Extra Effort & Team Effort Awards

Virtual Extra Effort Nomination Form
Virtual Team Extra Effort Nomination Form
Click here to Jump to Team Effort Awards

 

The EXTRA EFFORT AWARD goes to:

Mary Blomquist, Tutor III, English for Academic Purposes – nominated by Amber Schrage.
“Mary volunteered several days at Johnson County Adult Education for tech setup and was a valuable member of the team. Her ability to communicate the tech information but also communicate in a different language was extremely helpful to our students. She helped problem solve and provided feedback to improve the processes.
Thank you, Mary!!”

Bruce Inwards, Tutor III, English for Academic Purposes – nominated by Amber Schrage.
“Bruce volunteered at almost all JCAE tech set-up sessions and was invaluable! He ability to communicate with students in Spanish, knows the tech so well, and is great at providing feedback and ideas to help improve the efficiency of the process. He is upbeat and has great rapport with any student that he comes in contact with. I am extremely grateful for all his help and support.
Thank you, Bruce!!”

Anne Rubeck, Digital Strategist, Strategic Communications & Marketing – nominated by Kim Steinmetz.
“Anne has worked with IISS on important and last-minute changes to our website. We’ve had to rush several pages and updates, and Anne is always helpful, kind, quick, and thorough. She is professional and makes sure we always have consistent, accurate, and professional information for our students. She is a joy to work with. Thanks, Anne.”

Sherrie Stawinski, Adjunct Biology Faculty – nominated by Craig Corpstein.
“Sherrie teaches Bio 121 lab on Saturday afternoons. There have been many times in the past year when Sherrie goes far above her teaching duties by helping to put away lab materials, signs, and equipment when her lab is finished. This is greatly appreciated and unexpected. It is wonderful to work with Sherrie and I appreciate the lab prep help she gives.”

Angie Claussen, Counselor, Counseling – nominated by Alyssa Slana.
“Angie took the time to help a student adjust their Academic Probation Plan for this semester when they came in overwhelmed and needing to make a change. Angie took the initiative to adjust the student’s probation plan to fit her needs and helped her better understand the plan’s purpose. Angie kept me in the loop so I was aware of the situation/changes and could provide further information and support. This is a great example of wraparound services at work!”

Abigail Buck, ATS Support Technician, Acedemic Technology Services – nominated by Mullai Shipley.
“Abigail is a proactive and determined individual who is always willing to conduct thorough research and resolve any issues that arise. She consistently stays on top of her tasks and demonstrates a strong commitment to excellence by going the extra mile to ensure that her work is completed to the highest standard.”

Susan McGarvey, Administrative Assistant, NARS – nominated by Stephanie Beattie.
“I am honored to nominate Susan for the Extra Effort Award in recognition of her kindness, dedication, and willingness to go above and beyond in supporting her colleagues. Since I started my role as an administrative assistant, Susan has spent several days guiding me through budget processes, showing me how to look up budgets, and providing me with helpful training materials. Her patience, expertise, and generosity in sharing her knowledge have made a significant impact on my ability to transition smoothly into my role. Susan is always kind and eager to lend a hand whenever I have a question. Her positive attitude and commitment to helping others reflect her incredible work ethic and team spirit. She truly is a superstar at what she does, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to learn from her.”

Ella Lynchnikova, Tutor III, English for Academic Purposes – nominated by Rebekah Godke.
“Ella took the time to meet with a student needing extra help with English pronunciation. She made time for this student and helped build confidence in the student.”

Kevin Caldwell, Tutor III, AAC & LRC – nominated by Rebekah Godke.
“Kevin always makes an extra effort to welcome students to the Academic Achievement Center and direct them to resources. He recently took the time to help a student prep for the AccuPlacer, even though that is outside his usual job duties.”

Anna Smith, Coordinator, AAC & LRC – nominated by Rebekah Godke.
“No matter what is going on, Anna is willing and happy to help students who need extra assistance in the Academic Achievement Center. She can be seen in the AAC handling different situations with patience and grace.”

Team Effort Award Nomination Form

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:

• Christal Williams, Director Financial Aid
• Dawn Boman, Financial Aid Processing Supervisor
• Simon Hausner, Senior Financial Aid Analyst Supervisor
• Ashley Jost, Financial Aid Scholarships, Communication, and Outreach Supervisor
• Jillian Palan, Accountant
• Danielle Sullivan, Financial Aid Advising Supervisor
• Ivori Smith, Financial Aid Coordinator
• Laura Harris, Financial Aid Coordinator
• Kristy Moreno, Financial Aid Coordinator
• Martha Drone, Financial Aid Coordinator
• Jack Zumalt, Financial Aid Advising Assistant
• Dawn Neel, Financial Aid Advising Assistant
• Cat Carpio, Financial Aid Advising Assistant
• Eric Sclesky, Financial Aid Advising Assistant
• Daisha Holmes, Specialized Grant Programs Manager
• James Berggren, Financial Aid Analyst IT
• Zachery Ayers, Financial Aid Accounting Specialist
• Kelly Cole, Financial Aid Compliance Officer Federal Work Study
• Nick Sutton, Senior Financial Aid Compliance Coordinator
• Dani Lux, Financial Aid Processing Coordinator
• Joni Benz, Financial Aid Processing Assistant
• Bethany Ochs, Financial Aid Processing Assistant
• Rej’lyn Mack, Financial Aid Scholarships Coordinator
• Haley Crawford, Financial Aid Communications Coordinator

 

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:

• Emily Zdjelar, JCAE Operations Coordinator
• Ellie Parker, JCAE Administrative Coordinator
• Jessica Decker, JCAE ABE/GED Program Coordinator
• Amber Schrage, JCAE ESL Program Coordinator
• Linda Turbyfill, JCAE ESL Lead Instructor
• Helga Dotti-Alvarado, JCAE ESL Site Supervisor
• Joanna Schindel, JCAE ESL Lead Instructor

 

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:

• Nur Hafza, Success Coach, Orientation and New Student Retention Initiatives
• Niki Rheuport, Success Coach, Orientation and New Student Retention Initiatives
• Danielle Gallegos, Lead Success Coach, Orientation and New Student Retention Initiatives

 

Nominated by Brent Haverkamp-Coordinator, Orientation & New Student Retention
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.

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:

• Katie Ashley, Program Coordinator, WDCE
• Hillary Callahan, Operations Coordinator, WDCE
• Alex Cordero-Pavon, Administrative Assistant, WDCE
• Gretchen Merritt, Operations Coordinator, WDCE
• Karen Nealey, Nail Tech Receptionist, WDCE
• Victoria Marie Olson, Registration Supervisor, WDCE

 

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.

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