Cal Poly Partners staff were asked to recognize Collaborative colleagues in November to kick off the C.A.R.E I.S. campaign, and they came through. Staff members from across the organization from Payroll to Marine Science, Human Resources to the Strawberry Center and BioResource and Agricultural Engineering to Commercial Services were nominated this month for the many ways they work collaboratively to support their fellow colleagues.
For the rest of the academic year, as part of C.A.R.E. I.S., we will be celebrating and recognizing our colleagues who reflect our core values.
“Merrie Kay (Sterkel) is the ultimate team player who collaborates with every department to ensure the best customer service experience. She is tasked with unexpected tasks daily and is thoughtful in her execution.” – Holly Clark
“Working together on the Workday project is imperative and it has been a huge lift for the HR team. Brittany (Hardesty) has helped work through issues to assist in getting them worked out and help keep the project moving forward! Thank you!” – Jill Connelly
“She (Stephanie Martin) provides mentoring, training and support to our entire staff. For example, I was having difficulty getting a financial report uploaded to a federal web portal. She stopped what she was working on to come sit with me and teach me how to work through that website’s many peculiarities. She is always happy to answer questions, regardless of the fact that we are interrupting her work. She never makes us feel as though we are bothering her. She shares newly acquired knowledge via emails to our entire group or in team meetings, helping to ensure that we are all providing the best services possible to CPSU faculty.” – Julia Pierce
“How is she (Crystal Castillo) not? I couldn’t ask for a better person to work and collaborate with as we try to meet the demands of the Santa Rosa Creek Foundation while trying to provide opportunities for both Cal Poly students and students from our partner schools.” – Shira Greenbaum
“Maria (Lopez-Pacheco) is managing payroll for Cal Poly Partners and ASI. At the same time managing a Workday implementation for both Cal Poly Partners and ASI with various consultants from Cognizant. She effectively gathers input from Cal Poly Partners, ASI, Sponsored Research and Cognizant. As a result, she is successfully building a payroll system that will meet the complex compensation environment at Cal Poly Partners and ASI.” – Matt Ryan
“This month and always, Kyle (Blauer) looks for ways to facilitate getting things done by working collaboratively with others inside and outside our organization.” – Gerald Holmes
“Russell (Monteath) is consistently the first to lend a helping hand and offer solutions. I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with him on launching the new Terrace area for Cal Poly Partners Plaza, including the ribbon-cutting ceremony. As we continue to develop this space within Spanos Stadium, we’ve encountered challenges in optimizing its use on game days. Russell has been at the forefront, spearheading our efforts to enhance efficiency in the area. Working with him is a pleasure, and I truly value his partnership.” – Erin Scherer
“We have been creating a new website and Kassidy (Church) has been driving the bus and making sure everything is done on time. She has been great at taking notes and is always open to me randomly showing up at her office door multiple times a day with questions and clarifications. And she always seems genuinely happy to see me and help.” – Aaron Lambert
“He (Dr. Stuart W. Styles) is fair with all staff. He always has so much stuff and work to do, at the same time he never pushes or rushes staff.” – Fatemeh Nayebloie
“Even though she (Sarah Carney May) had to work multiple weekends in a row, Sarah volunteered her time to help with the Cal Poly Pier Open House. She got there extra early to help with set up and I couldn’t have done it without her. In addition, she got Bailey College Ambassadors to volunteer their time and they were extremely helpful too!” – Shira Greenbaum
“Working together on the Workday project is imperative and it has been a huge lift for the HR team. Jen (Luedtke) has collaboratively helped work through issues to help keep the project moving forward! Thank you!” – Jill Connelly
“I have never seen Merrie Kay (Sterkel) not step up to help anyone with anything. From her excellent customer service to students, faculty, staff and even lost parents to the intuitive way she interacts with her fellow employees at CPP. Merrie Kay never steps away from a challenge, nor does she fail to go the extra step to help anyone that needs her assistance. She is always trying to streamline workflow in the office where she can and keeps an upbeat, friendly demeanor while doing so. She has handled uncomfortable tasks that not many see; I have personally watched her hand an employee their final check due to their layoff with the utmost respect, dignity and empathy, then go into her office and cry because she feels such sorrow for the predicament that person now finds themself in.
She is so much more than a lead cashier; she is quite the CPP goodwill and spirit ambassador.” – Ann Ormonde
“Melissa (Fritzen) patiently worked with me to make sure we are set up with the credit card machines we need for the annual Cal Poly Pier Open House. She met with me prior to the event to make sure I knew how to use the machines and then again after to make sure the forms were properly filled out and submitted to get the money to the right place.” – Shira Greenbaum
“Megan (Stoneson) also helped push the CEP website forward with her collaboration. She worked with the copywriter and mocked up the whole site for the web developer to build. She happily made any modifications the team suggested and worked closely with everyone to ensure the site aligned with the vision of CEP. Megan thrives in collaboration, and I love working on projects with her. Thank you, Megan!” – Kassidy Church
“Brian (Chenoweth) was another piece to our CEP website puzzle. He worked with the copywriter and designer to build the website from scratch – a huge task! He continually made edits from team members and brought ideas on how something would work better. He participated in every meeting from the beginning stage to the end. I appreciate his collaborative efforts on this project and helping push it forward!” – Kassidy Church
“Russell (Monteath) is a key liaison for Campus Dining and in his unique role, he bridges initiatives involving Campus Dining, Cal Poly Partners and many university departments. Examples are working with basic needs to provide a vehicle for food bank pick up at Trader Joe’s in Arroyo Grande, working with ASI to coordinate the Partners’ participation in board meetings, and working with the state health department to coordinate the annual health inspection. Russell collaborated with CEP, athletics, and Campus Dining to establish a ticketing plan for Partners Plaza and he was instrumental in operationalizing the space for opening in September. Russell’s mindset is ‘find a way to yes’.” – Andrea Burns
“Aaron (Lambert) has worked with our team collaboratively to build the new CEP website. He has written a ton of copy for the new site working closely with the graphic designer on how the copy would best look on the website as well as the web developer on how we get it on the site. This led to many rewrites, but Aaron welcomed them. Aaron’s collaboration has pushed this project forward and I am very appreciative of him!” – Kassidy Church
Congratulations to all the nominees, they will be entered into a raffle for a prize at the end of the academic year. Creating culture is an ongoing task that we all participate in and benefit from, and we look forward to you joining us as we foster a thriving, more engaged workplace.
The C.A.R.E I.S. descriptor for December is Accountable. Staff members can start nominating their accountable colleague here.
