On June 2, 2015 A&S Staff Council hosts a ceremony to honor the Outstanding Staff Award recipients. Each year two members of the staff receive the Outstanding Staff Award. The 2015 winners were Raegan Wilson (Enrollment Management) and Lori Eckdahl (Kastle IBU). Their dedication to their respective departments and to the college is demonstrated each day in the exceptional work they do. Both ladies received glowing recommendations from their managers and colleagues. It is evident how much they are respected by their teams and the faculty and staff they work with on a daily basis.

Raegan received her award on June 2 at our annual awards ceremony. Due to a previous commitment, Lori was not able to attend the ceremony and will receive her award at the upcoming All Staff Retreat.

Also recognized at the ceremony are staff members reaching milestone years of service. This year 24 staff members, with years of service ranging from five to forty, received their awards. 

I grew up in Middlesboro, KY. The town is as far south and east in the state that you can go, situated on the KY, TN and VA border. I met my husband Bill while performing in the local community theater. We moved to Lexington to attend UK in 2002. We love it so much, we stayed. I graduated from UK with a BA in English in 2005. We welcomed our first child into the world this past April.

Before working as a full time employee here, I was a manager at for a residential property leasing company. I’ll never forget the day I decided to apply for a job at UK. It was a beautiful day in September, blue sky and the sun shining brightly. I was driving through campus thinking, I’d really like to be back here, this is where I need to be. A few weeks later, I was hired! After six years, I still believe that this was the best decision I could have made.

What do you do in your spare time? Between a seven month old, Piper, and a nine year old English Springer Spaniel, Blaze, I don’t have much spare time. Evenings and weekends are spent with our little family. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

What is your favorite movie or book? My favorite movie is “American Tale.” I also really like “The Matrix”. My favorite books are the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. I love the books so much, I even took an entire class on Tolkien in college.

Are you a cat person or a dog person (or do you like another species entirely)? I’m definitely a dog person. I also love tropical fish.

What is your favorite food? My all-time favorite food hands down would be deviled eggs. I’ve been known to sneak the leftovers for breakfast,

Have you ever had a brush with fame?  There are a couple of occasions that I’ve met famous people. My family and I were vacationing in Salt Lake City. After attending a Utah Jazz game, we ran into Karl Malone at a restaurant. When I was 10 years old, I attended an international environmental summit for kids called Plan It for the Planet, sponsored by Nickelodeon. One of the activities was a special edition of “Nick News: W5” with Linda Ellerbee. Her guest that day was Vice President Al Gore. We were able to chat with Ms. Ellerbee before the show and each kid got to ask Mr. Gore a question. 

If you’re thinking about going back school the UK Employee Education Program (EEP) is a great resource. Any regular full-time employee (0.75 FTE and greater) is eligible to participate. EEP covers tuition for up to eight credit hours per semester, undergraduate or graduate levels, at any of the state’s public institutions. The application fee is not included, but many other fees are waived. Staff interested in participating should consult the academic calendar published by the Registrar’s office for registration deadlines. The first step in the registration process is to apply to the desired institution. At UK, many degree programs allow students to take courses before being admitted into the program.

Not sure where to start? Don’t be afraid to get in touch with faculty from a program you’re interested in. They can make recommendations for you.

 2395 UK staff members participated during the 2013-2014 academic year, many of them from A&S. I asked a few A&S staff members to reflect on their experience. Kara Cecil, who is completing her PhD in Public Health, has been participating in EEP for about three years. The Public Health program tuition rates are higher than most degree programs at UK and the EEP has helped defray her out-of pocket expenses.

Kara’s passion is evident in the way she describes public health:

 [It’s a] field with incredible consequences every day. Just imagine the water you drank today, the food preparation for your lunch on-campus, the exhaust fumes from the traffic during your daily commute, or the exposure to communicable and preventable disease you encounter. Public health affects all of these areas and so many more. For better or for worse, the field of public health is at its best when no one notices its work.

Brent Sebastian, who is pursuing a PhD in Higher Education, also has had a great experience:

[EEP] is one of the benefits that I mention first when people ask me about working at UK.  I worked here two years before I took advantage of the EEP program and I kick myself for not starting sooner. My first course through the EEP was 4 years after I finished my BA and that was a difficult first step to take, but one that was made easier with tuition assistance.

If you have ever attended one of Brent’s brown bag sessions, the enthusiasm with which he talks about Higher Ed is infectious. But it wasn’t his first choice: 

I had originally planned on entering the MBA program but after taking EPE 612 Introduction to Higher Education, I applied to the Higher Education program.  That course answered a number of questions that I had about “why we do the things we do,” but also led me to ask new questions that I hadn’t considered before and to look at my job in a whole new way. 

If you’re not sure a specific program, just take a class or two; see what you’re interested in.  I took LIN 211 online one summer to gauge my interest in the Linguistic Theory & Typology MA program. That foundational course is a prerequisite to upper-level courses in the major. At first, it was difficult to jump back in after so many years of being out of school. After listening to a few lectures and completing a quiz or two, I fell into a groove. While I chose not to pursue the degree, I am grateful for the opportunity to have tried something new. 

When asked what advice you would give to a fellow staff member, Brent had a similar sentiment, “My advice would be to take the first step today.  Find a class that you’re interested in and start the application process.  The first step is the hardest but you’ll be glad that you made it.” Kara offered, “Even if you aren’t pursuing a doctorate, it is akin to money left on the table to never use this benefit. The possibilities for classes are endless.”

For more information check out: http://www.uky.edu/hr/benefits/more-great-benefits/employee-education-program