SPRING 2019 STAFF AWARDS
The College of Science acknowledges two exemplary staff members every semester with an award and luncheon. The nominating process is open to faculty, students, and staff who submit nominations based on five different categories. The categories 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 they wish to include.
To be considered, nominees must not have received the award in the last five years. The Staff Recognition and Award Committee, made up of past recipients, reviews the nominations and chooses the winners. Awards are given in the semester following the committee’s decision. We are pleased to recognize the spring 2019 recipients, Eve Garcia and Sabrina Otero, who were recently honored at a luncheon.
EVE GARCIA
Administrative Support Coordinator II
Dean’s Office
“The first time I set foot on campus was when I came with my daughter for her orientation. I liked the campus and the people and thought this would be a really good place to work,” said Eve Garcia. She’s been here five years now.
Previously, Garcia worked in human resources at a phone company and that experience has served her well in her absence management and payroll certification duties. “I also learned a lot from Faculty Affairs,” she said. Garcia also prepares hundreds of temporary faculty contracts each term and handles travel requests and reimbursements. “I've heard that the College of Science has some of the highest amount of travel at Cal Poly Pomona,” Garcia said.
When President Coley asked that the university review its travel policies the Provost’s office selected Garcia to serve on the committee. That committee determined that the university needed an online system and Concur was selected as the software. The College of Science was then selected as the pilot college for the roll-out of that system.
Garcia's job involves many duties and she points out that “Busy is better than bored.” Her first impression of the campus, gained while accompanying her daughter who graduated in 2018, proved to be right. Garcia said, “I’ve met a lot of really nice people here.”
SABRINA OTERO
Administrative Support Assistant II
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Sabrina Otero works in the front office of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. “A lot of my job involves helping students get the answers they need,” said Otero. The department is unique because of the large number of non-science majors who take math courses to fulfill their major requirements.
Otero works with six student workers, many of whom need help and guidance in performing their duties. A department with over 100 faculty also requires a lot of support which Otero and the team provide. The copying machine is frequently in use and needs to be kept running to meet faculty needs. She also assists with gathering lecturer evaluation documents for evaluations.
Over the summer Otero set up a training for staff from the College of Engineering to train them how to determine if students had fulfilled their math requirements. The presentation helped them better understand how the transition from quarters to semesters affected math requirements and about our articulation agreement with community colleges.
Otero's most rewarding experience was when she helped a student who had family difficulties and needed to withdraw. “The student was upset and felt like they weren’t getting the answers they needed elsewhere. I stepped in and they thanked me for getting them through it,” Otero said.
When asked what she likes best about the job she didn’t hesitate. “It’s the students. I enjoy interacting with them and seeing them progress. It keeps me motivated to see them accomplishing their goals.”