College of Science Fall 2022 Staff Award Winners

All our College of Science staff are dedicated professionals who provide excellent service. That makes the job of acknowledging excellence even more difficult.

Every semester the staff award committee, made up of past recipients, reviews the nominations and selects two winners from about 50 staff members that work in the College of Science.

The categories on the nomination form are job performance, successful interaction and/or relationships, college/university-wide service, noteworthy accomplishments that advance the goals of the College of Science, and any additional information to support the nomination.

In fall 2022 the staff award winners were Michelle Terrazino from the Department of Biological Sciences and Lisa Lidle from the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion.

MICHELLE TERRAZINO
Horticulture Technician, IST II

Michelle Terrazino began working at CPP as an intern at BioTrek when she was an undergraduate student in the College of Agriculture completing her B.S. in plant science. As an undergraduate, she also assisted with the preparation of the Project Blue riparian habitat.

She was hired as a Horticulture Technician Instructional Support Technician II in February 2020, just prior to the pandemic. Schools that couldn’t visit BioTrek during that time were still able to have virtual tours thanks to efforts by her and Jennifer Renee Alexander.

“I loved hanging out at BioTrek, it’s such a beautiful place,” Terrazino said. Maintaining that beauty takes a lot of work. Terrazino is responsible for all the plants you see in the Rain Bird Rainforest, the Ethnobotany Garden, the Mesozoic Garden, and Project Blue.

While she credits a wonderful team of students that help her, she can also be seen transplanting, clearing pathways, weeding, and pruning. She trains and oversees student workers and helps prepare the space for the interpreters who make presentations to the many schools that visit BioTrek.

People who have the pleasure of working with her know her as a person with a cheerful personality who is always willing to help when needed. She also has done outreach events for BioTrek on weekends.

In addition to being a valuable addition to the CoS team, Terrazino is also working on an M.S. degree in plant science in the College of Agriculture. “I also love learning about how people use plants now and in the past,” she said.

In her spare time, she likes to read, spend time with family and dog Freya. She’s currently reading the Secret Garden. Terrazino recently took up the hobby of watercolor painting. It will come as no surprise that her favorite subjects to paint are plants and landscapes.

LISA LIDLE
IST II 

Lisa Lidle joined Cal Poly Pomona in 2008 and is an Instructional Support Technician II in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion (KHP). Lidle provides instructional support for all KHP courses in the College of Science.

Her job is to make sure every KHP course has the equipment and supplies that are needed. That includes everything from hockey to hula hoops, and EKG’s to metabolic carts. She also makes purchases for staff and faculty, schedules facilities, and even repairs equipment when needed. 

“My favorite part of the job is being a part of the students’ journey. Watching them grow and succeed and move on to better things is fulfilling,” Lidle said. “I also love working with faculty and coworkers.”

Her department describes her as someone who is always ready to help faculty and students. They appreciate her friendly personality and ability to anticipate what’s needed.

The most interesting aspect of the work for her is the science of human performance. “I like how researchers test the human body during peak performance and can determine the most effective and safest movement patterns, for longevity of our body’s muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments. It’s also fascinating how to rehabilitate an injury back to health and strength for peak performance,” she said.

Lidle won the award in 2013. After recognizing an area in building 43 that was being underutilized, she did a complete overhaul of that area, and created an equipment room for the department. Creating that space helped her win the 2013 award.

When she’s not working, she enjoys making bling T-shirts. She’s also devoted to her family and takes her son to his baseball games. He is a member of a travel ball team named Cory Lidle Baseball, in honor of Lidle’s late brother, who was a major league pitcher.