This week’s ‘Thumbs Up’ recipients

Katie Leber

Katie Leber (Purdue Global Health Sciences): Katie Leber has made a profound impact on her students, particularly those balancing the demands of family and education. A returning student, after 12 years away from school, expressed deep appreciation for Dr. Leber’s compassion, empathy and unwavering support. Despite facing significant challenges, including the struggles brought on by COVID-19, Dr. Leber has gone above and beyond to accommodate and uplift her students. Her humor and engaging teaching style have not only made her seminars a highlight but also instilled confidence and motivation in her students. Dr. Leber’s dedication to her students’ success, her passion for teaching and her ability to create a supportive and positive learning environment deserve recognition. She exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding educator, making a lasting difference in the lives of those she teaches. — Chris Gallucci (Purdue Global Health Sciences)

Kelsie Newberry and Chris Marheine

Kelsie Newberry and Chris Marheine (both IT Enterprise Solutions): Kelsie and Chris have gone above and beyond supporting UG advisors in the MyPurdue portal and SSB9 upgrades. Thank you both for patiently and thoroughly answering and exploring advisors’ questions during this transition. We appreciate you so much! — University Undergraduate Academic Advising

Scott Sproles

Scott Sproles (Infrastructure): Scott is the man! He takes care of everything we need in Dudley Hall — even the really random requests we make. I wouldn’t be as efficient in my job without his hard work! — Tyson McFall-Wankat (College of Engineering)

Brandon Ball

Brandon Ball (Operations and Maintenance): Much appreciation to Brandon Ball and the Bull Gang for their assistance on a last-minute request to move some heavy countertops. Brandon worked to find time in their busy schedule to make the move happen amid a tight deadline. Thank you for your assistance! — Heidi Medrano (Operations and Maintenance)

Allen McMullen, Maria Gaeta and Carlos Casas

Allen McMullen, Maria Gaeta and Carlos Casas (all Building Services): I would like to say thank you to my three custodians for the Bindley Bioscience Center and Burton D. Morgan building. They are the epitome of what hard work and dedication to your job is. They are always willing to go above and beyond, and the cleanliness of the buildings definitely reflect their hard work and dedication. — Steve Rudolph (Purdue Research)

Lori Shomaker

Lori Shomaker (Office of the Registrar): Lori is amazing at her job and goes above for a great office environment. If you know, you know. — Records and Registration Team

Jill Aichinger

Jill Aichinger (Finance and Business Operations): Around this time each year, we have an influx of student employee new hires, promotions, title changes, separation of employment from those who recently graduated and merit increases. With over 100 student employees and multiple positions we offer in our department, entering the data can be overwhelming. However, Jill does not skip a beat when it comes to getting these updates put into the system. There was a slight learning curve that occurred over the summer as we switched to TDX for all requests. Jill provided useful information that helped with the new process. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that happens to get everything correctly entered. I greatly appreciate Jill for making this happen each semester! — Adrian Peacock-Downey (IT End User Experience)

Chloe Roberts

Chloe Roberts (College of Pharmacy): Chloe Roberts has proactively joined us in planning the 2024 College of Pharmacy Career Fair. Our office wants to thank you for your passion and creative ideas to help us plan and execute this successful event for our students! — Stacy Golleher (College of Pharmacy)

Reece Montgomery and Mark Schneider

Reece Montgomery and Mark Schneider (both Infrastructure Telecom Services): I want to give a huge thank-you to Reece Montgomery and Mark Schneider for playing such an integral role in getting our sensor system set up and active. Reece and Mark dedicated several hours, phone calls and Microsoft Teams meetings helping our electronics shop get this active for some of our infrastructure that we maintain around campus. They were both very professional, flexible and willing to listen to our needs and troubleshoot with us all along the way. Great job to both of you, and we greatly appreciate your efforts and your willingness to help us in such a pinch! Keep up the great work! — Ian Anderson (Operations and Maintenance)

Molly Howe

Molly Howe (Curriculum and Instruction): Thanks to Molly Howe for being proactive in helping get ready for the semester! Her assistance, above and beyond what was requested, was very much appreciated. — Nadine Dolby (Curriculum and Instruction)

Tracy Kalbaugh

Tracy Kalbaugh (Office of the Dean of Students): I would like to recognize Tracy for her exceptional empathy and student support. Tracy is incredibly kind and intelligent and consistently goes above and beyond to ensure that students understand all their options. Her ability to listen and always know the right thing to say create a supportive environment where students feel valued and empowered. Tracy’s dedication to their well-being makes her an invaluable asset to our team and a true advocate for student success. — Tessa Winkler (Office of the Dean of Students)