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.)

Above & Beyond

Geoffrey King, Technology Services
Geoff works creatively, at odd hours and overtime, to make sure we have the infrastructure we need to do our job.

Patricia Benavides, Student Involvement
Patricia takes on tasks and projects willingly. She is pleasant to work with and has made this transition period so much easier.

Derek Brantley, Traffic Operations
This is actually for Derek and his entire team. I greatly appreciate Traffic Operations standing out at the light on Shaw and Barstow at 5 o' clock every day (even in the rain) to ensure we all get out of lots P30 and P31 smoothly and stress-free. Thank you so much for your hard work!

Reyna Alvarado, Sociology
Reyna is the heart of the sociology department and keeps everything running smoothly for students and faculty. She does everything on time or early and always seeks opportunities to learn more and improve the functioning of the department.

Haile Fitzwater-Williams, Craig School of Business Dean's Office
She is always going above and beyond to help staff and faculty with any of their needs.

Renee Camacho, Continuing and Global Education
When I have a question, I call Renee and she will help me even if it is not in her job description.

Alex Jarrell, Craig School of Business
For an event we had in February, Alex not only stayed in regular communication with me regarding coordinating the programming, but she also stepped up in helping make sure the set up for the event was the best it could be. Her help was invaluable for that event, and it was one of our most well attended events.

Theresa Taliaferro, Division of Research and Graduate Studies
Theresa Taliaferro serves as an invaluable asset to our University community through her dual roles as University Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects coordinator and program review coordinator. Everything she does is well-informed, timely, professional, efficient and respectful.

Roseann Rodriguez, Admissions and Recruitment
Roseann has worked almost every weekend to assist prospective transfer students and has been available to the recruitment office.

Robert Escamilla, IT Support Group – DSG
He has always been there to help during an ongoing issue and has always been right on top of getting it fixed and responding. He is a great example.

Steven Orr, Library
Steven went above and beyond to connect a Fresno State student with local coding opportunities.

Erica Lassen, University Registrar
Erica has been working on a project for military credit for over a year ... we finally have a finished project and it is thanks to her. She did lots of research with the CO, colleagues at other campuses and interpreted policies to make sure we were in compliance. She has also been working with several staff in other areas to make sure the guide is user-friendly and the information is easily understandable for students. She did a fantastic job and we couldn't have done it without her.

Natacha Thompson, Human Resources
Ms. Thompson is a guiding support for the library. She makes herself available to help us solve problems, listens, is balanced in her assessment of the situation and is always focused on improvement and staff success. This dedication is time consuming and she stays engaged in our work, managers and ongoing issues.

Ms. Thompson is committed to the success of our staff and even attends our staff meetings. She cares about us and the well-being of library staff and that goes a long way and also goes beyond just following HR policies and procedures.

Gretchen Higginbottom, Library
Gretchen is a steadfast colleague who shows up and delivers. I appreciate her willingness to step up and support all of our staff engagement activities that are so critical to the health of our workplace culture. She is always positive, funny, works hard, has great ideas and fully participates in fun and learning activities that make our workplace more positive and fun.

Carlie Corrigan, Athletics
Carlie went above and beyond her day-to-day responsibilities to help with the registration for a youth clinic we held in recognition of National Girls and Women in Sports Day and she planned and executed things smoothly and even handled a bunch of last minute changes with a great attitude and a smile.

Kendall Boliba, Athletics
Kendall coordinated and organized student-athletes from seven teams for our National Girls and Women in Sports Day youth clinic and got them checked in, group leaders settled and sport stations rotating efficiently so that the kids participating had a great experience.

Alisha Parker, Athletics – Nutrition
Alisha, her assistant dietitian, Claire Anspach, and their student workers all came out to our National Girls and Women in Sports Day event and helped coordinate the drinks, organized the lunch distribution, helped the kids out and just overall helped make the event go smoothly.

Jake Mastro, Athletics- Marketing
Jake responded to a social media post and helped create awesome memories for a local youth basketball team that were coming out to watch our Bulldog women's basketball game and experience all the National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebrations. That extra effort made for a really special experience for the coach and her team.

Si Her, Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
During our payment deadline week, we had outstanding third party sponsorships that needed to be reviewed by Financial Aid in order for our office to process in time before our payment deadline. Though that week was a busy week for Financial Aid, Si was able to review all the outstanding third party sponsorships, which allowed our office to complete our process in a timely manner. I appreciate Si for all her hard work and timeliness.

Erin Connor, Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
No matter how busy it is for Erin, if we call or email her she is always on top of it and makes sure student issues are addressed in a timely manner. She never leaves us hanging and wondering if our student issues have been addressed and if an email was missed she always follows up with us to make sure that our student issue was addressed. I appreciate all that she does and how attentive she is when it comes to assisting other departments and our students.

Denise Pearcy, Printing Service
Our department is a fast-paced environment and we constantly have concerts. Approximately 120 plus events. She always provides excellent services and gets us our items. She works with our needs from artwork, posters, signage, mailings, etc. She is friendly and knows how to handle our request promptly.

Marie Tongson-Fernandez, Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Marie was a tremendous help during my service as chair of a search committee. She went above and beyond to help me with the Qualtrics survey so that the search committee can have a platform to record their ratings. I truly appreciate Marie and her prompt help in responding to the need of our search committee. She truly helped us in expediting the search process in a timely manner and helped up meet our deadline.

Marie, thank you so much for your knowledge, expertise and for working above and beyond to provide us with the tools we need to successfully finish our search. We could not have done this without you. I appreciate you.

Dolores Charest, Technology Services
Although she always goes above and beyond to make our EOP application process better, this application cycle has been one thing after another that does not work as it should and she has worked harder than usual to find a way to make the process work ... she is still not done helping us. She is AWESOME! She really deserves a High Five.

Ernest Escalante, Plant Ops
Ernest is always so pleasant and hard-working particularly when he is at the Smittcamp Alumni House. He is always working effortlessly and does it with a smile.

Bernadette Nelson, Admissions and Recruitment
When we could not figure out what went wrong with our application download process she stuck with me and helped me figure out it and would not give up. This was on top of everything else she had to work on. They were having issues with their process too but she gave me all the time I needed to help me with our process. She has definitely gone above and beyond!

Wendy Nelson, Outreach and Special Programs
Wendy is constantly on the go making sure that students are aware of resources both on campus and in the community. It is evident that she loves her work because she is always thinking of ways to improve services and share her knowledge with others. Wendy works above and beyond to promote both Fresno State and the importance of a college education and being prepared. I appreciate her fun personality and creative mind to engage others.

Sara Pena, Auxiliary Human Resource and Payroll
Sara has assisted staff in my area and me with several searches and helped fill various vacancies for key positions. She often provides information about upcoming changes and/or information we need to be knowledgeable about. Although she is extremely busy, she finds the time to reply to our emails and calls to answer any questions we have. I appreciate the work she does and the effort she puts to make sure our programs run smooth.

Kelly Maravilla, Educational Talent Search
Kelly was extremely helpful in making sure everything ran smooth while we filled the vacancy for the two ETS directors. She took the initiative to update calendars, revise forms and provide staff with whatever support they needed. Kelly volunteered her time during several Saturdays to learn new skills, help recruit students and share information with others about ETS program services. Kelly is flexible and willing to work long hours to ensure the success of students and the programs. I appreciate the support she constantly provides me with.

Excellent Customer Service

Tinnah Medina, Facilities Management
Tinnah and her team are doing an exceptional job of improving our campus grounds (so beautiful) and facilities. Thank you!

Tommy Ridenour, Technology Services
Tommy is always one step ahead of me when it comes to our a/v needs at various events on campus. He is always set up at least 30 minutes before I need the equipment, stays in contact regarding set up, take down, etc. and quick to come to my rescue if I encounter problems. Very friendly and always a joy to be around.

Renee Camacho, Continuing and Global Education
She is always helpful and gets back to me quickly and does so with a positive attitude.

Will Tubbs, Technology Services
When it comes to customer service, Will rocks. He is super flexible, always gets us the help we need. No matter how stressful the situation, Will always maintains a positive and caring attitude. He is truly an asset to the organization and helps ensure we keep things running smoothly. Thank you, Will!

Lety Saavedra, University Registrar
Lety provides outstanding customer service to our students, staff and faculty she interacts with. She is patient, kind and listens to students when they are frustrated or not sure where to go next. Lety does a great job at handing students off to other departments by calling to give them a heads up a student is on their way. This makes the student feel like they're being heard and someone took the time to help them. Lety is great at her job and we are so lucky to have her on our team. Thank you for the wonderful service you provide to everyone Lety!

Stephanie Moua, Accounting Services
No matter how busy Stephanie is, she always provides excellent customer service to me and everyone in our office. When I call to bug her, she takes my call and is willing to stop what she is doing to help when an urgent issue comes up with students. I love working with her and appreciate her very much!

Si Her, Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
During our payment deadline week, we had outstanding third party sponsorships that needed to be reviewed by Financial Aid in order for our office to process in time before our payment deadline. Though that week was a busy week for Financial Aid, Si was able to review all the outstanding third party sponsorships, which allowed our office to complete our process in a timely manner. I appreciate Si for all her hard work and timeliness.

Erin Connor, Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
No matter how busy it is for Erin, if we call or email her she is always on top of it and makes sure student issues are addressed in a timely manner. She never leaves us hanging and wondering if our student issues have been addressed and if an email was missed she always follows up with us to make sure that our student issue was addressed. I appreciate all that she does and how attentive she is when it comes to assisting other departments and our students.

Kelley Kitzmiller, Foundation Financial Services
Kelley is always available to answer questions and I know we all have a lot of them for her. Thank you for being available and taking time to make sure I'm doing things right when I have questions for you.

Martin Alvarado, Admissions and Recruitment
Martin provides excellent customer service to the staff and the students in the programs that are in my area. He is friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. Martin always follows through and is always willing to help all of us with whatever questions we have or information we may need. Martin always find the time to support the work we do and is willing to collaborate no matter if it means having to stay late or work during the weekend.

Kelly Maravilla, Educational Talent Search
Kelly is friendly and makes sure that anyone that calls the office, comes by or needs anything receives the best service possible and gets what they need. She is eager to help and makes everyone feel welcomed. Kelly is prompt and never makes you feel she is too busy to help you with any questions.

John Fugatt, Administration and Finance
Anytime staff or I send John any Requisition Hospitality Approval forms to process, he always replies immediately and is supportive with whatever we need or questions we have. I appreciate his flexibility, promptness and support.

Saved My Bacon!

Bryan Alvarado, Technology Services
Helped to create a powershell script to help manage computers. Bryan is always very helpful and respectful.

Denise Biggert, Craig School Dean’s Office
I was giving an exam and realized the t - distribution table did not print. Denise, thankfully, quickly printed some and brought them to us!

Dolores Charest, Technology Services
An error occurred when loading our EOP applications over a month into our cycle, and I had no clue how we were going to handle it and she figured out how we could delete everything and start over. I am sure it was no easy task but she did it. She really saved my bacon!

Bernadette Nelson, Admissions and Recruitment
It seems like it has been one thing after another this application cycle but her ability to troubleshoot and help me figure out how to fix a lot of the things that failed has really saved my bacon. She is the BEST!

Frank Burns, Technology Services
Frank helped in developing the process that would correct an error that occurred when loading our EOP applications, which was such a huge help. When working with him in testing what they had developed he was so patient with me when I did not understand something. Technology is not my strong point. The process he was part of developing really saved my bacon. He is GREAT!

Sue Delcroix, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Sue responded to an urgent request to attend a staff search charge meeting as an EEOD. We appreciate her willingness to help with such short notice.

Jessica Acevedo, College of Social Sciences
Jessica displays an amazing talent and demonstrates a strong ability to identify, analyze and solve problems. She made the impossible possible by finding 13 classrooms for the mock trial competition. She is also a go-to person whenever I have computer or spreadsheet problems.

Brenda Valladolid, Upward Bound
Brenda accepted to be "the lead" for both UB programs while her director was on leave and was instrumental in making sure that both annual performance reports were submitted on time to USDE. Her excellent organizational skills and flexibility made it easier for me to work with her and not worry about goals not being met and/or services not being offered. She did an excellent job keeping me informed and providing support and leadership to her colleagues, student staff, school contacts and the students in the program.

Models the Principles of Community

Amye Leon, University Advising Center
Amye is one of a kind. She instills respect, kindness, accountability and collaboration in a team. She models the way and listens to all ideas when making decisions and for these reasons, I have a high respect for Amye. Thank you for your leadership and all that you do. Because of you, I along with my team feel heard and supported.