Applause Awardees-2008

January - Bryan Miller, Dean's Office

February - Leif Milliken, Modern Languages and Literatures

March - Sharon Frederick, Intensive English Program

April - Evan Meade, Department of Chemistry

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Bryan Miller

Our Applause for January goes out to Bryan Miller, Computer Specialist for the College. As his nominations say:

"Bryan has been a computer tech for the Dean's Office for almost two years. He has quickly become my go-to person for all computer questions. Bryan is a patience teacher! He also is passionate about technology. He often shares helpful hints from his trade journals. Bryan is quick witted and is a real team player. He has been a great addition to the Dean's Office! Bryan has been an outstanding tutor, mentor, suggester on all aspects relating to computers. His help has been invaluable to me and I am sure to others."

"Woohoo! We love our computer tech Bryan Miller! He makes house calls quickly, and diagnoses and treats our computer diseases with proficiency. He often "makes rounds" just to make sure our computers are running efficiently. And he also expands his practice to printers. We really appreciate Bryan's expertise and his friendly personality in keeping our department running smoothly. Bryan has been the most helpful person in the A&S computer specialist position that I have encountered. He is always willing to problem solve and trys to assist with difficulties, even on a moment's notice. I have never known him to be anything but positive, helpful and kind. I think we are lucky to have him work at UNL in this capacity. He has fixed every single problem that I have given him and even found additional things to do that were unexpected and very useful. Bryan is always available, willing, skilled, and positive. I feel free to ask him for help and he always has solved the problems I have brought to him. Bryan understands what we do and what sorts of help we need so he can get right to work. I also like the fact that Bryan explains his solutions so that I feel "empowered." As I right that, I realize that it has been a while since I called Bryan, in part because I now regularly operate remote systems and other taks that I remember being challenged by - until I called Bryan. "

"Oh, how can we make it through the day without Bryan! We depend on him so much when we have a computer problem -- knowing that he'll come to our rescue! With his quick promptness on our "service calls", it doesn't take him long at all to find the problem and get our computer back up and going smoothly again! He's very pleasant and friendly towards the faculty and staff in our office. Bryan has consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that all of my computing needs have been met. As a new faculty member, it was very nice to have someone as knowledgeable and eager to help as Bryan; he helped make my transition here go smoothly. I look forward to working with Bryan in the future. Bryan is a wealth of knowledge when it comes not only to computer operations, but also a variety of other technical issues. Bryan has helped us to extend our funding by building a computer from scratch. He has stemmed by desire, on more than one occasion, to 'drop kick' my computer out the window. Bryan's work is timely and efficient. He is ready at a moments notice to share his knowledge, expertise and humor. Applause for Bryan and his work! "

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Leif Milliken

With 13 nominations, our Applause awardee for February is Leif Milliken in Modern Languages and Literatures. As his nominations say:

"I am pleased to nominate Leif Milliken for the Arts and Sciences APPLAUSE award. Leif is the graduate secretary and the journals editorial assistant in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. It is this second capacity the Leif work together on a daily basis. He is smart, organized, and keeps the publication schedule on track through work in the office, learning new skills, and corresponding with authors around the world. It would be impossible to do this work without Leif. Leif does an outstanding job across two, complex positions: Secretary to MLL's three graduate programs and as editorial assistant to the distinguished journal Nineteenth-century French Studies. Moving adroitly across many responsibilities, such as keeping up with manuscripts, correspondence, and the intricacies of three major programs of graduate study, Leif never loses his composure. He is unfailingly courteous and informed, rises to greet with equanimity myriad requests from students, faculty, staff, and administrators, and is utterly competent in execution. As both a faculty member in MLL and an administrator of another unit on campus, I am dearly impressed with Leif's competence and willingness to go the extra mile. He is a gem, and I offer sustained applause in recommending him for this wonderful award."

"Leif is doing a great job in his time in the Modern Languages office. This is my first semester in the department, so I have had lots of questions. All of them have answered very promptly. He helped me track down my lunch one day when it appeared someone had taken it from the fridge and eaten it themselves. He found it stowed away behind another compartment in the fridge. This is the kind of "above and beyond" approach that Leif takes every day in the department. I know if I ever need something in a pinch that Leif will drop everything and help me get my problems solved. Leif is always very helpful when there is a question or a request. He completes the request in a very prompt timely manner."

"Leif is always very helpful when there is a question or a request. Leif completes the request in a very promptly manner. Leif is always available to help with any request, even at the last minute. He is flexible, cheerful, and dependable in all matters. He works late to complete jobs if necessary and responds to emails promptly and thoroughly. He finds ways to solve problems rather than pass them off to someone else. He is a great asset to the Modern Languages Department. Since Leif started working in our main office, he has helped me with many different problems ranging from class rosters to helping me set up appointments with various professors to discuss my application to PhD programs at schools around the country. He is always prompt with his e-mail responses, which is extremely helpful when dealing with deadlines. Leif deserves to be recognized for his outstanding work done in our department."

"Apart from being the nicest person ever and keeping a smile and that soft way of speaking no matter what time it is, whatever problem we go to him with, he works more hours than scheduled in order to make our lives easier. He warns us about every single news he gets to know in relation to the department, our studies, or any other thing, and I definitely think he is a great worker and person. Leif is a very quiet, unassuming person in our office. He is always at his desk, attending to all that needs to be done very diligently. He is very pleasant and gets things done on time. When you are in that office where any of the 90-100 teaching staff can walk in and ask for any kind of help, he is there to help. He has been a very good addition to the office staff and hopefully he will stay for long with us. He gets along with everybody and is liked by everyone. I think that Leif Milliken, the academic secretary for the Modern Languages Department, should receive the applause award. He is highly dedicated to his job and is always ready to go out of his way to help or to find the answer to any question. He also shows all around him a depth of spirit and human kindness that are very rare and refreshing. For these reasons I believe he deserves a hearty round of applause."

"Leif is a very dedicated, efficient, courteous person who goes out of his way to help in the office. He once stayed over half an hour after his regular time in order to assist me in the printing, packaging and mailing of a book typescript that had to reach the publisher the next day. I strongly nominate Leif for an applause award which he much deserves. He is an excellent worker who provides effective and constant help. It has been great having Leif with us in Modern Languages! He is very approachable and very professional. We all love him! I especially appreciated his Friday bow ties for "Bow Tie Fridays". To me, they reflect how he is: both elegant and cool!"

 

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Sharon Frederick

Our Applause for March goes out to Sharon Frederick, Staff Assistant for Intensive English Program. As her nominations say:

"Sharon Frederick began working in the Intensive English Program in November, 2006, as a temporary employee. She came into a situation where no one had been handling a number of the general office functions so there was a considerable backlog of paperwork, and the office lacked an organized filing system. She came in and hit the ground running. She did such a wonderful job that several months later, she was moved into the regular Staff Assistant position. Her accounting background is very useful in a position in which she collects student tuition and fees for non- credit hour English classes. She enjoys working with the foreign students who appreciate her kindness and patience. I am grateful to her for organizing and managing the business functions in Intensive English in such an outstanding manner. She's a self-starter and a go-getter; the kind of person who makes everyone else's day easier. She has worked miracles and brought organization, calm and happiness to what was disorder and chaos. She works well with everyone, from students to faculty to staff."

"Sharon constantly has even her interruptions interrupted by all of the above, not to mention the phone and the fax machine, each with a different kind of problem -- bus passes, test results, payments, invoices, broken copy machines, housing forms, student visas, registration questions . . . Regardless, her detailed work is accurate, her manner friendly and pleasant, and she gets it done, on time no less. It seemed like she had been working in our office for years! Whenever I needed anything, it was there before I even asked for it. Everything ran smoothly. Everyone on staff really appreciated her professionalism and efficiency during what could have been stressful transition. Furthermore, she always is willing to help students and staff with a smile. Sharon always goes out of her way to help out however she can. I'll never forget the time she drove me to a testing site when we had to get some materials there by a deadline!"

"With her cheerful diligence Sharon helped us through the changes -- and left us looking prettier and more up to date than before. She is both efficient and pleasant -- to everyone. To have BOTH qualities in the same person is indeed wonderful! [It does not always happen.] Also, our students are far far from home. They have questions and fears over stuff that American kids would not think of. I have never heard Ms. Frederick respond to any student or prospective student with anything other than courtesy and friendliness."

"Sharon came on board and jumped right in making things work more efficiently than I can ever remember. If it weren't for her pleasant greetings and all around good humor, I wouldn't even know she was here--except, of course, when I'm bugging her for something--since she's always working away and making things run smoothly. We are so lucky to have her with us. Around here, we just love her!"

 

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Evan Meade

Our Applause for April goes out to Evan Meade, Laboratory Storekeeper in the Department of Chemistry. As his nominations say:

"Evan wears many hats in the operation of the general chemistry stockroom. He makes solutions, provides unknowns, equipment and chemicals for 3000 chemical students a year. Answers teaching assistant and student questions about the lab experiments. Evan designed a template that improved the accuracy and the speed of the chemistry student check-out system. Evan also helps many of our non-contact teaching assistants with their improvement of the English language and of course American culture."

"Evan is one of those great employees who slips through the cracks when it comes to being recognized for a job well done. He isn't flashy and doesn't create any fuss or drama. He comes in each day and does his job and does it really, really well but with a quiet understated way. Thus, unfortunately the Evans of the world often go unnoticed."

"Evan Meade is always willing to lend a helping hand to whatever project is at hand. Many times I have explained a need for whatever dilemma has come up and he has responded, 'Just a minute I think I have just the thing.' He disappears into the stockroom and reappears with just the tool or beaker or apparatus to solve the problem. He keeps the horticulture alive and thriving in the Resource Center and throughout the building. Evan also has a special word of the day or question of the day to brighten a morning and keep us thinking."

"Evan quietly does a sometimes thankless job and he does it well. I am pleased to call Evan a colleague. He is always smiling and has always been willing to help wherever and whenever he is needed. Evan is always willing to lend a friendly helping hand. He is courteous and is excellent at his job. He works well with students and staff alike. Evan is very dependable has been a great addition to the chemistry department team. An APPLAUSE award would be a wonderful way to let Evan know how we greatly appreciate his dedication to the department and that we recognize his hard work in an often thankless job."