Eight employees were honored for their contributions to the college on Thursday, Jan. 19.
President Luis Sanchez led a brief awards ceremony in the president’s conference room. Faculty and staff gathered to hear Sanchez’s remarks on each recipient and enjoy free food.
“This is a very small way in which we recognize the excellence of our employees and very particular employees who have earned our admiration through the kudos process,” said Sanchez. “Somebody went to the trouble to point out what our employees are doing especially well.”
Every month employees from around the campus are recognized by the administration. These employees include full time, part time, classified, and student staff. For the Jan. 19 meeting, Sanchez honored eight employees for the months of January and February. Sanchez read aloud appreciative remarks from each recipient’s nominators and offered a few comments of his own before handing them a gift certificate to the Wood Ranch restaurant. In light of all the hard work faculty and staff do on campus, this brief event offered a chance to celebrate the particular contributions of campus employees.
The honors for the month of January included full-time counselor Tracy Allen, part-time business professor Gary Quire, classified employee Alan Courter, and student staff Ryan Ketcham.
Ryan Ketcham has been a student employee in several divisions and works as a sports commentator for the Raider games. His presence drew the attention of local television channel Conejo TV where Ketcham also works. In addition, he is also a member of the Student Voice staff as a sports writer.
The honors for the month of February included full-time Accessibility Coordination Center & Educational Support Services (ACCESS) academic counselor Jolie Hertzig, part-time Film/Television/Media (FTVM) instructor Jason Beaton, classified employee and linguistic instructor Paul Matson and student staff Shandor Batocski.
Batocksi attends Cal State Channel Islands as a psychology major but works in the Moorpark College online student support office where he assists students in their online education, along with developing the employee of the month survey. Despite his roles in the awards, he was just as surprised as the other candidates when he was recognized.
“I am ecstatic but at the same time apprehensive a little bit because… a little part of me feels like I should be able to put more into this college,” said Batocksi. “I’m glad that there are employees out there that believe I do deserve this award and that makes me truly happy.”
