The following MIT community members have been recognized for going the extra mile. Thank someone today.
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Aleshia Carlsen-Bryan
Aleshia is doing amazing work supporting MIT Prehealth students, especially those gearing up to submit their applications soon to medical schools amidst uncertainty, ambiguity, and stress. She is serving as a source of steadiness and reassurance for our students. I also want to recognize the incredible resilience with which Aleshia is supporting the faculty Committee on Prehealth Advising as they navigate supporting Prehealth students while transitioning to working remotely. Finally, I am grateful for Aleshia being communicative and realistic about what can and cannot be controlled, such that the Prehealth team can also set themselves realistic expectations. In a word, Aleshia is an inspiration. Thank you!
Amanda Pickett, Career Advising and Professional Development
Winnie W. Poon-Leung at VPF
Winnie is always incredibly helpful when I have questions or concerns, and she just went above and beyond to help out with a last-minute, urgent issue on a renewal with a vendor (even though I know VPF is swamped right now). Thank you, Winnie!
Renée Hellenbrecht, Libraries
HR Tech group
I wanted to thank the members of the HR tech team for what they did to prepare us to work remotely. The communications were so thoughtful in their content and timing, and the hands-on training and assistance they provided, as well as on-going support, have made this transition to remote work really smooth for me and others that I’ve spoken with. I’m soooo grateful.
Chris Karam, Central HR
MIT Staff as a whole
Thank you very much for being proactive and dilligent in response to this pandemic.
Lillian Makiwa, Parent of an International Undergrad Student
Ollie Gelmont
Ollie has been the person who has kept our building going, sorting mail—and taking the time to send us images of things that looked important, caring for plants, and keeping us all connected virtually to our place of work, through photos which on a normal day may be ordinary but during this unusual time, proved extraordinarily moving and meaningful. He has become our W98 Hero!
Amy Goldman, Office of Gift Planning
Dylan Girard
Thanks for all your work to support the Managerial Communication Group in moving to online teaching. You've been great!
JoAnne Yates, MIT Sloan School
Matthew Ganatra
Organized and worked both checkouts and storage basically by himself. Super helpful and efficient.
Miles Johnson, Undergrad in Math
MIT Sloan EFA
Each and every person I work with has been a light in the darkness during this chaotic transition period. We are truly a 'team', and I couldn't be happier to be with this group of people during these uncertain times.
Michael Brockett, Sloan EFA
Central Utilities Plant
It's business as usual at this often overlooked business unit. Thank you for keeping the lights on and supporting the campus while we all get used to our "new normal". You guys ROCK!
Anonymous
Isaac Cuccia
Thank you so much for your help, guidance and extreme patience to get my laptop back up and running! After trying for 2 1/2 days to reinstall my operating system, which kept crashing, you persevered, wiped the machine clean and rebuilt it all while working remotely. A true testament to getting the job done any way possible. I really appreciate your dedication, knowledge, persistence and kindness!
Lynn Hinds, Office of the VPR
Scott Groth
Thank you, Scott, for being the first to step and volunteer to assist anyone with operating remotely. You started our group off on the right foot of helping each other.
Karen Bowes, Facilities Engineering Group
Class of 2020
Thank you for your resilience, teamwork, passion, unity, patience (yes, patience), concern for each other, concern for your community, concern for your family, cooperation, pivots and hard work!!!
Melanie Winton, Parent
Helene Rieu-Isaacs
Helene is the glue that keeps our department together, not only for her willingness to partner on and support any project we need her help with and her thoughtful contributions when she does, but for her sweet, gentle spirit which lifts us all during this crazy time. Miss you, Helene!
Lori Gans, SA+P Dean's Office
Nick Marmor
Nick is an amazing, hard working, creative, effective and generous colleague and partner, always ready and willing to jump in and make any undertaking better. I so appreciate the opportunity to work with you and I miss your face in the office!
Lori Gans, SA+P Dean's Office
Barbara T. Feldman
A big thank you to Barbara for her efforts to keep us all moving forward as a team while holding on to a sense of humor and a lightness to make the challenge of remote work in these scary times more manageable! We appreciate you, Barbara!
Lori Gans, SA+P Dean's Office
Dineen Doucette, Duncan Kincaid and Phil Thompson
For your effort and generosity and making sure I have the equipment I need to work from home more comfortably and more efficiently. Identifying and ordering it proved to be a time consuming, not to mention expensive, interruption to their already busy days and I'm most grateful!
Lori Gans, SA+P Dean's Office
The Entire Team of Faculty, Staff and Researchers; CRON; and SA+P Dean's Office
No questions asked except "What can I do to help!" The entire team of faculty, staff and researchers at the MIT Center for Real Estate, SA+P's Network Resources Group, Dean Sarkis and his entire staff have exemplified what it means when everyday folks do extraordinary things! Thank you, thank you!
Lisa Thoma, MIT Center for Real Estate
Sandy Welford
Sandy has worked tirelessly to keep DUSP PhD students -- many flung across the world -- safe, up-to-date, and cheerful. She has worked to make right every dimension of life that this virus has upended -- housing, academic progress, financial support, and more. Sandy has made this as smooth as possible for DUSP PhD students and we truly thank her for that.
Mark Brennan, DUSP
Marion O Cunningham
Marion is ACT's Director of Operations. Her leadership, efficiency, and best of all — good humor — is helping us weather through this tough time. Thank you, Marion!
Marisa Morán Jahn, Art, Culture, and Technology
Mathew Ganatra
Ganatra has always been the man to go to in Burton Conner, whether it's about storage or mail or some random thing. In this past week, he tirelessly organized storage for BC residents and kept us updated throughout the move out process - I honestly don't know what we would have done without him. He made sure that everyone got the information they needed and volunteered his own time to make sure that everyone was able to store their items, even with all of the last minute changes in flights. He's a senior now, so a thousand thank yous isn't enough considering he didn't get to spend his last week with his friends like everyone else. Ganatra, I'm really glad to have been able to know you and want to thank you as well for making B5 and center suite feel like home. <3
Alicia Guo, EECS
Suzanne Glassburn
There are many professionals behind the scenes doing all they can to help MIT's community at this moment. Some we see every day and are recognized as friends. Others also are working tirelessly and may go unknown to others. When this all started, I contact Suzanne Glassburn, Senior Vice President and Corporation Secretary to comment on how to soften the impact of notices coming out fast and furiously as the threat level progressed. Her compassion for others was instrumental in ensuring that the effects of communications grew in sensitivity over time. I am personally indebted to her for enabling me to have direct interactions with my employer in the early critical days of this event.
Amy Glasmeier, DUSP
Ollie Gelmont
Ollie has been going into the office every day to check on the building and keep business flowing. He has been the mailman, the cleaner, the caretaker of office plants, delivery man and has also taken time each day to send encouraging thoughts and photos to keep our spirits lifted. He is to be commended.
Christine Martignetti, Office of Gift Planning
Architecture Students and Faculty
Architecture students and faculty have been doing an amazing job staying connected and helping each other. I am proud and grateful to be part of this community. I would particularly like to thank the members and leaders of the Architecture Student Council for providing the logistics and the social glue, the student and faculty volunteers spending their "spring break" reaching out to admitted students, and the WAWD RADIO team for all the future togetherness they have imagined for us.
Ana Miljački, Department of Architecture
Paula Cogliano and the Concourse teaching team
For being flexible every day as new situations emerge; for caring so much about our students; and most of all for keeping a sense of humor as we muddle our way through this spring. It is a genuine pleasure to work with such dedicated colleagues!
Anne McCants, Concourse
Kristal Kilmain
I worked at MIT for over 40 years, but my current status as a temporary employee meant that my name was not included on the lists that were updating employees on the corona virus situation. I knew very little about MIT's policies and practices regarding the pandemic and how they would affect our work situation. My wonderful colleague, Kristal Kilmain, took it upon herself to forward all the information to me daily. Thank you Kristal, you're the best!
Carol Roberts, Chemical Engineering
Jenn Schlick
Many thanks to Jenn for all her work helping MITEI rapidly prepare for and implement remote work functions, including group and personal tutorials on various useful platforms.
Emily Dahl, MIT Energy Initiative
Ollie Gelmont
Ollie, in good times, keeps W-98 humming with his keen oversight of our facilities, interest in our well-being with repaired water fountains, new coffee makers and fixed elevators, and eagerness to adhere to sustainable practices. Ollie, in the current bad time, keeps us connected to mail that is a crucial part of fundraising, looks after plants they keep our spirits up, send us pictures of the spring blooming flowers that improves our morale, and looks after the MIT public safety and facilities staff that use the W-98, lobby as a reprieve from their stressful work. Ollie Gelmont rocks!
Chris Toro, Office of Individual Giving
Mike Gallino
Mike had barely gotten settled in at MIT as HR's IT Manager before the virus hit the fan. He has issued laptops, provided training, done troubleshooting, etc. for a department of largely non-technical folks with calm and good humor, all on short notice in his first few weeks. Kudos and thanks!
Riley Hart, HR
Jon Carlson, Ramon Downes, Ethan Feuer, Mary Mango
Many thanks to this team of people who managed to figure out and set up a system within hours to financially reimburse our students who needed to move off campus in such a short window. We have since reviewed and approved hundreds of RFPs for students who needed to be reimbursed. Many, many thanks!!!
Leah Gallant, Student Organizations Leadership and Engagement
CRSP Renovations Team
Our group is responsible to keep upwards of 60+ renovation projects going at any one time. Last week we were asked to plan for a shutdown of all of the projects. The whole team banded together, came up with a plan and made it happen. I am so very grateful to each and every person.
Janis Burke, Department of Facilities