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Staff Stars

Staff Stars - April 2025

Prize Winners: Annette Shelton, Isabel Phillips, Nnenna Eke-Ukoh, Teresa Koontz, and Veronica Wallentine

*Annette Shelton - Manager 1, Biology

Annette is the reason the labs in the biology dept function. She keeps supplies on hand, knows all the answers to the many questions she gets every day. She is very organized and is willing to help anyone and is a joy to have around. She makes our jobs easier, and we are very fortunate to have her in our department and our students are lucky to learn from her.

Annette Shelton - Manager 1, Biology

Annette is the backbone of the entire Biology department. She puts so much into not only teaching lecture and labs but managing the labs for Biology. She goes above and beyond to be a true friend to everyone in the department, and a true mentor for all students in the department. She is an amazing person, and I believe she deserves to be recognized for the work she does for all of SLCC as a whole.

Cindy Barela - Director, Human Resources

I want to give a shout out to Cindy who always juggles multiple responsibilities with grace, efficiency and positivity. She is highly organized and keeps things running smoothly while also lifting others up. She leads with positivity and her teamwork, support and collaboration are invaluable. I am so grateful to work with Cindy!

Connie Lemon - Administrative Assistant, VP Student Life

I am new to SLCC replacing Connie in the Bursar's Office. She has been sweet, kind, and very helpful, and has made me feel so welcome. As a new employee it can be overwhelming Connie has always made herself available to help me navigate my new role. She has become a great friend in a short time, thank you Connie!

Emily Howsley - Coordinator 3, The Miller Entrepreneurship

Emily is incredible and a very smart woman. With her help, I was able to plan an Open House for our Westpointe Campus that received a huge turnout because of the knowledge and guidance Emily gave me. I appreciate her so much and am very grateful to have her be a part of SLTech. She is an incredible asset to our school and am looking forward to working on many future projects with her!

Fardos Mustafa - Child Care Provider, Family & Human Studies

Fardos is always positive, optimistic, and her laugh is contagious. Fardos is a fantastic mentor and guide for the FHS lab students that come into her classroom. She answers their questions and supports their needs as she is a role model for hands on learning and best practices approach. She brightens everyone's day with her love of life, learning, being and doing.

Fear Dowd - Specialist II, Division of Health Professions

Fear has an unwavering dedication to the Div. of Health Professions, faculty and students. Her hard work and positive attitude have made her the go-to person for many division projects. We can always trust that anything she tackles will be done with excellence and efficiency.

Irina Shashkova - Manager 2, People and Workplace Culture

She has displayed exemplary leadership in training the new coordinator, work through investigations, conduct difficult conversations and champion for fairness in the workplace. She is supportive of her coworkers, she is dedicated, well versed and is a tremendous asset to the college.

*Isabel Phillips - Specialist II, Library Services

Isabel is a fantastic person on the Library reference team! She's so kind and helpful and does exceptional work on secondary projects!

Ismaila Meite - Systems Integration, IT

Ismaila has consistently demonstrated responsiveness to the needs of our department. Recently, he tackled a complex technical issue with a report that was disrupting our processes and affecting another department we collaborate with. He persevered until he developed a replicable solution that we could implement independently.

Jenn Balfour - Administrative Assistant II, Faculty Development

Jenn has worked hard to create a welcoming environment for Faculty Scholarship Week. There is a lot of work that goes into how to design and event that makes it special, ordering food and supplies that are needed, etc. Our office is thankful for her work. Thank you, Jenn for thinking about your colleagues creating a wonderful environment.

Joel Shelton - Advisor 3, Academic Advising

Joel strives to provide comprehensive Advising to students in his programs of study. He helps make sure they are aligned with the right degree. He helps provide training to his colleagues and contributes in many other ways to the department as well as across the college and we appreciate his many efforts to make SLCC a welcoming place for students.

Kelsey Bradshaw - Library Services

Kelsey is doing an amazing job creating "CD Team Spotlights" for an internal library committee. I love how she is highlighting various members of our team and including things about them personally. Kelsey's dedication to doing these helps add camaraderie to this committee while spotlighting members as whole people, not just their professional duties. Thanks, Kelsey!

Kelsey Bradshaw - Library Services

In the short time Kelsey has been on the team she has taken on massive amounts of work, by reorganizing development share point, creating new employee profile programs and diving into the world of library usage statistics. She does it all with the most wonderful positive attitude as well! We are lucky to have her on the team!

Lauren Plunkett - Specialist 1, Library Services

Lauren is very helpful and knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. She works flawlessly with all staff. One time there was a new student who was lost looking for the testing center. Lauren walked her to the testing center. Lauren with take time out to show new staff or student around campus and make them feel welcome.

Maria Murguia - Advisor 2, Academic Advising

Maria consistently has the most caseload and took the initiative to create a new session for incoming students. This group of students has doubled in size with the level of interest far exceeding this student population. Maria has developed templates to help with her and her co-advisors to help the students. She is definitely a Staff Star!

Matt Harris - Associate Dean, Division of Health Professions

Matt Harris has an unwavering dedication and focus for the success of the programs, faculty and students in his area. Matt's positive attitude and infectious enthusiasm make him a true ray of sunshine in our school. His experience, dedication and positivity are qualities that many look up to and admire. He is truly an inspiring leader and beacon of excellence in our school.

*Nnenna Eke-Ukoh - Advisor 2, Student Support Services

Nnenna goes above and beyond offering personalized guidance. She embodies what our mission is with PACE encouraging students to pursue goals and connecting them with valuable opportunities and guiding them on their pathways. Her commitment to student success is evident in everything she does.

Ray Cruz - Administrative Assistant I, Corporate Solutions

This employee is the backbone of the team. They navigate the team, constantly help clients, staff and students with finding information. They assist with proper documentation, help with potlucks and everything. They're pleasant and kind and they really make coming to work worth it.

Roberto Zavala - Interior Designer, Facilities Furniture

Roberto has great skills in space planning, auto Cad and Revit. He finds creative solutions on how to better use space and finds fantastic furniture options. He is passionate about his job and is great at it. Roberto is a great member of the team. Thank you, Roberto, for all you do here at SLCC Facilities Services!

Sarah Orozco - Coordinator 2, Orientation & Student Success

I am thrilled to nominate Sarah for staff star. She provided support to the OSS dept and to all LUChA leaders to help them succeed. Sarah is always ready to assist and her dedication to contributing to a positive campus environment is inspiring. Sarah exemplifies the Values of SLCC and it's an honor to acknowledge her.

Sepa Faupula - Specialist 3, Registration

When Sepa was hired for our team, she was given complex tasks but didn't shy away from completing them. When I was out for a month Sepa assumed my tasks and when I returned everything was caught up and complete. This made my return easy for me. Thank you Sepa for all your hard work for me and our team! You have been exceptional!

*Teresa Koontz - Manager 3, Program Development

Teresa works very hard to keep her staff happy and comfortable. She is always balancing the many changes and is willing to hear feedback and collaborate with others. Her vision for Workforce training is ambitious and truly has the long-term interest of cohorts at heart. I nominate her for her tireless work on making Workforce the best it can be.

Tom Thompson - Network Engineer III, IT

As a LOVB Salt Lake season ticket holder it has been wonderful to have Tom around to make sure the network stays up and running during the events... just like he does each and every day for all of us. He's a mensch and a great supporter of women's athletics. Thanks Tom!

*Veronica Wallentine - Custodian, Facilities Services

Veronica has always shown a level of integrity and respect for every she encounters. Making sure everything is in tip top shape for the clients and guests. Giving directions to events, cleaning up spills, to helping out the event staff with set ups. The events at Miller Campus can be crazy but she shows up with a positive attitude and gets the job done.

Victor Huizer - Specialist III, Parking Services

Victor was such a great help on the day several lots were closed due to crack seal repair. We had an event with guests on campus and Victor found a solution and carried out the plan on short notice. He is a great asset to his department!