What began as a “bold idea” in the 2017 Bold Ideas Challenge has now come to fruition in Fresno State’s newest employee recognition program — High Five. Click here to read about how the program began.

High Fives are easy to give — simply go to the High Five website on the Organizational Excellence webpage, click “Give a High Five” and fill out the form to send kudos to anyone on campus. Your message will be delivered straight to their inbox, and recipients will be acknowledged weekly in Campus News.

Read below how your colleagues are going above and beyond to help the campus community.

(Note: Campus News edited comments only for misspellings and missing or incomplete words. They appear mostly as written for each employee.)

Goes Above & Beyond

Carmen Espinosa, Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships
Carmen manages the awarding and aid for our Dreamer population at Fresno State. She is very passionate about serving this student population, empathetic to their unique challenges and difficulties in pursuing higher education. She goes over and beyond her duties as a counselor and program manager to try to stretch our limited funding options so that the most students can benefit. I know that I can always count on her expertise when speaking to her about a Dreamer student.

Melissa Perez, College of Science and Mathematics Dean’s Office
Melissa went above and beyond in her efforts to transfer files for lecturers needing to undergo review to Interfolio and in working with Academic Affairs to handle glitches.

Diane Volpp, Faculty Affairs
Thursday, April 16th, Dianne and team did a ZOOM training with staff for DocuSign. It was informative, well put together, and interactive. They met the challenges presented by the participants with grace and professionalism. I feel fortunate to work with such a dynamic, caring group of people.

Laura Gribben, Faculty Affairs
Thursday, April 16th, Laura and team did a ZOOM training with Staff for DocuSign. It was informative, well put together, and interactive. They met the challenges presented by the participants with grace and professionalism. I feel fortunate to work with such a dynamic, caring group of people.

Katie Guinn, Faculty Affairs
Thursday, April 16th, Katie and team did a ZOOM training with Staff for DocuSign. It was informative, well put together, and interactive. They met the challenges presented by the participants with grace and professionalism. I feel fortunate to work with such a dynamic, caring group of people.

Matt Doyle, Library
Matt is a highly skilled and committed librarian who does whatever he can to ensure that students get the help and resources they need. After the Library closed due to COVID-19, a student needed a book that is housed in Special Collections and as it was revealed that this title was assigned to the entire class and many could not afford it during this time, Matt located a full-text version online and made sure it was added to the list of books on reserve that he created so everyone would know how to access it as needed. This is the kind of public service that money cannot buy because this kind of conscientiousness is innate. We are lucky to have Matt on the library faculty and look forward to his continued contributions and successes. He is an emerging leader in our midst. Also, I'm not sure how many people know it was Matt who spearheaded the High Five initiative and tested it out before it became campus-wide. Kudos on a most commendable effort.

Chris Cruz, Technology Services
Chris worked hard to setup Apporto and help our students during this hectic time.

Harry Zahlis, Technology Services
Harry is always there to help support his team and helps direct them to do better during this uncertain time.

Rick Laczavics, Technology Services
Rick is a VERY knowledgeable person. Whenever there has been a challenge, he always is one to look for the right solution. If he doesn't know the answer, he will research until he does. Rick's instructions are very easy to follow and written extremely well. The University is lucky to have him!

Selena Winchell, Recreation Administration
Selena is always there to assist and go the extra mile when needed. She is the glue that binds our faculty, staff and students. Very much appreciated.

Robert Pagesmith, College of Health & Human Services
Robert has shown outstanding leadership skills during the current health crisis. He is leading a strong team of academic counselors through uncharted waters. He has leaned in and has been collaborating across divisions to ensure we are doing all that we can to support our students and faculty. We greatly appreciate Robert's leadership as the coordinator of the College Advising and Career Development Center!

Rocio Casillas, College of Health and Human Services
Rocio always steps up when needed to support the business of the college. She is proactive in assisting with the efficient operational needs of the Dean's office. She is collegial and collaborative and is a pleasure to work with. She is valued and greatly appreciated. Thank you for all that you do Rocio!

Emogene Nelson, College of Health and Human Services
Emogene is always willing to provide her expertise and greatly contributes to the operational needs of the Dean's Office. She is an outstanding leader who contributes to the Dean's team greatly. She is a valued colleague who I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with. She is an amazing professional who supports faculty, staff and administrators with her knowledge of the budget and college operations. Her sense of humor brightens everyone's day!!

Latricia Washington, College of Health and Human Services
Latricia is always willing to assist with responding to the needs of the Dean's Office. She is a responsible and a knowledgeable professional with a great sense of humor. I am blessed to work with such an outstanding team member.

Meshelle Pettigrew, College of Health and Human Services
Meshelle is a valuable member of the CHHS Dean's office team. She is hard working and conscientious and strives for excellence. Her contribution to the financial operation of the office is valued and appreciated. Meshelle always has a positive attitude and we are fortunate to have her as a member of our team.

Holly Head, University Registrar

Department
Recreation Administration
I am constantly amazed at our full-time and part-time faculty in the department. They see a need, see where someone needs help, they pitch in for the good of the order. Always student driven. Feel blessed to work with these professionals.

College of Health and Human Services Advising & Career Development
This is directed to the entire CHHS ACDC team. The Academic Counselors in the college are some of the best! They are all constantly striving to provide the most effective and efficient way to deliver services to our students during these challenging times. They are greatly appreciated and valued for their professionalism and their support of our students success. Thank you TEAM ACDC!!

Saved My Bacon!

Maria De La Mora, Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
I want to give a big shout out to Maria for covering my phone appointments the last two weeks. I've been out of the office intermittently, and she always takes over with no questions asked. I recognize that impacts both her workload and plans, but she never complains and carries on as if it's her assigned day. So THANK YOU to Maria, and please know that you are very much appreciated!

Kong Lee, Technology Services
While we were all frantically trying to prepare for telecommuting, we turned to Kong to help us with setting up VPN and connecting to our work desktops while at home. Always calm and cool under pressure, Kong came right over to our area to help us individually and made sure we knew we could call his work phone as needed even while telecommuting as he had his calls routed to himself. That was very reassuring and I made sure the rest of the team knew Kong's number, just in case. I also knew that should we have any trouble while at home, we could call Kong and I shared this information with my other library colleagues as well. Working from home was a new experience for most people, but knowing we had access to all of our digital files was a huge help, and having Kong there to guide us through that process made a big difference. Thank you Kong.

Teresa Knapp, College of Health and Human Services
Teresa is always patient and helpful during the constantly changing tides in the Dean's office. She steps up everyday and provides me the support needed to conduct the business of the office. I appreciate her patience and her willingness to lean in during these challenging times while we are all working remotely. She is appreciated for her work ethic and her humor.

Provides Excellent Customer Service

Nicholas Petitti, Technology Services
Nick demonstrated excellent customer service while helping me resolve issues with my remote system. He went above & beyond, and was extremely patient. I felt like he was personally invested in my problem and brainstorming a solution. Special thanks, Nick, I appreciate your professionalism and people skills.

Eric West, Technology Services
Eric explains technology and processes in a helpful (and patient) manner to those of us who are not as technologically proficient. He is also very responsive to requests by proactively sharing insights and ideas to improve projects in a friendly, calm and reassuring manner. The quality of our projects are always enhanced, thanks to his expertise.

Jeff Colvin, Technology Services
Thanks to his friendly demeanor and expertise, working with Jeff this week on two projects, with tight turnarounds, has been very enjoyable. By being so responsive and accessible, he ensured my team's success in implementing two projects successfully. Thank you, Jeff!

Grace Borbe, Planning, Design and Construction
Grace demonstrated great compassion and patience when helping arrange for a new ADA compliant desk set-up. She was reassuring and went out of her way to make sure my needs were met.

Lori Pardi, Planning, Design and Construction
Lori advocated for me to get the best possible solution for an ADA request. She was kind, understanding, and patient with me during a process that was new and a little intimidating.

Amanda Dinscore, Library
I want to acknowledge Amanda's courage for being the first to make her voice heard on Fresno State's Facebook page that she (and the majority of the library faculty) felt that the library should be closed in order to protect everyone. That took a lot of courage and integrity, standing behind what she really believed. Putting herself out there was a bold decision and I applaud her for that. She should be recognized for taking a stand and leading the way. I also want to say that the Fresno State COVID-19 libguide that she and other librarians put together collaboratively is impressive. This was done quickly and efficiently but with the utmost care and the results show! It does all of us proud and as Amanda was the one who spearheaded the effort, she should be recognized for that.

Nicole Traverso, Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving
When I had questions about the Top Dog nomination rules and process, Nicole responded right away and was most helpful throughout the process, even taking the time to acknowledge she received my attachments and confirm that the deadline had indeed been extended due to the COVID-19 crisis. I very much appreciated her helpfulness and professionalism and willingness to answer any questions I had. She is very much on top of all of the details and that is so important and needed in this hurly burly, frantic world. Thank you Nicole.

Department
Technology Services
I never hesitate to call the Technology Services Help Desk and they have never failed me whether I call, send in a service request online or walk in for help. In my last call for help, I could not figure out how to set up call forwarding while we are telecommuting. Even despite everything going with COVID-19, I got through to a very calm and helpful person who knew exactly what to do and offered his help patiently and with kindness. I was so relieved that they were even answering their phone and I was glad to hear that they could work from home. Knowing that I could call them for any technical help I needed (even for something simple like a phone) was reassuring. Technology Services as a whole does good work consistently but the Technology Desk staff are on the front lines in sometimes very stressful situations. They offer excellent service with competence and graciousness. I'm just sorry I didn't get the person's name who helped me because although I recognize his voice (he has helped me many times in the past), I never got a chance to thank him by name so instead I send a group thank you, to all of you for making a difference and for being just a phone call away whenever we need you. Please know that your efforts do not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thank you.

Models the Principles of Community

Francine Oputa, Cross Cultural and Gender Center and President's Commission on Human Relations and Equity
The question 'provide details below how nominee models the Principles of Community' seems a bit silly when I think of this particular nominee. Francine IS the MODEL of our Principles of Community. She is just extraordinary and we are so blessed as campus community to have her leadership. Yesterday I watched her calm, thoughtful leadership inspire the entire leadership roundtable (all managers) around the topic of inclusion and equity in a virtual world with a focus on accommodating our diverse community. Later in the day she modeled that leadership again with thoughtful, caring input with the Workplace Quality Taskforce on how we maintain connections and community with our remote workforce. Francine reminds us everyday through her actions and words what it means to model our values and embrace our principles of community. She is the epitome of kindness, respect, accountability and collaboration. Thank you Dr. Oputa - we appreciate you!

Jennie Johnson, Services for Students with Disabilities
Jennie models the Principles of Community every day! This week she co-led an exceptional discussion around diversity and inclusion in a virtual world for the leadership roundtable. The focus was on how we can all be virtual and physical allies to our students, particularly those with disabilities. Her words were thoughtful and timely. We appreciate you Jennie and all that you and your team are doing to serve our students.