Five employees were selected to receive the University’s 2021 Outstanding Staff Awards from a pool of more than 100 submitted nominations.
The employees were honored by University of Toledo President Gregory Postel on Thursday morning at a private ceremony to recognize their significant impact to the University through outstanding dedication and accomplishments; a demonstrated commitment to the University’s core purpose; and through exceptional leadership and loyalty to the University.
Three of the five 2021 Outstanding Staff Awards winners, from left, Amy Beerbower, Sharon Dietrich and De’Siree Spears met with UToledo President Gregory Postel at a private ceremony Thursday. Not pictured are award recipients Kristin Kamcza and Edward Wenger.
The winners are:
Amy Beerbower, staff nurse in 5AB Med/Surg Department. She worked as a nursing assistant as a student, later joining the staff in 2019.
“Amy is inspiring and motivating with her positive attitude. Amy is a team player. She is willing to come into work and help whenever there is a need on the unit. But her helpfulness does not stop there. She has also picked up extra days and hours on the COVID unit. Amy always goes above and beyond her duties at work and I am very grateful for her.”
Sharon Dietrich, web content analyst in the Office of University Marketing and Communications. She has worked at the University since 1997.
“She truly cares about her stakeholders, and I sincerely appreciate all she has done for us.”
“She was very responsive and innovative in helping us improve our customer-facing web experience, ensuring accuracy and timeliness. Sharon was patient and guiding throughout a process she had been through many times. It was so appreciated and so refreshing to work with someone committed to our success.”
“Sharon always tries to do what is the right thing for not only UToledo, but our students and staff and faculty. She always strives for excellence in all she does and has passion for her daily job”
“She never has the attitude of ‘not my problem.’ She has a heart of gold and knows and performs her job with fierce loyalty, determination and dedication.”
Kristin Kamcza, program accreditation specialist in the College of Pharmacy. She started in 2001 as a secretary 2 in the Writing Center.
“I was so appreciative of Kristin during my final year of pharmacy school. Not only was she there for me to help discuss strategies for initial rotation selections, but she was there for me to fix my schedule when COVID hit and changed everything. She pays so much attention to detail and is always willing to help. There is no doubt that she has touched every student she has worked with in a special way and is one of the main reasons we are all able to reach our professional goals.”
“She is one of the highest functioning colleagues I have ever had the fortune to work with. She dedicates her time to assure she is getting done what is needed for our students. She is timely, always thinking ahead, a problem solver and has the utmost care for the image of our college, students and employees. She works hard to protect this and is not one to ever ask for credit or anything in return. This supports the UToledo mission so very strongly and she is a pillar of our program and college.”
De’Siree Spears, a patient care technician in the outpatient surgery post-anesthesia care unit. She joined UTMC in 2000.
“De’Siree is committed and organized. She comes in to help the team. De’Siree motivates and inspires others to strive for excellence. The floor has 20 patients and many times when she comes in, she is the only aide for all the patients. She is dedicated to doing her best and I feel a lot of aide work is unseen. De’Siree deserves to be seen for all her hard work and I would be excited for her to receive this award.”
Edward Wenger, director of the Academic Testing Center in the Student Testing Center. He joined the Student Testing Center in 2018.
“Ed was always responsive to student needs and quick to reply when we needed assistance scheduling exams and for advice. Then COVID-19 came on the scene in February 2020. With the national stay-at-home orders, test centers closed, student exam dates were canceled and the academic test world was thrown into chaos. This is when Ed showed his leadership and dedication to students.”
“During COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, Ed worked extended hours to attend evening town halls with students so they could hear firsthand how things were progressing and the latest news affecting their professional careers. Ed also worked with regional and national leaders to create new testing opportunities for our students, so they had opportunities to take their board exams. He even worked to set our center as a national standard on how to open a center following COVID-19 regulations, and many schools followed our example.”
