Colorado State University Pueblo 2021-2022 Staff Award Winners Announced

Pueblo— Colorado State University Pueblo announced the winners of the staff recognition awards during the annual Employee Recognition and Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, April 20 in the Occhiato Student Center Ballroom.

These staff awards were created to honor classified and professional staff who go above and beyond throughout the academic year. Employees were nominated by other campus community members.

Outstanding Administrative Professional Staff Awards

The first-place winner is is Gwen Young, assistant dean of student life and the director of Residence Life & Housing. The second-place winner is the Testing Center manager for the PACK Center, Strider Swope. The third-place award winner in the Administrative Professional Staff category is Annie Matula, systems developer/analyst for Banner.

The following employees were also nominated for this honor:

• Shelby Bitz, Pack Center Success Coach, PACK Center
• Steven Dominguez, Student Billing Specialist, Business Financial Services
• Peggy Foley, Advisor / Counselor, School of Nursing 
• Denise Henry, Co-Director, Center for Teaching and Learning
• Justin Hiniker, Director of Disability Resource and Support Center, Student Affairs
• Mary Matla, User Interface Web Developer, IT
• Corey Shilling, Director of Institutional Research, Institutional Research

Outstanding Classified Employee Award

The winner of the Outstanding Classified Employee Award is Alan Bruning, the network administrator for IT. The second-place winner is Joshua Medina, Maintenance Grounds Department. The third-place award winner is Michael Galves, Custodian I, Custodial Services.

The following employees were also nominated for this honor:

• Shanna Kegans, Administrative Assistant III, Human Resources & Institutional Equity
• Julie Stevens, Administrative Assistant III, Library Services

Students’ Choice Award

The winner of the Student’s Choice Award is Meera Layton, the resource and support navigator and co-chair of the Pack CARES team.

The following employees were also nominated for this honor:

• Victoria Obregon, Ph.D., Assistant Director of CAMP & Inclusive Excellence  
• Meera Layton, Resource and Support Navigator, Student Residence and Support, Center for International Programs & inclusive Excellence
• Megan Mueller, Assistant Director, Career Center
• Michelle Gjerde, Director, Career Center
• Vaiulatasi Tuatoo, Ph.D., Retention Specialist - Student Support Services, TRIO

Outstanding Team Award

The winner of this year’s team award is the School of Education.

The following teams were also nominated for this honor:

• Career Center 
• Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)
• Chairs Council
• Client Support Services/Multimedia
• CSU Pueblo Online (within the Division of Extended Studies)
• School of Education
• Social Work
• ThunderWolf Recreation

In addition to the staff recognition awards, CSU Pueblo also honored the employees who reached milestones in their years of service with the University Service Awards.

Five Years of Service

Bahaa Ansaf, Ami Bajah-Onyejekwe, Tiaramarie Banham, Katherine Brown, Wanda Bustos, Lisa Chavez, Laee Choi, Sierra Doherty-Cardenas, Trung Duong, Jason Engel, Nicole Ferguson, Amanda Figueroa, Cedric Foley, Gilbert Garcia, David Herman, Heather Hopkins Bowers, Laurie Kilpatrick, Nicole Kirby, Meera Layton, Lynnette Leachman, Michael Livengood, Nathan Martell, Pamela Medina, Ashley Mohrenweiser, John Murray, Sang Hyuck Park, Elizabeth Peterson, Jennifer Quintana, Arlene Reilly-Sandoval, Joleen Ryan, Fran Sandmeier, Herman Smith, Ilene Vallejos, Terence Washington, Grant Weller, Maureen Williams, and Robin Young all commemorated their five years of service to CSU Pueblo.

Ten Years of Service

Iver Arnegard, Paul Brown, Wendy Fairchild, Doug Furrh, He Boong Kwon, Brent Lorenz, Kenneth McKenzie, Megan Mueller, Trisha Pocius, and Kristyn White Davis all celebrated their 10 years of service to the university.

Fifteen Years of Service

Sandra Brice, Joe Franta, Dale Galich, Derek Lopez, Caroline Peters, Alegria Ribadeneira, Mary Sandoval, Jeff Smith, and Niki Toussaint were recognized for their 15 years of service to CSU Pueblo.

Twenty Years of Service

Colleen Conroy, Jeff Piquette, and Ida Whited all commemorated their 20 years of service to CSU Pueblo.

Twenty-five Years of Service

Jenny Piazza and Michael Riggio each celebrated 25 years of service to CSU Pueblo and the silver anniversary milestone.

Thirty Years of Service

David Bartolo and Doug Summer have commemorated their 30 years of service to CSU Pueblo.

Retirees

CSU Pueblo celebrated the careers of the following employees who retired or will retire from the university within the 2021-22 fiscal year:

• Vicki Becker
• Sharon Berry
• Royce Cappis
• Sylvia Garcia
• Sam Lovato
• Bruce Raymond