The Classified Personnel Council recently announced that four employees at Colorado State University have been named “Everyday Heroes” for their exemplary performance.
Everyday Hero is an ongoing program sponsored by the CPC to recognize day-to-day achievement of CSU employees. The recognition is open to state classified, administrative professionals and faculty members.
Nominators are asked to provide a description of one special incident or outstanding day-to-day exemplary job performance that makes the CSU employee worthy of recognition.
To nominate someone for the honor, visit cpc.colostate.edu/annual-cpc-awards/everyday-hero-award.
Below is more information about the employees named Everyday Heroes for the 2022-23 academic year, provided by their nominators.
Libby Skowron
Office of Engagement and Extension
Nominator: Kathleen Wurdack
Skowron always goes above and beyond to make employees feel valued and appreciated. Her role is reception and administrative assistant, and yet she does so much more than that to create a community at Drake Hall and across the country.
Skowron serves on the OEE’s Principles of Community council to ensure that employees are included, appreciated and recognized. She organizes events to bring people together, organizes thoughts to get groups of people on the same page, and works in all areas of OEE that are far beyond the walls of Drake Hall. She is a motivated go-getter who prioritizes the people she works with and the students CSU serves.
Skowron continually helps improve processes to make employees feel as though they are a part of something bigger. For instance, until recently, hundreds of state classified employees had never received any CSU apparel, and she took on a project to get those employees apparel that tie us all together under the CSU umbrella. Those employees felt appreciated and valued, and loved being able to better represent their community.
Allison Pine
Department of History
Nominator: Robert Gudmestad
Pine started working at the Department of History about two years ago. She quickly mastered her job and is now a mentor for other new employees in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). Pine has also taken on extra work for the Department of Philosophy because it is without its assistant to the chair.
Another way that Pine goes above and beyond her work is that she brings in baked goods for faculty and grad students and helps plan social activities for grad students. If there is a special event, like a retreat, she always volunteers to help with set up and take down. Pine is curious about the world around her and is constantly learning. She has taken multiple professional development classes and has earned her supervisor’s certificate. Pine is taking a sociology class in Spring 2023 as part of her continuing education benefit.
She has been active in community building for the department and is intentional about engaging in conversation with other members of the department that goes beyond the surface level and transactional. You get the sense that she cares about you as a person.
She is mentoring another administrative assistant in CLA who is new to the role. In the past, Pine has also reached out to new employees and gone to lunch or coffee with them as a way to welcome them to CLA.
She is always available to answer questions for other administrative professionals in the college and is widely regarded as someone who has a depth of knowledge and understanding about the various programs and procedures. Pine is friendly and engaging, so she is an ideal person to model the Principles of Community. New and potential students feel welcomed and valued when they visit with her. There have been occasions in which first-generation students have needed extra assistance navigating the curious world of higher education. Pine has always been supportive of them and reassured them that they belong at CSU.
Jessica Quadri
Department of Clinical Sciences
Nominator: Kate Shelton
Quadri always offers a warm smile and is more than willing to help answer questions or solve an issue for the team. She’s joyful and makes the office more fun. Quadri is great at working from home when necessary and allowing others to do the same by supporting remote work decisions as necessary. She leads by example and never makes people feel bad for being out with sick children or for personal appointments.
A new CSU employee can lean on Quadri for help with systems, human resources and standard processes. She has a willingness to teach and patience as new employees immerse themselves in the university. Quadri always has a smile on her face and has been nothing but engaging to new members of the team. She’s makes people feel welcome and valued.
Rosanna Houlton
Department of Economics
Nominator: Adam Walke
Houlton is an administrative assistant in the Department of Economics. The nominator wants to acknowledge her outstanding work. She has consistently been a source of support to numerous grad students, undergrads and others. She is always efficient and courteous, even in difficult situations. Houlton works tirelessly to make sure that the work of the department gets done in a smooth and seamless fashion. She shows a genuine concern for the students in the department and a desire to be supportive that goes above and beyond what she is required to do for her job.
Houlton recognizes that we all have multiple responsibilities and multiple roles, and she is very respectful of everyone’s time. She is also an example of someone who takes her job, her family, and her own personal goals and interests very seriously, which is admirable. Additionally, she is actively involved in supporting theatre in the community. She gives so much to the department community and still finds time left to support the broader community in Fort Collins.
Her supportive role in the Department of Economics is praiseworthy and benefits all in the department. Houlton’s strengths include demonstrating the Principles of Community. For example, regarding inclusion and respect, Rosanna is welcoming to everyone who comes to the department. She goes out of her way to nurture an inclusive and caring environment in the department. Regarding service, Rosanna provides exemplary service to the department, including not just those who are instructors or professors, but also to students.
