November/December Of The Month Winners!

With the holidays, we almost forgot to recognize our Of The Month winners from November and December of 2012. It's a good thing we didn't though - there were some great things going on!

First and foremost, we would like to give a tremendous shout out to Shane Kenealy. Shane was the NATIONAL WINNER for First Year Student Of The Month of November. A resident of Mae Smith hall, Shane showed phenomenal leadership and commitment to his building and the overall residential community on campus. Some highlights of Shane's leadership on campus include attendance and representation at Residence Hall Association (RHA) meetings, communication between RHA and the Mae Smith Area Council, participation in RA programming and large-scale events on campus, presence on Facebook, and contributions to a bid to host the 2014 Illinois Residence Hall Association (IRHA) annual conference. Read more about Shane's incredible contributions to University Housing here.

Campus Winners for the month of November include:

Executive Board member Of The Month Camillia Bone "With an overall vision of improving and enhancing record keeping for the Association, Camillia spent extra time on a new process tracking receipts and funds. By taking time to enhance this process, Camillia was able to better direct discussions around programming and budget limits when fellow executive board members needed guidance."

Graduate Assistant Of The Month Yemisi Pleasant "I can talk to basically anyone on my staff, and while I do appreciate them all SO much, Yemisi is great because she can relate."

Institution Faculty/Staff Of The Month Caitlin Entwistle "She may be the shop manager (Costume Shop Manager for the SIU Carbondale Theater Department), but she is also an excellent, patient instructor for everyone from freshman to graduate student, and she does not put anyone down for asking what could be considered silly questions, but answers them happily. This dedication to her work and to the learning of others is the reason Caitlin Entwistle should be considered for Institution Faculty/Staff of the Month."

Passive Program Of The Month (done by Sophie Lozano of University Hall) "In order of the residents to actively seek out information on a bulletin board, the theme and execution must be eye-catching with reliable information. Sophie found the perfect balance between entertainment and usefulness. The theme of this board was the Simpsons. In the introduction of every episode is Bart Simpson writing what he will not do in class. Sophie altered the text to provided a list of what not to do at the end of the semester. With her attention to details, hand- drawn Bart Simpson, and clever wording, this bulletin board is the perfect balance"

Residence Life Faculty/Staff Of The Month David Keys "David has made the staff feel like a family through constant connection and showing interest in their lives in and out of their job."

Resident Assistant Of The Month Sara Craft "As her coworker I know that Sara is an amazing resource on staff and an amazing friend. In the past month I had to go home for an extended amount of time and Sara was the first person to cover my duty without questioning my motives. Knowing that in my time of need I had a staff member that had my back made being with my family much easier."

Residential Community Of The Month Education LLC 6th floor Mae Smith "Together, this group of people is one I know will succeed simply because they have each other for support and love. They have managed to create a home away from home, which is something every floor and residence hall should hope to accomplish."

Social Program Of The Month Bag of Warm Fuzzies "This program allowed residents to recognize each other's postitive personality traits and contributions to the floor. Residents benefited from reading their own notes because it gave them a boost of confidence and recognition for their positivity. The fact that residents continued to write notes even after the program shows that residents enjoyed this program and benefited from it."

Spotlight Of The Month Jerry Boren "One of my favorite places to go on SIU campus is into West Campus' Lakeside Express. Not because I can get food there, but because of Jerry. He's always there with a smile and asks how things are going. If there's something that isn't there, he's right there ready to check and see if they have it in storage. Aside from being on top of things, Jerry always has an encouraging word to say if I'm having a rough day."

Student Of The Month Adam McCallister "From the moment Adam stepped foot onto Southern Illinois University Carbondale's campus, he made a difference. Immediately, Adam became involved in organizations on campus such as Progressive MasculinitiesMentors as well as Saluki Rainbow Network. His work ethic as a freshman was outstanding; he picked up a job as a tour guide for the school as well as a member of the Marketing Team for the campus. Having the pleasure of working with Adam while being tour guides it was clear when he spoke, people listened. He has the air of a natural born leader and is able to connect to the audience he is addressing."

Campus Winners of the month of December are:

Graduate Assistant Of The Month Jon Gorgosz "GA Jon Gorgosz' example of how to respectfully handle a situation with raging residents was very beneficial to me and the rest of us RAs watching."

Spotlight Of The Month Barbara "Basia" Wilas "Basia serves University Housing as an Office Assistant and has proven to be the definition of an upbeat employee who sees work a little differently throughout the month of December. Ralph Waldo Emerson once noted “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” This is very true of Basia throughout the past month. She has changed the way she views work, and her work has greatly changed because of it."

As always, we'd like to recognize those who submit OTM nominations. Thank you Colleen Hoogenboom, Nicolette Winn, Hannah Sinclair, Elizabeth Nielsen, Robert Lyons, Miranda Hayes, Sarah Larsen, Rachel Reynolds, Sean Boyd, Jonathan Rivera, Rebecca Sisson, Lucas Sears, Jennifer Koob, Amanda Wyland, Hart Jorgensen, Sara Craft, Jes Carron, Sean Mathis, Jeanette Grosman, Gregory Gierling, Nicole Carlen, Radiah Henderson, Kalan Pivoney, Rebecca Borowiak, Seth Moore, Justin Schuch for your contributions to recognition!