The following MIT community members have been recognized for going the extra mile. Thank someone today.
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Kristin Hall
Kristin has been going the extra mile on the Media Lab slack to provide reassuring, detailed replies to people expressing concerns and distress. Plus also promoting discussions around grounding activities like gardening and celebration of small victories. She's encouraging mindsets of acceptance - even if you don't have a fancy home laboratory setup, even if you aren't at 95% productivity right now, doesn't mean you aren't a worthy engineer/scientist/artist.
Anonymous, MIT Media Lab
James Bernis and E-19 Receiving
James and the Receiving team have gone above and beyond to make sure the the high volume of deliveries for Medical have been delivered promptly. Their efforts are greatly appreciated.
Ruth Evensen, Medical
Kathy Matuszewska, supervisor night operations
Thank you for working overnight (11AM-9AM) and providing the residents with direction, communication and empathy. Extremely tough shift to work, but you are always here and ready to serve the MIT community.
Sean Durst, HRS/DSL
Tomás Vega Gálvez
Tomás is an alumnus of MIT Media Lab, he came back to help the Lab start an initiative that develops technology against COVID-19 using on-body devices that prevent people from touching their faces. His prior research and extensive experiences on wearable computing and Bluetooth enabled device became very essential for the project. He selflessly contributed to the project since the beginning of ideation to the successful execution of the project. He embodies the spirit of MIT that strives for making real-world impacts through elegant innovative solutions.
Pat Pataranutaporn, MIT Media Lab
Cleaning staff
Yesterday at 9 pm I went to pick up my needed office items before the building closed for good. I ran into one of the women who cleans building 9. I asked if she was still going to be able to work. She said yes but I wondered. Here she was doing the essential work for keeping the place clean and safe for us all. So to here and the others who clean I offer my deepest thanks
Ceasar McDowell, DUSP
Lorrie Lejeune
Thank you for being the linchpin in keeping the information flowing and providing the organization to help us relocate our work so we can be safe!
Anonymous, MIT Media Lab
Rabbi Ariel Burger - Hillel
He is one of the very few who actually helped me in this time and alleviated my anxiety being far away from home and my family, where things aren't looking good at the moment. Rabbi Ariel gave us a very helpful and inspiring last in-person class and has been connected with us on a daily basis through different platforms to offer tranquility and a platform of resources to combat any difficult or emotional phase we're going through now.
Helena Briones, IDM
IS&T
You folks got Zoom up and running in an amazingly short amount of time. THANK YOU!! I've been using both WebEx and Zoom this week, and Zoom has saved the day more than once when WebEx failed my group in some way. I am so grateful to all the folks in IS&T who made this happen. <3
Kim Maxwell, MIT Libraries
Ganatra
This man was so awesome when it came to organizing BC storage! He made packing things up so much easier- Idk what I would have done without him sending out countless emails about boxes, BC storage, and piece by piece storage.
Sarah Coston, Freshman
Matthew Ganatra
For holding down the fort in BC while everyone was getting out and storing their stuff.
Jierui Fang, Architecture
EC House Team & JoeG
Thank you so much for everything you did for us. I know y'all worked around the clock at desk, ordering boxes, helping us move, and fighting for us to make the transition as easy as possible. Much love <3
Peter Choza Tone, 21M-2
Mathew Ganatra
Ganatra has been so incredibly helpful with the entire storage process at BC. He does his job thoroughly and seriously--I don't know anyone else who could've done a better job than him in this trying time. He goes under-appreciated, truly. Also, he's a great BC Desk Captain. Thank you!!!
Sophia Chen, Burton Conner
Mathew Ganatra
I want to thank Ganatra (BC desk captain) for basically organizing and working checkout and BC storage all by himself (working ~20 hours a day) last week during the turbulent week when all the students are packing & moving.
Meryl, 6-3
Matthew Ganatra
He was so organized and helpful with Burton Conner storage and it is so appreciated!
Sophie Anderson, Burton Conner
Matthew Ganatra
He organized the entire Burton Conner move out and with such organization!
Tatum Wilhelm, Resident of Burton-Conner
Mathew Ganatra
Ganatra is the desk captain at Burton-Conner House and he put in a huge amount of work over the last week to make sure storage, check-out, etc. goes smoothly. He coordinated almost all the logistics and was always present and helpful at BC desk. I'm really astounded by his tireless work and think he really deserves recognition.
Shardul Chiplunkar, Undergrad 18C
Mathew Ganatra
Ganatra took care of the entire Burton-Conner residence dorm during the week of MIT’s COVID-19 response, from helping us store our belongings to being a good friend and comforting us. Thank you for your generosity and outgoing behavior during this time!
Bhav Jain, Undergraduate, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Matthew Ganatra
Ganatra has always put the BC Community at the forefront. From helping me adjust to MIT my freshman year to working non-stop to ensure proper storage during the recent crisis, Ganatra has been a great friend and support. I am forever grateful :)
Hannah Liu, MIT Student
Prof. Chris Zegras
Chris (DUSP department head) holds virtual cafe hours every day to mimic bumping into one another in the hallway and have a casual conversation. He has also shown a great compassion during this time. Thank you Chris!
Natalia Barbour, DUSP
Mathew Ganatra
Amongst the hectic undergrad packing and storing craze that happened last weekend, Mathew Ganatra (also an undergrad) nearly single-handedly organized and successfully executed all of Burton Conner storage. He made sure everyone got the boxes and packing necessities that people needed. Superhuman is an understatement.
Burton Conner
IS&T
The staff in IS&T has been phenomenal during this time of crisis! They have been great partners helping us get the staff in VPR/RAS working remotely, and providing tools to make our work easier - Slack and Zoom are great additions. We very much appreciate all of their help!
Carol Wood, VPR/RAS
MIT emergency management leadership
On behalf of the Architecture community, I want to express our appreciation for the incredible response over the past week around all of the academic, medical, housing, campus and online teaching issues by the upper leadership, and as coordinated by Ian Waitz. Too many people to mention but deep thanks to you all.
Andrew Scott, Architecture
Mathew Ganatra
Ganatra did an amazing job supporting all of the BC residents during the stressful past week and made sure everyone had a place to store their things. He also put in tons of his own time to run storage and make sure everyone who needed to store items could.
Lila Wine, Course 2
Matthew Ganatra
Ganatra spend over 20+ hrs a DAY to help sort out storage and check out for Burton Conner. Ganatra has prioritized our living group over himself and stepped up to fill in a huge position that MIT couldn’t even done themselves.
Leanne Lin, Undergraduate
Ganatra
Helping people in BC with storage + moving out
Xiaolu Guo, 6-3
Matthew Ganatra
As desk captain, he singlehandedly made sure everyone in our dorm was ready and able to move by supporting everyone with resources to help them move.
Sean Knight, Student
Ganatra
Ganatra is an absolute legend. With little to no help, he pushed his own needs to the side and worked 20 hours a day to ensure that students encountered as little stress as possible when moving out of Burton Conner. He organized and ran checkouts, storage, and any other problem that came up. These are typically tasks that take weeks of planning and involve many student workers. Due to the chaos of the moment, few people were available to help and Ganatra often worked both full time roles simultaneously. It will be an undying inspiration and comfort to know that even while the world was upended around us, one man selflessly focused on ensuring that everything that had to be done would be done.
Trevor Spreadbury, Course 6-3
Mathew Ganatra
He really carried all of Burton Conner through the entire move out and storage process all on his own and still managed to make time for personal connections with others.
Maya Redden, Undergraduate Student
Manolis Kellis
Professor Kellis has been a calm, informative and reassuring voice for our members at the foundation, but also across the Greek speaking world, by volunteering his time on media and group conferencing to help people gain insight into crucial aspects of the pandemic, while dispelling misinformation.
Manos Hatzimalonas, Philotimo Foundation
Juliana Drozd
Juliana really stepped up during these difficult times to act as an advocate for all students, especially those who faced difficulties with housing, food, and storage. She put together a form for members of the EAPS community to provide help for students, and spread that information to anyone who needed it, not just undergraduates in EAPS. She has and continues to put a lot of hard work into maintaining the communities she is a part of. I have been continuously impressed by her compassionate response to this crisis.
Megan Guenther, Course 12 Undergraduate