Thank You to These Community Members

The following MIT community members have been recognized for going the extra mile. Thank someone today.
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Housing & Residential Services

The entire Housing & Residential Services team has been working around the clock to support students during this challenging time. The leadership team, house operations managers, security, custodial and maintenance staff -- everyone across the department has stepped up to help students and to support their colleagues. I couldn't be more proud to work with talented, hardworking colleagues who are dedicated to the health, safety and well being of students within the MIT residences and beyond.
Zachary Tsetsos, Housing & Residential Services

Ollie

Ollie consistently goes above and beyond to keep W98 running. During the COVID-19 Crisis, he continued to do so with a smile and an email to lift spirits. He is has been a true ray of sunshine during this crisis.
Nicole Ferrara, OIG

Sloan Technology Services (STS)

Wow - Everybody in STS has DELIVERED through this transition to remote work and teaching. From having critical collaboration and learning tools like Zoom, Slack, and Canvas LMS already in place at Sloan to working tirelessly to continuously train and support our community of remote employees, teachers, and learners throughout this transition, I couldn't be prouder to be part of this family!
Shallon, Sloan Technology Services

Robert McKenna

A highly valuable FedEx package was delivered during the MIT shutdown to an unknown location, and Robert went above and beyond his port of call to track down the delivery driver to find its location. It is hard to express with words alone the gratitude that I and my research group feel for the perseverance shown by Robert in this case, and in previous cases that we've worked with him.
Jay Shah, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

Facilities IT Team (NW23)

They are working so very hard and I really appreciate their work.
Lena Davis, Facilities, VPF

The wonderful people in the Division of Student Life

You define who we are in the division of student life:
You put others’ needs before your own.
You are strong and composed in the face of hardship.
You respond quickly, effectively and professionally to calls for help.
You are the real heroes, and my gratitude for your efforts – and the gratitude of so many others – is infinite.
Suzy Nelson, DSL

Troy Van Voorhis

Troy has been exceptionally responsive and understanding during this time of uncertainty. He has sought out student advice, taken our concerns seriously, and responded thoughtfully as he and the department crafted a plan for graduate students. It is clear that Troy cares about the success of everyone in the department on a personal and professional level.
Katherine Taylor, Chemistry

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
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