Give your colleagues a “High Five” for things such as excellent customer service, “saving my bacon” and going above and beyond.

High Fives are easy to give — simply click “Give a High Five” and fill out the form for a faculty or staff member only. Your message will be delivered straight to the recipient's inbox, and they will be acknowledged weekly in Campus News.

Continue below to read about 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.)

Works Above and Beyond

Shirley Garoutte, Center for Essential Needs
Shirley is the cog that keeps the Center for Essential Needs (CEN) machine churning. Shirley is a step ahead in planning and facilitating operations for staff and student assistants. She creates a safe place for student clients who come in to see a case manager or to simply pick up a snack. Each person that walks through the doors of CEN leaves feeling a sense of warmth, belonging, and worth because of Shirley's caring and empathetic interactions.

Yesenia Fuentes, University Marketing and Communications
Last week I reached out to Yesenia to see if she could turn around a news tip about an event happening this week. She did, but I later realized that I was asking her to do something outside of the two colleges she covers. She didn't point out my mistake and just did the work, enabling us to get media coverage for a faculty event. Yesenia really went above and beyond to get a job done, even if it wasn't her job. Thank you, Yesenia!

Olivia Pape, University Marketing and Communications
While I was out on maternity leave for five long months, Olivia was instrumental not only in keeping my work moving forward but doing so with great skill and commitment. I am grateful to her for supporting my student assistants and never letting our standards slip while also somehow still doing her primary job. Thanks, Olivia!

Provided Excellent Customer Service

Fatih Yenen, Technology Service
Fatih is always responsive and quick to help. We appreciate all the support with websites and emails!

Gee Xiong, Office of the University Registrar
Gee is always quick to process ARRC requests and respond to questions. She goes out of her way to help students get credit for courses they deserve to make progress toward degree completion and works well with chairs to make the process easy. Thanks, Gee!

Student, Alumni, and Friend Engagement
Huge congratulations to the Student, Alumni, and Friend Engagement team for an incredible GradFest! Over three days, they welcomed 2,400 graduating Bulldogs with an unforgettable experience — including a graduate resource fair, career development workshops, a Dutch Bros coffee truck, bracelet making, photo booths, and, of course, the highly anticipated Grad Box distribution. Despite some inclement weather, this team’s dedication and teamwork ensured that every student felt celebrated and supported as they start their journey towards commencement and alumni life. Thank you for your hard work and commitment to this beloved campus tradition!

Saved My Bacon

Andrew Esguerra, University Marketing and Communications
Last week a few of our team members went to lunch together, and in the afternoon, I realized I no longer had my planner with me. I contacted Andrew, who had driven me and him over there, thinking I probably left it in his car. By the time I got out to the parking lot, he had already looked in his car, not finding it, and called the restaurant, which is where I left it. He offered to drive me back over to Campus Pointe to pick it up. I really appreciate Andrew's thoughtfulness!

Adriana Knutsen, University Marketing and Communications
Adriana really saved me when I had a problem with our logo and communications. She worked with me until we got it just right. Adriana was very patient and understanding as we troubleshooted our attempted fixes. I really appreciated her willingness to help me in my stressful situation.