she took the time to hunt it down for me and my students. I told her my only hope had been asking the custodian of the building to assist me, but she informed me he was on vacation. Leigh goes out of her way to support colleagues and students like they are her family. Leigh is a life-saver. We're so lucky to have her at VSU.

Nicole Foster, Student Health

Nicole and the entire Student Health Department staff have done a great job attending to and caring for students this week.  Her team has been working evenings and weekends to assist with COVID contact tracing and sending out information to other departments and community providers.  Thank you for all they do to make sure our students are taken care of and get the medical attention they need.  We appreciate what you are doing during a pandemic to keep our students healthy.

Laura Byers, Access Office

This is the first year that we have a hosted virtual panel (hosted by the Office of Communications & Marketing) for Ethics Awareness Week 2020.  This panel will be open to the community. It was not until the morning of the event that Robbyn DeSpain mentioned we may need an interpreter. We did not even think of that. I called the Access Office - on the day of the event and Laura Byers - the Coordinator, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing Services was able to find an interpreter for us on such short notice! She was extremely helpful, kind, and provided exceptional customer service! Thank you!

David Pulliam, IT

I truly appreciate David's immediate responses to any issue that is presented to him.  He was able to grant needed access to a department head without any issues.  He went above and beyond to grant access quickly.  I appreciate you, David!

December Storey, Palms Dining

In honor of our VSU Veteran community, Ms. Storey volunteered to set up a POW/MIA recognition table and a picture display of our students, faculty, and staff Veterans for Veterans Day.  The displays were available in the Palms Dining facility for all patrons to view and reflect on the sacrifices our Veterans make every day.  Thank you, Ms. Storey, for your extra effort in paying tribute to our Veteran community.

Kenneth Rumstay, Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences and Engineering Technology

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions had a family come for an on-campus tour. The student was extremely interested in Astronomy and was excited to learn about opportunities that VSU has to offer. The family arrived back from the tour just before VSU offices closed for the day. The student was hoping to meet with someone from the Astronomy and Physics department. Our office reached out to Dr. Kenneth Rumstay and he was more than happy to meet with the student, even though it was after hours. We are so thankful for faculty and staff, like Dr. Rumstay, who go out of their way to make each student experience unique and personalized.

Ben McCranie, Plant Operations

Mr. McCraine agreed to an early morning appointment on the last day before the holiday break to return keys. He was pleasant, friendly, and efficient. In no time at all, I had the receipt for the returned keys that I needed for my exit interview.

Ryan Hogan, Admissions

Volunteering at graduation was an awesome experience. It is so rewarding to see the campus come together to pull off such a wonderful event, especially in these unprecedented times. In the midst of it all, I captured a selfless, beautiful moment. Laura Byers, Coordinator of Deaf & Hearing Services in the Access Office, was preparing to take the stage to serve as an interpreter for the final ceremony at 7:30 pm. She was trying to stay warm and keep her hands warm. Ryan Hogan, Director of Admissions, took off his coat and insisted that Laura wear it. It was 54 degrees and cold. Ryan continued to work on the field to ensure the ceremony was a success- in a short sleeve red polo. Ryan - way to be a team player and a gentleman!

Walker Holland, IT

Walker helped me get set up on Financial Data Warehouse. When he realized that I was given access to log in only and not access the information, he contacted Financial Data Warehouse directly to resolve the issue. He followed up with them immediately and resolved my issue with accessing the Financial Data. He also helped me with other computer challenges. He was very knowledgeable, efficient, and pleasant.

Douglas Carlson, Archives

Since I became a student at VSU, I have received great assistance from Mr. Douglas R. Carlson. I appreciate the help Mr. Carlson has given me to this day. Thank you for all the assistance.

Markaysa Robinson, IT

Markaysa was very kind in helping me repair my computer when it was not working. She was expeditious and courteous, and I was able to continue my work the same day. She was extremely helpful and considerate.

Addison Archer, IT

Addison assisted me with logging in when my iPhone failed to work.