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The Office of Student Affairs introduced BRAVO! Awards to recognize both individual staff members and groups of team members within Student Affairs who have gone above and beyond at MSU Denver. Nominations are open throughout each term with winners being announced at an event towards the end of each semester.
Spring 2024 Roadrunner Forward Award
Jewel Midelis (Director of Student Communications | VPSA)
“Jewel has done an incredible job in completing our Goal 3 and Strategy 3 tactics. In just six months, she has brought the skills and organization to the student communications role that we have been trying to achieve for years. Jewel has created a comprehensive high-level student communications lifecycle, giving a birds-eye view of communications sent to students throughout the year. Through her extensive use of data, Jewel combed through every email we have sent to students over the past year and analyzed open rates, clicks and time on pages, the student Facebook groups to review comments throughout the year on what our students are struggling with and when, and Instagram posts to view time spent on posts, comments and likes. Based on this information and meetings with multiple colleagues in this room (thank you!), she formulated when communications should be sent throughout the year to ensure just in time resources for our students and to work towards increasing engagement in our events and programming. We so appreciate the work you do!”
Abbie Kell (Student Housing Project Manager | Student Engagement and Wellness)
“Abbie recently presented on housing resources and need to know information to Success Coaches on campus. Abbie’s work has increased our coaches competency and knowledge on how to support our MSU Denver students with their housing needs. Without Abbie we’d be piecemealing information together in ever changing systems.”
Michael Nguyen (Director of Financial Aid Systems | Enrollment Management)
“Michael Nguyen has been a dedicated Roadrunner for many years now. As his employee I am constantly pushed to think about how my actions and decisions are shaped by the historical data and information we have to create a better process and system for our students and co-workers. Michael himself sacrificially commits to finding new ways to equip our staff with the tools and data they need to make their jobs better and address student concerns.”
Spring 2024 Individual Award Winners
Andy Daniel Guerrero Angeles (Financial Aid Advisor | Enrollment Management)
“Andy represents MSU Denver’s promise of HSI Servingness. As the advisor who oversees dependency overrides and Satisfactory Academic Progress review, he listens to students’ stories of the tenuous nature of finances, complex relationships of broken families, and is charged with the monumental task of mitigating negative outcomes from a multitude of systems under burden. He does this all while being one of two full time staff members within our office who speak fluent Spanish.”
Kate Willers (Pathways to Possible Counselor | Enrollment Management)
“Kate shows up every day as the ultimate team player and supportive coworker. Her contributions to the Admission’s Office and our prospective students have been noted by our campus partners, as well as community members. Kate is an integral part of the High School Outreach and College Access team, willing to seek answers, collaborate with any and everyone, and puts students first each and every day. Our team would be incomplete without her.”
Robin Paulson (Accessibility Coordinator | Student Engagement and Wellness)
“Robin cares so much about the students that she works with, and she is always coming up with new and innovative ideas to better serve access center students. Robin has YEARS of experience in the accessibility field, but she is always willing to learn new things and bring fresh energy to our team. Robin is irreplaceable and she truly makes a positive impact on our staff and on every student that she interacts with!”
Rebecca Rathburn (SNAP Coordinator and Case Management | Student Engagement and Wellness)
“Becca Rathburn is making it easier for students to get access to food and benefits! We had been using Single Stop, which is a website that students enter their information and the website outputs their projected benefits… but Becca made connections with students, met with people to get them individually signed up, and expanded our students’ benefits.”
Whitney Simkins (Marketing Communications Project Manager | Enrollment Management)
“Where do I begin?! Whitney has been an instrumental member of the EM team greatly improving communications to students and creating spaces for other EM communication professionals to collaborate and share updates and ideas. This year Whitney organized a bi-weekly meeting where all EM communications staff are welcome to attend and collaborate rather than work in silos. This has helped greatly not only to share info but also for building relationships.”
Alysha Rowzee (Assistant Director of Admissions Visits & Events | Enrollment Management)
“Alysha has been an invaluable asset to the admissions office over the past 2+ years. She has been instrumental in elevating the visitor experience in so many ways, but I am going to focus on her creativity and attention to detail for Open House. She has now hosted 5 Open Houses and each one becomes a more fine tuned machine that nearly runs itself. Alysha takes true to consider each need that arises for students, faculty and staff and creates a solution. Whenever a concern is raised to Alysha, she usually responds with “Let me ideate that!” and she does! Because of her hard work, we now get to put the icing on the Open House cake and add the details.”
Cassie Mullin (Experiential Learning Manager | C2 Hub)
“Cassie has been diligent in understanding new ways our academic partners need supports when it comes to internships for credit. Coming from the Social Work department prior to joining us in the C2 Hub, her perspective is invaluable and as an MSU Denver alum, her insight on how we can build a better experience for students is highly appreciated. Cassie has been diving into the data, identifying opportunities to re-structure and re-build, collaborating with Symplicity and academic departments, and supporting the build out of our Dream.US Fellowships. Thanks for all your hard work and commitment to MSU Denver, Cassie!”
Jada Szympruch (Industry Navigator | C2 Hub)
“As our very own Captain Planet fighting environment Trolls, Jada helped us Lego of obsolete practices and deftly secured the Green Office certificate from the Auraria Sustainable Campus Program for C2 Hub’s Admin 270 teams; the first MSU Denver office to receive the certificate, and the second over all of the Auraria Campus. She’s enthusiastically Stretch Armstrong’d into leadership of our Industry Partnerships Advisory Board who are Hungry Hungry Hippos for resources to help them become Transformers of workforce development, all of which she has navigated with Perfection. She K’nex well with her partner network, calms everyone’s Nerfs, is a Power[Ranger] House of a colleague, a wonderful human being, and I’m so glad I get to work with her. Simon Says Jada deserves this award!”
Group Award Winners
Team Conduct
(Codi Whittington, Jermaine Gunnells, Cindy Ortiz, Denys Frolkov)
“Team Conduct really stepped it up and helped out in a pinch! The Office of the Dean of Students was down two positions and Codi & Jermaine helped out as conduct hearing officers, while Denys & Cindy supported as intake coordination.”
Degree Evaluation Team
(Darla Sprinkle-Renke, Edward Zarate, Deb Rohr, Loriann Garcia)
“The Degree Evaluation team reviewed nearly 4,000 student records in three weeks and awarded over 330 Associate of General Studies degrees to those who opted in within one week. Their dedication and efficiency enabled the university to launch the initiative on an ambitious timeline, expanding career opportunities for hundreds of students. Their outstanding effort demonstrated the values of service, excellence, and community that we hope to foster.”
Transfer and Adult Student Success Team
(Michael Nguyen; Brandon Terry; Richard Balbag, Don Holtzen, Michelle Leboo)
“Utter the words “FAFSA Simplification” and nationally people are breaking into a cold sweat. This team has dynamically responded to ensure that MSU Denver systems are ready for FAFSA file imports and that financial aid packaging is ready to go.”
Past Winners
Service to Students Award
2024 Fall – Steve Monaco (Executive Director of the Health Center at Auraria) 2023 Spring – Dr. Gail Bruce Sanford (Executive Director of Counseling Center | SEW)
Individuals
2024 Fall – Andrew-Ortiz Martinez (Assistant to Associate Vice President | C2 Hub), Carina Hernandez-Solis (Orientation, Transfer, and Reengagement | Enrollment Management), Dr. Isaac Tubb (Exploratory Advisor, Scholarship Support, and Rentention | C2 Hub), Jake Beaudrie (Senior Scholarship Advisor | Enrollment Management), Dr. Jeanne Burkhart (Staff Psychologist | Student Engagement and Wellness), Nick Grissom (Director of the Call Center), Sandie Hubbard (Records Specialist | Enrollment Management), Tyrell Allen (Director of the LGBTQ+ Student Resource Center | Student Engagement and Wellness)
2023 Spring – Nate Turnhill (Interim Associate Director | C2 Hub), Haley Halkidis (Marketing and Outreach Coordinator | Campus Recreation), L Benton (Assistant to the Executive Director | Financial Aid), Catharine Ingram (Associate Director of Operations and Programs | C2 Hub), Dr. Cynthia Baron (Assistant Vice President | CESA), Kelly Findley (Associate Director of Scholarships | Financial Aid), Sarah Kaup (Senior International Admissions Specialist | Admissions), Derek Bowers (Exam and Learn Program Coordinator | C2 Hub)
2022 Fall – Loriann Ankele-Garcia (Degree Audit Coordinator | Registrar), Jackie Bullard (Accountant | Financial Aid & Scholarships), Karlette Eguiluz (Assistant Director | Financial Aid), Sonia Falcón (Director | Student Care Center), Jermaine Gunnells (Assistant Director | Brother to Brother), Chris Harder (Financial Analysis Manager | Student Affairs), Angie Moreno (Assessment & Evaluation Manager | Student Affairs), Eboni Nash (DEI Recruiting Manager | Industry Partnerships), Jon Nguyen (Tuition Classification Officer | Admissions), Thuy Phan (Executive Assistant, Vice President for Student Affairs | Student Affairs), Deserea Richards (Program Coordinator, Native and Indigenous Student Support | CESA), Ally Veneris (Industry Navigator | Industry Partnerships)
2022 Spring – Destiny Candeleria (Call Center Coordinator | Enrollment Management), Matt Kring (Associate Director of Student Support and Retention | C2 Hub), Oanh Luong (Program Assistant | CMEI), Ruby Matheny (Industry Navigator | Industry Partnerships), Amanda McClure (Communication and Social Media Manager | Student Affairs), Estéfani Peña-Figueroa (Student Success Specialist | Immigrant Services), Eunice Reyes (Equity and Career Success Coordinator | C2 Hub), Leslie Rodriguez (Associate Director | Veteran and Military Student Services), Brandy Schooler (Assistant Registrar of Transfer Evaluation and Prior Learning | Registrar), Brandon Terry (Operations Manager | Financial Aid)
2021 Fall – Dave Bourassa (Program Manager for Student Engagement, Travel, Professional Developoment), Johana Guzman (Office Manager and Admin Assistant | Orientation, Transfer and Retention), Diana Ibarra (Assistant Director of Events, Graphic Design and Social Media | CMEI), Nahum Kisner (Executive Director of Student Support & Retention | C2 Hub), Camelia Naranjo (Associate Director of Peer Mentoring | C2 Hub), Adrienne Perucca (Associate Director of Admissions Systems and Data | Admissions)
2020 Spring – Melissa Miller (Associate Registrar of Records and Registration | Registrar’s Office), Thanh Nguyen (Interim Director | Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion), Eric Silva (Assistant Director | TRIO Student Support Services), Pam Ansburg (Interim Director of Faculty Engagement | Classroom to Career Hub), Amanda Ryder (Associate Director of Admissions | Admissions), Maluwa Behringer (Director of Industry Partnerships | Classroom to Career Hub)
2020 Fall – Juan Gallegos (Director | Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion), James Ross (Assistant to the Registrar & Special Projects Manager | Registrar’s Office), Cathy Hehr (Industry Navigator | Classroom to Career Hub), Dave Lamothe (Assistant Director of Recreation & Leadership | Campus Recreation), Aubrey Winbigler (Coordinator of International Student Support | Registrar’s Office), Chaz DeHererra (Student Success Navigator | Classroom to Career Hub)
2019 Fall – John Babcock (Associate Director | Orientation, Transition and Retention), Scott Bergman (Coordinator | Orientation, Transfer and Retention), Josh Gabrielson (Associate Director | Admissions), Alyssa Marks (Program Manager | Classroom to Career Hub), Dr. Braelin Pantel (Associate Vice President | Dean of Students/Student Engagement & Wellness), Erica Quintana-Garcia (Director | Student Engagement & Wellness)
Groups
2024 Fall – Classroom to Career Hub Operations Team (Andrew Ortiz-Martinez, Catharine Ingram, Mario Zarate, Codi Whittington, Derek Bowers, Matt Dickman), Scholarship Support and Retention Team (Lauren Koppel, Jasmine Villalobos-Valles, Scott Bergman, Kaila Russell and Vel Arellano), Transfer and Adult Student Success Team (Cary Aplin, Ricky Rogers, Kaden Van Hegewald, Tana Ridgeway, Alex Puente, Pablo Chavira Nieto)
2023 Spring – Veteran and Military Services Team (Junior Moreno, LaChaune DuHart, Leslie Rodriguez), Spanish Speaking Compensation Team (Carina Hernandez-Solis, Evelynn Guzman De Leon, Horacio Borja-Duran, Karlett Christie, Tyrell Allen, Waleska Rivera-Shon, Asia Wesley), Office of Administrations High School Outreach and Recruitment Team (Erin Ulrich, Ashly Carrera, Citlalith Medrano, D Chiu, Hannah Skalbeck, Hector Susano, Itzel Perez Galicia, Landon Lopez, Rosaisela Hernandez), Office of Admissions Transfer Team (Charita Thompson Melissa Powers, Diana Flores, Jeff Cox, Alyssa Sexton), Enrollment Call Center (Nick Grissom, Ed Porfilio, Destiny Candelaria, Bryan Garcia)
2022 Fall – Visits, Events and Communications Team in Admissions (Rene Haro-Sipes, AlyshaRowzee, Jill Schmidt), Restorative Justice Coalition (Elise Krumholz, Kim Myers, Thomas Ragland, Grey Gorman, Lindsey Gilbert, Jesselin Nicholson-Lopez, Jasmine Villalobos-Valles)
2022 Spring – Financial Aid Scholarship Team (Jake Beaudrie, Kelly Findley, Paul Morales), C2 Hub Industry Partnership Team (Alyssa Marks, Tim Meeks, Tennille Hamler, Ally Veneris, Leah McFail, Rosie Cockey, Eboni Nash, Ruby Matheny, Nicole Magliore, Cassie Mullin)
2021 Fall – Transfer Automation Team (Adrienne Perucca, Marlynn Rocha-Vasquez, Manny Escarcega, Camden Farmer), Pathways to Possible Team (Angela Groves, Jesus Yanez-Ruiz, J.T. Kendall, Rachael Durham, Stephanie Lee)
2020 Spring – Student Affairs Communications Team (Jeremy Coleman, Amanda McClure, Su Ann Tan, Asia Wesley), Admissions Front Desk and Crew in Blue (Victor Mata, Maribel Palomino Valadez, Andrea Garcia-Portillo, Diana Flores | Jessica Burkett, Brian Bogere, Caleb Gardner, Crystal Alcocer, Cole Parsa, Haley Gyurko, Kaelin Messex, Jorge Jimenez, Carolina Devora, Allys Lejarazo Duenas), Diversity Facilitators (Adrienne Martinez, Ali Houghton, Ally Garcia, Alyssa Marks, Bessie Nolan, Brandy Schooler, Chris Harder, Eric Silva, John Babcock, Kathleen Jewby, Lauren Koppel, Meher Noorulamin, Raquel Jimenez, Regina Burkhart, Ruby Matheny, Salina Blea)
2020 Fall – Health Center at Auraria Team (Kyle Garrity, Linda Hilliker, Lisa Lasswell, Richard Miccio, Ruben Zorrilla, Shawna Tonick, Sonja Coleman-Harris, Stephen Monaco, Steven Caveney, Susan Louch, Tamara Wristen, Tifany Andrade, Yvonne Olson-Sage, Alyssa Labate, Amy Markese, Anna-Lisa Greenwade, Clinton Hartz, Cynthia Ortiz, David Esslam, Debra Shuman, Denys Frolkov, Elias Gonzalez, Elle Heeg-Miller, Gia Valente, Hang Nguyen, Jeffrey Uszacki, Joshua Pasley, Julie Wagner, Justin Hauxwell, Kajuan DeVan Hernandez), Student Care Center (Alicia Milanowski, Erica Quintana-Garcia, Jesse Wooldridge, Miguel Huerta, Peter Concepcion)
2019 Fall – Admissions Team (Marlynn Rocha-Vasquez, Adrienne Perucca and Morgan Raleigh), Writers of the TRIO, Veteran & Military Student Services and CAMP Grants (Rita Case, Faith Fitzgerald, Dr. Ally Garcia, Evelynn Guzman de Leon, Ali Houghton, Raquel Jimènez, Eric Silva and Tisha Townsend)