Past Team Effort Award Winners
The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: · Emily Mosley, Lead Dispatcher, Police Department Dispatch. · Bob Poe, Dispatcher, Police Department Dispatch. · Jessica VanGosen, Dispatcher, Police Department Dispatch. · Jack Kenney, Dispatcher, Police Department Dispatch. · Jordan Brown, Dispatcher, Police Department Dispatch. · Phillipe Jones, Dispatcher, Police Department Dispatch. · Jim Kendall, Dispatcher, Police Department Dispatch. · Kathy Rhoades, Public Safety Officer, Police Department. · Deb Guieb, Police Officer, Police Department. · Aaron Swift, Police Officer, Police Department. Nominated by Chad Loughman, Deputy Chief of Police Accomplishment: Over the last several months the JCCC Police Dispatch Center has been short on staff as hiring for open positions has been very difficult to fill. Every person listed in this nomination has helped in shift coverage and filled in during difficult times to include Holidays and campus closures and at times worked double shifts. The Campus Dispatch Center is operated 24/7, 365 days a year. The campus Dispatch Center is a crucial function of the colleges response to emergencies and is vital to public, staff, faculty and student safety and security at JCCC. All the nominees have worked hard to ensure the dispatch post is covered and success is achieved because of their dedication to the JCCC Police Department. I cannot express enough my gratitude and pride I have for the great work they do every day. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Community Connections Employee Engagement The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Brad Staupp, Director, ATS, Lab/Classroom Support • Academic Technology Services Accomplishment: Here are some fun facts about what we’ve accomplished since the start of spring: A special shoutout to: Thank you all once again — your dedication and effort truly make a difference. Let’s keep pushing — the finish line in sight! Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: · Paul Knoettgen, Warehouse Services Manager · Joel Straight, Sr. Warehouse Services · Alex Patrick, Warehouse Services Assistant Nominated by Ihsan Al Faili, Manager, Network Operations • Network & Data Center Operations Accomplishment: Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Holly Wimer, A-OK Program Coordinator, JCAE Accomplishment: I have two other students who are enrolling in the last round of Administrative Assistant classes, and we had some challenges with their applications. Whitney Saporito was amazing to work with and quickly figured out what was wrong and helped problem solve so these students could move forward. I am so grateful to have this amazing team in admissions who are willing to work with us for student success! The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Emily Zdjelar, Program Coordinator JCAE Operations, JCAE Accomplishment: ______________________________________________ The Team Effort Award recognizes a group accomplishment related to achieving goals in the Strategic and/or Operational Plans of JCCC. It may be a task force or cross functional team representing multiple departments or may be for an outstanding accomplishment by a single department or workgroup. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Maggie Stanton, Marketing Copywriter • Strategic Communications & Marketing Nominated by Jessica Johnson, Executive Director, Workforce Development & Continuing Education Accomplishment: I am pleased to nominate the Strategic Communication & Marketing (SC&M) Team members for a Team Effort Award in recognition of their outstanding collaboration and dedication in producing the Workforce Development & Continuing Education annual report. From the outset, the marketing staff assigned the project demonstrated a deep commitment to partnership. They worked closely with our team to develop the concept, establish a realistic timeline, and take ownership of both the copywriting and design elements. Upon receiving the first draft, our team provided extensive feedback that required significant revisions—including rewriting nearly half of the report’s content and reimagining the design layout. The marketing team responded with professionalism, grace, and a solutions-oriented mindset. Their creativity and strategic thinking were evident as they welcomed our input and made thoughtful adjustments that aligned with our goals and vision. Their responsiveness and flexibility were instrumental in transforming the report into a polished, compelling final product that effectively communicates our story to our key stakeholders. The result is a publication that not only meets but exceeds our expectations in quality and impact. This project exemplifies the power of trust, collaboration, and shared purpose. The SC&M team’s ability to navigate challenges, embrace feedback, and deliver excellence makes them truly deserving of this recognition. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Community Connections The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: · Kevin Estrada, Senior Network Analyst, Network & Data Center Operations · Elizabeth Calhoun, Network Technician, Network & Data Center Operations · Matt Saldan, Network Technician, Network & Data Center Operations · Andrew Guernsey, Work-Study Technician Nominated by Ihsan Al Faili, Network Operations Manager, Network & Data Center Operations Accomplishment: The Network Operations team successfully swapped 21 network switches in five data closets across the CTE and FADS buildings on Monday, March 17th. The project required careful planning to minimize network downtime. The team completed the replacement with minimal disruption, and all network activities were fully restored. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Danielle Sullivan, Advising Supervisor-Financial Aid Accomplishment: The 2024 botched rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has placed significant strain on financial aid offices across the country. Delays, technical glitches, and miscommunication surrounding the new application process have created confusion and real-world consequences for both students and administrators. Financial aid staff, already managing heavy workloads, had to deal with an influx of frustrated students and parents seeking guidance on incomplete applications, overcoming FAFSA technical issues, unclear timelines, and eligibility concerns. The lack of clarity has disrupted planning for both students and institutions, delaying critical decisions about enrollment and funding. Six months after the release of the FAFSA (June 2024), schools across the country were only able to make accurate financial aid offers to about 80% of the students who had filed a FAFSA because of all the technical issues. The JCCC Financial Aid Office has demonstrated remarkable resilience and collaboration in overcoming the challenges posed by the botched FAFSA rollout. We have each taken on an increased workload to minimize the strain and burden on our students and their families. We have become technical and policy experts, digging into technical guides and legislation to ensure we have full understanding on how to fix critical issues and implement solutions to best meet the needs of those we serve. We have leveraged professional networks and partnerships, and we have shared resources, strategies, and best practices to address application delays and student concerns effectively. We have enhanced communication efforts, providing clear and frequent updates to students and families while offering personalized help both in the office and within our partner high schools. We have worked tirelessly to manually process and verify information when automated systems failed, ensuring that students’ financial aid eligibility is not compromised. In less than six weeks, we did what is normally done over the course of six months. This collective effort highlights the dedication of the financial aid professionals within the JCCC Financial Aid office showing that we prioritize student success, even under challenging circumstances. Our enrollment numbers this fall are proof of that. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Leslie Dykstra, Director – JCAE Accomplishment: The snowstorm on Monday, January 6, caused a significant disruption to JCAE’s in-person ESL registration event. With less than 24 working hours and an all-staff in-service already planned, this team pivoted and shifted to online ESL registration. While JCAE has discussed online registration in the past, there were always too many roadblocks. However, with the support of JCCC’s marketing, printing services, CE registration, and IS, JCAE shifted to an online registration option. This team worked from home on Monday, January 6, and was able to register over 600 new ESL students. Congratulations to this incredibly talented and successful team! The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Brent Haverkamp-Coordinator, Orientation & New Student Retention Since its launch in August, over 500 students have had the opportunity to work one-on-one with a Success Coach in this onboarding setting. Students have exclaimed about how helpful their Coach was, and Counselors have raved about how much better prepared students are for advising after attending an onboarding meeting, reflecting the immense effort and care that Nur, Niki, and Danielle have put into each of these meetings. I am so grateful for the willingness they have shown to take on this additional responsibility and believe that our students are better off because of the time they spent with these incredible Success Coaches. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Tim Frenzel, Director, Continuing Education Programming, WDCE & Kayla Harrity, Director Continuing Education Operations, WDCE Accomplishment: This team of Workforce Development and Continuing Education (WDCE) staff were given the task of taking over the Nail Technology course as it was sunset by the Credit Cosmetology Department in May 2024. With minimal working documents to review they worked together to meet the goal of having the first WDCE course running no later than October 2024. This included making the instructional space in West Park functional after most of the Cosmetology equipment was removed; recruiting, interviewing, and accepting students; working with the instructor to get the space and curriculum approved by the KS Board of Cosmetology; ordering all supplies; learning Salon client registration and payment software; scheduling and hosting salon clients; and connecting with an external funding partner to provide a financial support option for students in need. Not only were they successful at every task, we are excited to see this first cohort of 11 students graduate on February 7, 2025. Many of the students are already employed at local salons and will be able to work with their own clients once they pass their licensing exams. A second cohort of 16 students are starting on February 17, 2025. Nominated by Brad Staupp, Director of Classroom & Lab Support – ATS/IS Accomplishment: Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Jessica Decker, ABE/GED Program Coordinator – JCAE Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Brad Staupp, Director of Classroom & Lab Support – ATS/IS Accomplishment: Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Jessica Decker, ABE/GED Program Coordinator – JCAE Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Adam Entwistle – Director, Academic Cloud Architecture & Infrastructure, Information Services Accomplishment: Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Daniel Tyx, Ella Lychnikova, Rihab Mousa, Sabina Huseynova, Kristina Terian, Karen Tritt, Nova Maack, Samantha Johnson, Amanda Clark, Annette Box, Connie Berggren, Beth Smith, Julianna Nicholl, Misty Lambeth, Joanna Schindel, Wendy Johnston, Michelle Marble, Caleb Kopp, AJ Hill, Susanne Knight, Hannah Collier, Gina Lewis, Melisha Otero, Austin Steward, Michelle Elwood, Katie Taylor, Amanda Chung, Christy LeManske, Natalia Plotnikov, Nicole Hill, Kaitlyn McLaughlin, Fatimah Daud, Laura Martin, Kim Wadsack, Danielle Perica, Michelle Rico, Michelle Carramusa Nominated by Leslie Dykstra, JCAE Program Director Accomplishment: Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Leslie Dykstra, JCAE Program Director Accomplishment: Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Leslie Dykstra, JCAE Program Director Accomplishment: Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Employee Engagement S2: Create and maintain an environment where employees are valued and belong. Marian Rose, GED Instructor, JCAE Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Accomplishment: They have worked all summer to help JCAE transition classrooms, update software on the Chromebooks and solve numerous “weird issues” we ran into this summer. They were quick to respond, kind and helpful through all of the problems. JCAE would not have been ready to welcome students and staff back if it hadn’t been for their hard work. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Accomplishment: The CE Registration team helped JCAE register over 150 students in August. We appreciate their excellent customer service, collaboration and support during this busy time. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Accomplishment: JCAE has had a TON of key requests this year as staff have changed positions and new rooms have been added. We appreciate all of the requests being completed quickly and the support and flexibility of Jason and his team. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Employee Engagement S2: Create and maintain an environment where employees are valued and belong. Accomplishment: TSC Leadership is grateful for the team of volunteers that helped make our team-building retreat possible this year. We held a mini version of The Amazing Race, sending the team across campus to complete tasks and gather hints for their next leg of the journey. The volunteers made it possible for our team to: We could not have had such a successful retreat without each of the listed volunteers going above and beyond to help us do so. We appreciate them and know that their collaboration leant itself to achieving employee engagement, inclusion, and learning goals in a way that is more than deserving of recognition through the Extra Effort Award. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Kevin Swisher, HVAC Supervisor, Campus Services The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Accomplishment: Spring 2024 has been an extraordinary semester as it relates to the number of survey requests the Office of Institutional Planning & Research has received. During the Spring 2024 semester, the office created and/or administered 16 different surveys. Some were planned, while others were last minute requests with very quick turnaround timelines. Gina Brewer & LaWanda Hughes rose to the occasion responding to the campus requests to create and administer a variety of surveys. Surveys included employer surveys of recent graduates, candidate feedback, needs assessments, advisory board surveys to student satisfaction. They accepted the requests with grace, and worked to meet the requested timeline, providing expertise in developing questions and creating the web-based instruments in many cases. They accomplished the development and administration of these 16 surveys, all while juggling their re-occurring projects such as the career student follow up report, KS Business Officers annual survey, and student course evaluations. We are fortunate to have both LaWanda and Gina as part of the IPR team, as they care about their work, and provide the campus community with a wonderful service. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: · Dorothy Helm, Executive Assistant WDCE · Molly Salisbury, Program Director Business Solutions, WCDE · Jason Lafferty, Director, Hospitality Management · Andrew Woody, Manager, Catering Services · Anne Hunt, Manager, Conference Services and Scheduling · Grant Von Lumen, Assoicate Professor, Metal Fab & Welding · Terry Harrison, Director, NARS · Susan McSpadden, Marketing Photographer · Kathy Rhoades, Public Safety OfficerNominated by Elisa Waldman, Vice President, Workforce Development & Continuing Education The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Brad Staupp, Dir ATS Lab/Classroom Support • Academic Technology Services and Brian Wright, Professor Political Science Accomplishment: The JCCC Model UN has a record of success in competing at college-level model UNs against major universities and colleges from throughout the world. In the last ten years of success for JCCC, during which the team has received awards at conferences they have attended over the last 18 years and have a yearly conference at JCCC. Many information technology needs are needed to support this yearly conference held at JCCC main campus. It requires much coordination and technical support from the ATS labs and Classroom support team. They all pitched in and helped achieve this conference to be another success again without any reported problems providing support in multiple locations throughout the day. This could not be a success without our excellent support teams here at JCCC! Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Student Success S3: Create effective systems and pathways for students. Community Partnerships S2: Promote the College as a partner of choice for strategic collaborations. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Kayla Harrity, Director CE Operations • Continuing Education Operations Accomplishment: The Workforce Development and Continuing Education registration software system (Xenegrade) has been working for the last couple of years to transition to a cloud-based software and upgrade to a new user interface. Many individuals have spent the past year (or more) testing the new version for bugs, submitting tickets, and working with Xenegrade to ensure the transition went smoothly and did not disrupt services to students. This also include ensuring that reports would work correctly so that data remained accurate and accessible – without which, Workforce Development and CE could not effectively evaluate the quality of their programs and services. The transition officially occurred on February 6, 2024. This team did an excellent job of working to identify all potential issues and ensure but internal and external stakeholders (including students) can easily use and navigate the new version of the system. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Amanda Harding, Coordinator Math Resource Center • Math Resource Center Nominated by Karen Koehn, Lab Coordinator, Science Department Accomplishment: The employees of the Science Division Anatomy Open Lab went above and beyond during the Science Division renovation. They helped pack, clean, inventory and move all the models of the Science Division to two different temporary locations while construction was underway and then a third time to the permanent location. This was a huge ongoing task and exhausting for all involved. The Anatomy Open Lab workers all came together as a team showing their teamwork and communication to complete this task. I really do appreciate all their hard work! Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Student Success S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success. Community Partnerships S1: Identify and Align with those who advance JCCC’s mission, vision, and values. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion S2: Develop and support an inclusive environment that empowers all students, faculty, and staff to succeed. Employee Engagement S1: Encourage employee growth. Nominated by Brad Staupp, Director ATS Lab/Classroom Support, Academic Technology Services and Lori Shank, Director Nursing Accomplishment: JCCC RN Nursing program requires heavy use of a testing software called Examsoft Examplify. Due to a misconfiguration of e-mail notification of recent updates being release, pending changes to the software were only discover the beforehand testing by Heidi Stoop. A new update was released, and it was required to be installed in order to complete testing by students the following day on almost 200 computers in various testing labs. Heidi Stoop quickly notified Chris Lesson and Brett Robertson in Academic Technology Services about this required update and the need for an immediate deployment. With only a few hours to spare in the afternoon before the testing the following morning, they were able to come up with a very quick deployment configuration and gather as many of those in the ATS labs and Classroom support to jump in and help. Using multiple tools sets to automate rapid deployment and a team effort, it led to overwhelming success. Testing continued without any delay or disruption to JCCC RN nursing students who were unaware of the pending problem that occurred only the day before. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Student Success S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success. S2: Successfully transition students to JCCC. S3: Create effective systems and pathways for students. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Leslie Quinn, Dean Enrollment Services, Student Services & Success Accomplishment: The Enrollment Services Department has pulled off an amazing accomplishment this fall. With the full implementation of multiple measures for placement, the number of high school transcripts that needed to be processed so that students can enroll more than doubled. This created a significant workload issue. This team has worked nights and weekends for weeks and with gracious helpers from other areas, went above and beyond to make sure our College Now students could enroll by the deadline. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Student Success S2: Successfully transition students to JCCC. S3: Create effective systems and pathways for students. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Amy Sellers, Program Director Early College Partnerships and Outreach Accomplishment: The Scheduling, Facilities and Space Management team has worked so hard this past year, and specifically on the new SPACES management system. They worked hard to transition the campus from Astra to SPACES and held multiple trainings in August during PLD to reach as many campus members as they could. They made an informative training and were always available to answer my questions about the new system. They have done specific trainings with different departments/ administrators and have dedicated a lot of time to help the transition to this new system go as seamless as possible. On top of this, they have kept up with running the behind-the-scenes of various conferences, festivals, meetings, and student events that keep JCCC being an active member of the Johnson County community! Thanks Events and Scheduling team!! Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Community Partnerships S1: Identify and Align with those who advance JCCC’s mission, vision, and values. S2: Promote the College as a partner of choice for strategic collaborations. Employee Engagement: S1: Encourage employee growth. The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Sherri Hanysz, Registrar, Enrollment Services Accomplishment: On July 31, Alicia Bredehoeft reached out to Maggie Hodge to verify if three specific courses would transfer to JCCC and meet the graduation requirements for a JCCC student. The student needed to complete the Associate of Arts degree to be eligible to transfer to a Missouri state college to play sports. Alicia went above and beyond to help the student find these courses he could take over the summer all online from various Missouri community colleges. This student had a hard deadline to get his degree requirements transferred back to JCCC. Alicia kept everyone informed along the way of the students’ progress. Once the transcripts were received, Maggie immediately loaded the coursework and worked with Ryan in our graduation office to confer the degree for Summer 2023. Yes, a big shout out to the student for getting all three courses completed before the end of summer. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Student Success and Graduation completions The TEAM EFFORT AWARD goes to: Nominated by Deanne Belshe, Director, Strategic Marketing Planning Accomplishment: This team took on — and successfully staged — the grand opening/ribbon cutting/open house to mark the reopening of the remodeled SCI and CLB buildings the afternoon of Friday, October 13. This was no small task. It involved managing multiple groups’ expectations; creating contingency plans in case of weather; crafting invites and outreach and marketing for the event; setting up, recording, and holding the event and ribbon cutting; providing positive experiences for the event attendees, and cleaning up when it was done. Each of these people positively contributed from their areas of expertise to stage an event that was fun, informative, and welcoming to the campus community and to guests alike. They deserve recognition for their coordinated efforts and for holding a wonderful event that marked an important milestone in the Campus Transformation Plan adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2016. It would have been easy to just reopen the buildings and not recognize the updates and the outcomes that will positively affect student learning for years and years to come — but this team made sure that one of these final steps in the years-long campus transformation plan was recognized and celebrated. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Student Success: S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success. Community Partnerships: S2: Promote the College as a partner of choice for strategic collaborations. S3: Be a convener for issues that transform and strengthen our communities. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: S2: Develop and support an inclusive environment that empowers all students, faculty, and staff to succeed Nominated by Kim Steinmetz, Program Director of International & Immigrant Student Services Accomplishment: Cassie and Danielle worked with Jaya and Jocelyn to integrate new F-1 international orientation as a part of CavConnection! This was a fantastic way to welcome new international student to JCCC. This provided essential connections with domestic students and helped new students feel connected to the College. This event played an essential part in helping our students feel they have a place at JCCC. Additionally, it answered any last-minute onboarding questions before the semester started. This is the first time IISS has worked with existing programs through Student Life and JCCC Success Coaches. It was really helpful to have a seamless transition for new students and provide comprehensive access to JCCC resources. Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Student Success S2: Successfully transition students to JCCC. Nominated by Christina Wolff, Professor of Foreign Language Accomplishment: I first contacted Barry Bailey to express my concern that students were asking me why we were not offering certain Foreign Language classes. When students typed in French or another language in the subject search box, they would see “no matches found”. Barry suggested that I meet with Sherri Hanysz to discuss the idea of having the keyword moved to the top because students generally know the name of a course or subject (like French or Spanish) but may not know it is under the subject Foreign Language. We invited Luz Alvarez and Samuel Sommerville to attend as well since Sam, Luz and I serve as the 3 chairs for the FL department. Sherri asked the committee to consider the proposal in May instead of August. She proposed that the Credit Class Search committee approve to move the “Keyword” search to the top. In addition, she asked to add other suggestions to Keyword(Ex: CNA, French, Java) since English and Math are part of the subject drop-down, as well as part of the keyword search. The committee made the change in Banner within a very short period of time. Thank you to Barry and Sherri for facilitating this change so quickly! Nominated by Kelsey Nazar, Vice President & General Counsel Accomplishment: Alison and AnnLouise have worked diligently to survey every state in the country for every professional licensure or certification program that the College offers (which is A LOT)! Alison pulled the websites for every licensing board for every licensure program for every state, and now, they are listed on the landing page: https://www.jccc.edu/about/leadership-governance/policies/professional-licensure.html. This is a huge endeavor and incredibly important for compliance and ultimately, to ensure Title IV funding! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Nominated by Kathryn Douglas, Technical Support Center Student & Evening Support Supervisor, Client Support Services Accomplishment: On Friday, January 13th, Microsoft experienced an issue that caused all of their icons to go missing from the Desktop and Taskbar of JCCC employee devices. It also caused some applications to be removed, such as Chrome, Firefox, and Alertus. The TSC handled 164 tickets from this event and were able to resolve almost all of them within a week of the event.
– S3: Community Needs: Serve as a convener for focused community engagements, responding to the shifting demographics of Johnson County.
– S2: Organizational Culture: Foster an environment of belonging and support a positive campus culture.
· Sam Mirsepasi, Sr Enterprise Desktop and Application Administrator/Apple • Academic Technology Services
· Aaron Fry, Sr Enterprise Desktop Engineer • Academic Technology Services
· Abigail Buck, ATS Support Technician • Academic Technology Services
· Angela Boyer, Administrative Assistant, Academic Technology Services • Academic Technology Services
· Brett Robertson, Lead Enterprise Desktop Engineer & Support • Academic Technology Services
· Chad Rawalt, Sr Enterprise Desktop Engineer • Academic Technology Services
· Chris Leeson, Sr Enterprise Desktop Engineer • Academic Technology Services
· Darren Jenkins, Sr Cloud Systems/Application Administrator • Academic Technology Services
· Jeremey Gragg, ATS Support Technician • Academic Technology Services
· Julius Masbaum, ATS Support Technician • Academic Technology Services
· Kaden Kitten, ATS Support Technician • Academic Technology Services
· Mullai Shipley, ATS Support Technician • Academic Technology Services
· Nathan Preston, Lead Enterprise Desktop Engineer & Support • Academic Technology Services
· Raul Murillo, ATS Support Technician • Academic Technology Services
· Robert Pitts, Sr Enterprise Desktop Engineer • Academic Technology Services
· Timothy Golden, Sr Enterprise Desktop Engineer • Academic Technology Services
· Paul Knoettgen, Manager, Warehouse & Postal Services • Warehouse / Postal Services
– Michael Leech, Associate, Warehouse & Postal Services • Warehouse / Postal Services
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you — what a great team you are!
We’re almost there, and every fall I’m amazed by how much needs to be done to get ready for a new semester… and how we always manage to pull it off together. From the warehouse team to management, and to my peers who stepped up and helped out — your hard work and support have been incredible.
– Angela Boyer – for tirelessly handling all the requisitions, always with a smile
– Leila Enevoldsen – for keeping the FADS studios cool, calm, and organized so we could get our work done
– Brad Staupp – for staying cool and collected amidst all the fascinating (and sometimes chaotic) moments of setup
– Paul and the Warehouse Team – for their strength, speed, and behind-the-scenes effort
– Sean from Procurement Services – for patiently managing last-minute, high-pressure orders
– And lastly, our leadership team – for always being there when we need support
Student Success
S1 – Programming: Offer relevant academic programming to meet the shifting needs of our students, communities, and the industries we serve in career and technical and transfer programs.
S3 – Retention: Create clear pathways and early momentum to student success by helping students explore, choose, plan, and complete programs aligned with their career and education goals efficiently and affordably.
Huge thanks to the Warehouse team for their support in helping the Network Operations team deliver all the heavy network devices on time. Their flexibility in delivering to multiple buildings was impressive and made a big difference across all our projects.
Employee Engagement: S2 – Organizational Culture: Foster an environment of belonging and support a positive campus culture.
We had a new AO-K Pathway approved by KBOR in May, which opened up opportunities for some of our GED students. I needed some student applications rushed so that students could have a chance at getting the remaining HVAC spots, and Teresa got this done so quickly for us! This is opening doors for our students and we are so grateful for her willingness to go the extra mile!
For recognition of their outstanding support and quick action during the recent Johnson County Adult Education (JCAE) GED Graduation ceremony. Not only did this team help with every aspect of setting up for the ceremony—ensuring that every detail was in place and everything looked perfect—they also stepped up in a critical moment when things didn’t go as planned. When it was discovered that the reception had been set up in the wrong location, this team immediately jumped into action to relocate everything. They took initiative, stayed calm under pressure, and worked swiftly to ensure the reception was moved efficiently and in time for the celebration to begin as scheduled. Their dedication, teamwork, and positive attitude transformed what could have been a major disruption into a seamless transition. Because of their hard work both before and during the event, our graduates and their families were able to enjoy a beautiful, meaningful, and well-organized celebration. Their efforts exemplify the true spirit of going above and beyond.
Cydney Reece, Creative Lead/Designer • Strategic Communication & Marketing
Andy Dandino, Creative Manager • Strategic Communication & Marketing
Kim Funari, Creative Manager • Strategic Communication & Marketing
– S1: Workforce Development: Serve as a driver for workforce development across Johnson County.
– S2: Economic Development: Serve as a catalyst for business and community growth by supporting partners who attract and retain companies in our region.
Accomplishment: In June 2024, the Success Coaching team was tasked with developing and implementing by the beginning of August, a new support service for first-time college students facilitated between the stages of orientation and advising (later termed onboarding meetings). In the midst of adding these additional responsibilities, which came with a lot more responsibility but no additional pay, we lost half of our team, adding additional workload and pressure on those that remained. Throughout this transition, Nur, Niki, and Danielle never lost sight of what these new responsibilities sought to achieve–to help students clarify their goals and to prepare them for advising and enrollment–and instead, graciously carried the weight of this new task throughout the fall semester while we waited on approval to replace the 3 Coaches we lost. Along the way, they have continued to provide success coaching support to their student caseloads, have stepped in to support one another and the program when needs arise, have assisted with training the new Success Coaches, and have each provided invaluable feedback on ways in which we can continue to improve the onboarding meetings moving forward.
I wanted to inform you that the recent deployment of Yuja Verity caused some unexpected issues with the EMS program’s online testing with another product. However, the ATS Labs and Classroom and members of Client Support Services team quickly found multiple solutions and deployed mobile Chromebook carts to minimize disruption. This involved locating and deploying other equipment and other workarounds on a temporary basis until a final solution was discovered and fully implemented. As a result, EMS testing continued with minimal disruption and classes were able to proceed as scheduled.
Student Success
S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success.
S3: Create effective systems and pathways for students.
Accomplishment:
At JCAE, we onboard new GED students four times a year. We just finished our second onboarding session for FY25 on October 17 and welcomed 111 new students to GED classes. The 2nd quarter onboarding session is always an all-hands-on-deck group effort because we also must continue to provide instruction to our students who started with us in August. The whole GED staff works together to keep things running as usual while also welcoming new students to all classes and helping them transition smoothly to the work environment that is already established in classrooms. We could not do this without every member of the team doing their assigned task on schedule and with close attention to detail. I am grateful for all the instructors on our team who are dedicated to their positions and are always willing to take on extra tasks to ensure things flow smoothly and all students feel welcome and supported. Instructors are excited to help new students get started and already talking about getting students to their goal of obtaining their GED and deciding what goal they will set next. I want to thank my team for all they do each day to help JCAE students.
Student Success
S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success.
S3: Create effective systems and pathways for students.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
S2: Develop and support an inclusive environment that empowers all students, faculty, and staff to succeed.
I wanted to inform you that the recent deployment of Yuja Verity caused some unexpected issues with the EMS program’s online testing with another product. However, the ATS Labs and Classroom and members of Client Support Services team quickly found multiple solutions and deployed mobile Chromebook carts to minimize disruption. This involved locating and deploying other equipment and other workarounds on a temporary basis until a final solution was discovered and fully implemented. As a result, EMS testing continued with minimal disruption and classes were able to proceed as scheduled.
Student Success
S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success.
S3: Create effective systems and pathways for students.
Accomplishment:
At JCAE, we onboard new GED students four times a year. We just finished our second onboarding session for FY25 on October 17 and welcomed 111 new students to GED classes. The 2nd quarter onboarding session is always an all-hands-on-deck group effort because we also must continue to provide instruction to our students who started with us in August. The whole GED staff works together to keep things running as usual while also welcoming new students to all classes and helping them transition smoothly to the work environment that is already established in classrooms. We could not do this without every member of the team doing their assigned task on schedule and with close attention to detail. I am grateful for all the instructors on our team who are dedicated to their positions and are always willing to take on extra tasks to ensure things flow smoothly and all students feel welcome and supported. Instructors are excited to help new students get started and already talking about getting students to their goal of obtaining their GED and deciding what goal they will set next. I want to thank my team for all they do each day to help JCAE students.
Student Success
S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success.
S3: Create effective systems and pathways for students.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
S2: Develop and support an inclusive environment that empowers all students, faculty, and staff to succeed.
Wanted to give thanks to the team members involved with the Server Licensing Cloud Software Migration project. The project members successfully transferred on-campus academic licensing servers to the cloud, eliminating and consolidating system workloads. This was a challenging and complex project that required close collaboration, innovative solutions, and detailed testing. The team started working on this project in December 2023 for the academic labs and completed it in August 2024, meeting the deadline and exceeding the expectations for the start of the fall term. We congratulate the team for their outstanding performance and thank them for their valuable contribution to the organization.
Over 20+ Software titles were migrated to the cloud, The Foundry Education Suite, ToonBoom, PhoenixFD,V-Ray(Chaos Software), AutoCad, Revit, Civil 3D, Inventor, NavisWorks, Rizom UV, Rhino, Keyshot (Luxion), Topogun 3, Vectorworks, TI-Nspire, and Minitab 17.1, Scientific Notebook, Autodesk Maya, 3DS Max, Recap Pro, MotionBuilder, Mudbox, Jaws, ZoomText.)
Student Success
S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success.
ESL Instructors-JCAE Adult Education & Literacy
Our ESL team in the month of August registered, tested and placed over 1,000 students into classes for Fall 2024. They have been working morning and night Monday-Thursday to get all students tested and placed. They accomplished all of this while maintaining a positive, collaborative spirit. We are thrilled with their success and the fun they had while doing it.
Student Success
S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success.
Community Partnerships S1: Identify and Align with those who advance JCCC’s mission, vision, and values.
Employee Engagement
S2: Create and maintain an environment where employees are valued and belong. S3: Develop a consistent culture of accountability, integrity, and equity.
JCAE ESL Leadership Team
Our incredible ESL Leadership team lead through the largest registration and onboarding in recent JCAE history. They took in over 1,000 students, registered, tested, and placed them into classes. They did this while also working with an instructor team that had 17 new instructors learning the ropes as well. This is incredible work for an experienced team, but new to their positions. We are so proud of the work they have done, but also the positive, supportive environment they created while accomplishing so much.
Community Partnerships S1: Identify and Align with those who advance JCCC’s mission, vision, and values.
S3: Be a convener for issues that transform and strengthen our communities.
Employee Engagement S2: Create and maintain an environment where employees are valued and belong. S3: Develop a consistent culture of accountability, integrity, and equity.
JCAE Operations Team
Our Operations team was fully integrated into our ESL onboarding process this semester for the first time. They worked alongside our ESL department to help register, test, place, accept payment and distribute books for over 1,000 ESL students. They worked hard, maintained a collaborative and positive spirit and helped make the last month a huge success!
S3: Develop a consistent culture of accountability, integrity, and equity.
Community Partnerships S3: Be a convener for issues that transform and strengthen our communities.
· Natasha Jenkins, GED Lead Instructor, JCAE
· Jennifer Schrowe, GED Mobile Testing Administrator, JCAE
Nominated by Jessica Decker, ABE/GED Program Coordinator, Johnson County Adult Education
Accomplishment: In June, JCAE offered a summer course for our GED students who normally end classes on May 14. These students were almost finished with their GED testing and close to graduating, but they needed more support to meet that goal. Marian, Natasha, and Jennifer teamed up to plan an extra month of instruction for those students, create a schedule that benefited as many students as possible, and offer onsite testing during class times to eliminate barriers that sometimes prevent our students from finishing their GED. Through their support, 3 students were able to graduate and 4 students passed additional tests that they likely would not have attempted if they took the month of June off from studying. This class helped students greatly and because of the work they completed this is something we are excited to continue offering in the summer. Thank you, Marian, Natasha, and Jennifer for your dedication to JCAE students and our mission to help transform lives through education!
Student Success S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success.
· Brad Staupp, Director ATS Lab
· Chris Leeson, Sr Cloud Systems/Application Administrator
· Mullai Shipley, ATS Support Technician
· Joey Quigley, ATS Support Technician
· Brett Robertson, ATS Support Technician
· Ihsan Al Faili, Manager Network Operations
Nominated by Leslie Dykstra, JCAE Program Director
Community Partnerships S1: Identify and Align with those who advance JCCC’s mission, vision, and values S3: Be a convener for issues that transform and strengthen our communities.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion S2: Develop and support an inclusive environment that empowers all students, faculty, and staff to succeed.
Employee Engagement S3: Develop a consistent culture of accountability, integrity, and equity.
· Victoria Olson, Supervisor Registration Specialist
· Susan Elliott, Lead Registration Specialist
· Rene Skelton, Registration Specialist
· Pam Tarwater, Registration Specialist
· Angie Cordero-Pavon, Registration Specialist
Nominated by Leslie Dykstra, JCAE Program Director
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion S2: Develop and support an inclusive environment that empowers all students, faculty, and staff to succeed.
Employee Engagement S3: Develop a consistent culture of accountability, integrity, and equity.
· Jason Buell, Supervisor Registration Specialist
· Matt Riggs, Access Control Specialist
· Eric Christensen, Manager Access Control
· Jeannette Lula, Office Assistant Security Access Control
Nominated by Leslie Dykstra, JCAE Program Director
Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Diversity, Equity, Inclusion S2: Develop and support an inclusive environment that empowers all students, faculty, and staff to succeed. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion S3: Implement, reinforce, and sustain institutional structures, practices, processes, and partnerships consistent with diversity, equity, and inclusion principles.
Employee Engagement S1: Encourage employee growth. S2: Create and maintain an environment where employees are valued and belong.
Accomplishment: WCMT exhaust system for welding labs was failing. They had to clean filters in order for classes to resume in the welding booths. This was a dirty job but had to be done.
Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s):
Student Success S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success.
Community Partnerships S2: Promote the College as a partner of choice for strategic collaborations.
Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s):
Employee Engagement S3: Develop a consistent culture of accountability, integrity, and equity.
Student Success S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success.
Accomplishment: In April, JCCC was asked by the Kansas Department of Commerce to host a large group of Japanese business leaders through the Chicago-based Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) from Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC). These 50+ Japanese visitors requested to tour our CTE facilities and meet with area employers on campus over lunch. The group included English speakers and many non-English speakers. JCCC team members provided walking tours of our CTEC facilities and campus, catered wonderful KC style BBQ lunch, shared information about how community colleges impact workforce development and the economic development of our community, and we hosted a large advanced manufacturing company who addressed the group. The day was documented with photos which have been shared with JETRO and KDC, and the visitors went home with relevant literature about JCCC and contacts for future questions. This was a cross-campus team effort! Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s):
Community Partnerships S1: Identify and Align with those who advance JCCC’s mission, vision, and values.
S2: Promote the College as a partner of choice for strategic collaborations.
S3: Be a convener for issues that transform and strengthen our communities. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
S1: Cultivate and communicate institutional access, awareness, and accountability.
S3: Implement, reinforce, and sustain institutional structures, practices, processes, and partnerships consistent with diversity, equity, and inclusion principles.
Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Student Success S3: Create effective systems and pathways for students.
Employee Engagement S3: Develop a consistent culture of accountability, integrity, and equity.
Accomplishment: Over the spring and summer semesters of 2023, Aaron, Antonio, Bob, and Thomas worked to write the curriculum for a weekly seminar to review Calculus 3 for the other MRC (Math Resource Center) tutors and senior tutors. Their efforts resulted in a 112-page review packet that serves as the basis for our new Calculus 3 weekly seminar. This was a tedious task that took much time and preparation. They used LaTeX code and researched different ways to construct the many graphs and theorems that are in Calculus 3 so that they could present the material in the best way possible. This seminar gives our tutors the opportunity to take a semester and review Calculus 3 with detailed guided notes. This is an opportunity they did not previously have. We would have tried to do without their work, but thanks to their dedication and perseverance, we do not have to. I believe this project that they have worked on will help ensure for years to come that there are tutors available who can help students with this upper-level course which few tutors could previously help with. We have already begun to see the fruits of their labors as more of our tutors are helping with Calc 3. Aaron, Antonio, Bob, and Thomas went above and beyond their job descriptions as senior tutors. While assisting in the training and mentoring of new and peer tutors is part of the MRC senior tutor job description, creating the materials for a brand-new seminar is not. Also learning new LaTeX codes and using these to help create the materials for this seminar is indeed above and beyond what is expected of them. The dedication and effort Aaron, Antonio, Bob, and Thomas demonstrated by completing this task shows that they value both their coworkers and the students of JCCC. Because of this, I am nominating Aaron Bretton, Antonio Ortiz, Bob Davidson, and Thomas Parra for the Team Effort Award.
Ties in with JCCC Strategic Goal(s): Student Success S1: Ensure our models of teaching and learning lead to student success. S3: Create effective systems and pathways for students. Employee Engagement S1: Encourage employee growth.October – December 2023
September, 2023
August 1, 2023
JULY 1, 2023
JUNE 1, 2023