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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Bridget Smith

Ms. Smith is the Administrator for WRAP. As we were preparing to leave campus last week, she has kept all of us up to date with what we needed to do to leave our office responsibly. She did an outstanding job of anticipating things that had to happen, often thinking of things I, for one, would not have thought to do.
Linda Sutliff, CMS/W -- Writing, Rhetoric and Professional Communication (WRAP)

Jarina Seresta

Jarina provided me with a computer all set-up and ready to go for my remote access work. She brought it to my home on the South Shore over the weekend. It may seem like a small thing but it has made a world of difference to me. I am most appreciative.
Brenda Pepe, CEE

The MIT Course XX Undergrads

I don't know where the quick thinking and initiative came from, but before leaving campus, Course XX undergrads donated their non perishable food and cleaning supplies to those of us grad students staying behind. I'm incredibly grateful and appreciate the generosity the undergrads had in the middle of moving on a second's notice and wrapping up their time at MIT until who knows when. Big thanks to the BE Grad Board coordinators and department leadership for coordinating with the undergrads on this.
Pablo Cárdenas R., Biological Engineering

HR Work-Life Team

In this tumultuous time, thank you for providing the needed resources and information related to childcare and elder care services, programming for anxiety, stress and depression and My Life Services, the employee assistance program which is available to MIT employees 24/7. You have all been caring and compassionate to those in need and we appreciate everything you do.
Anonymous

Oli de Weck

Oli immediately reached out to all his students to ensure all were getting settled and safe, and showed concern for our mental and physical well-being. He even offered to host students who didn't have a place to go. The immediate kindness and support is so appreciated.
Anonymous

Rishi Shah ‘20

Rishi worked endlessly through phone calls, emails and meetings to support everyone in his organizations in those first confusing days. Sacrificing his own time to process this week, he helped me and so many others.
Claire Melvin

MIT Medical Leadership Team

You have done an amazing job working tirelessly to meet the needs of your patients, while taking care of the MIT Medical staff members and medical teams. The updates you have been providing on a regular basis show the compassion you clearly feel for all of your constituents. We appreciate what you do.
Anonymous

Housekeeping and building maintenance team

The housekeeping and building maintenance team at MIT Medical has worked tirelessly to deep clean the building and protect the public health. Every single housekeeper has gone above and beyond the call of duty. All of MIT is grateful for your sacrifice and care!
Community Wellness, MIT Medical

McCormick House Team & presidents

Throughout this last hectic week, members of the house team were always around to make sure we had what we need and that we were feeling alright. There were always snacks available and people to talk to or distractions to be had. Even when we found out late Thursday night that we would have to leave by Sunday and some of the GRAs were sleeping, they woke up to help us pack and make sure we all could handle changing our flights and getting out on time. And Raul and Flavia were the best parents away from home, and the graduation ceremony arranged by them and Emma and Afeefah and Yara was an amazing community event and I’m glad we all got to gather one last time. Also a shoutout to Emma for being amazing! Thank you so much! You guys have truly proven why McCormick is the best place to be.
Anonymous

High Risk Travel Committees (domestic and international)

These groups worked around the clock to address and review numerous individual requests to travel, reviewing each case and helping community members make informed decisions.
L.D., Provost

PSFC Coomputer Services

Providing round-the-clock support to set up remote working capability, for hundreds of employees and visiting scientists, with patience and efficiency. Brandon Savage, Lee Berkowitz, Mark London, Josh Stillerman, Clarence Tucker, and Ted Baker.
Katherine Ware, Plasma Science and Fusion Center

Duncan Kinkaid

No one has worked harder in SAP than Duncan to make possible our transition. He deserves infinite credit.
Amy Glasmeier, DUSP

Chris Boebel

Chris is working tirelessly to help capture video content and put it online for the entire MIT community. In a time of great chaos, he is creating the stability that students and faculty will need to learn. He is a positive and hardworking person who is going above and beyond to fulfill MIT's mission.
Anonymous, MIT Open Learning

RD IT

With pretty much everyone working from home full time now in our department, we've been relying even more heavily than usual on electronic methods of communication and sharing like Slack and Dropbox to stay connected and keep on top of our work. With face-to-face meetings out of the question, we've had to look to new methods of getting together, like WebEx and Zoom. Without the hard work of the RD IT team to install, support, and train us on these tools, we would all be far more isolated than we already are, and unable to share our ideas or keep in touch with our colleagues. I want to thank them for all they do to keep us going in these challenging times!
Laura Parshall, Resource Development

Jennifer Meredith

Jennifer, the senior administrative assistant for Undergraduate Residence Life, has been working around the clock to support the Area Director team during these difficult times. We wouldn't be able to function without her and are deeply appreciative of her commitment to us and our students. Thank you, JMer, for all that you do!
John Ross Campbell, Undergraduate Residence Life

Area Directors (RLAD)

You have barely slept for almost a week, you are carefully balancing your own needs with those of your students in distress. You have not been able to grocery shopping for yourself. You have been helping student navigate these changing tides at all hours of the night. You have been working check out desk and buying packing supplies, but most of all you have still been there for your colleagues despite being spread so thin. You are amazing! You are appreciated!
Your Colleague, DSL

Christine Muir

Amidst us going remote during the height of admissions Regular Actions decisions, Christine did such a good job of keeping our communications on track and making sure emails get sent out on time to our admitted and non-admitted students. She has been a superhero amongst all this chaos and without her our office would not have been able to successfully navigate this past week.
Julia Davis, Admissions

Joseph Borkowski, System Administrator, Global Languages

Heartfelt thanks to Joseph Borkowski for not only easing our transition to online teaching and making himself available every day for consultations, but also for encouraging us to use this moment as an opportunity to learn new techniques and to become better teachers.
Maria Khotimsky, Global Languages

Ethan Feuer

I was lucky enough to meet Ethan once, back in early January. When MIT announced that students had to leave, some came to me for help. Ultimately, I ended up speaking on the phone with Ethan on 3 or 4 different occasions. Even in the midst of the crisis, he always answered the phone and always made time for me (and thus my students). He also offered that students could contact him directly, even when there were other, "official" avenues for them to use. I very much appreciate Ethan's willingness to go above and beyond for both me and my students.
Rachel Shulman, MIT Energy Initiative

The janitorial staff

They're here all day long keeping us clean despite the immense risk.
Kitty Drexel, Office of Campus Planning

CAPD Team Leads

Watching us all come together before the HR announcement, trying to figure out a schedule to have staff be remote while also still being able to provide services to students. It was comforting to see how much each team lead, cared about everyone in the office. The team leads were even trying to volunteer to have themselves come in the office in order to keep their people safe. A big weight was lifted when the HR announcement went out, so thank you HR!
Aleshia, OVC

BE Staff - Cathy, Dan, Sue, Dalia, Gerri, Aran, Alexis

The BE Staff members set up an emergency response team in dept HQ to aid students in assessing their living situation, find flights, navigate the multiple ways to ask for financial support and provided meals. They also ensured the graduating seniors felt celebrated through certificates, balloons and an overall festive atmosphere.
Sydney Solomon, Biological Engineering

DSL, Cindy, Ian, Suzanne, Cecilia, IS&T and all doing frontline work

Thanks for all you are doing working around the clock to help our students in a very difficult time and to keep the community safe in the face of constantly evolving information. We are hugely appreciative of getting Zoom and other tools so quickly so we can continue our teaching mission.
Emma Teng, Global Languages

Emergency Management Staff and International Safety and Security Program Manager

The Emergency Management Staff (Suzanne, Dave and Steve) have been on the front line of this situation since it started back in Jan 2020. They have worked tirelessly to ensure the framework for response was in place - even as the situation change daily.


International Safety and Security Program Manager - Todd Holmes is a one man show. Managing the travels of students and staff while abroad is hard enough in normal times - but becomes 10x more difficult when dealing w/ a pandemic. Like the emergency management folks - Todd has been engaged on this issue since it started in China back in January. Assisting folks that were traveling during IAP and providing guidance continues to this day. While international travel has slowed down - Todd has been called on to sit on a # of committee's managing the issue - even for domestic travels.

I have thanked each of these people directly. They are shining examples of forging ahead in uncertain times.
Sandy Mitchell , Insurance

Division of Student Life

To our colleagues who mobilized massive move out of students in a matter of days. We appreciate you and all of the blood, sweat and tears you put into their safe departure.
Laurie Ward, IMES/HST

Ian Waitz, Cindy Barnhart, Suzie Nelson, Cecilia Stoupis

The daily calls at 8AM have been vital, a source of calm and reason amidst a quickly unfolding situation. I am immensely grateful for all of your leadership and compassion.
Stefan Helmreich, Anthropology

DCM Staff

I would like to acknowledge my co-workers as well as my managers for their support, dedication and working together as a team. As a whole, DCM has an exceptional group of people and am honored to be a part of the team!
Suzette Morales, Division of Comparative Medicine

Todd Holmes

As International Safety and Security Program Manager, Todd has worked tirelessly to field countless questions, concerns, and inquiries and sit on numerous calls and committees to help advise the community and keep us all informed.
L.D., Provost

Brent Oberlin

In the midst of all the "normal" transitions and disruptions taking place at the Press, Brent assumed the role of Emergency Response coordinator as well. His communication was direct, but not at all panicked, providing the right amount of detail needed for all to feel informed and comfortable with the remote work arrangements. It was the supportive, measured response needed for those of us dealing with public school closings and the news our children would be home.
Bill Smith, The MIT Press

DCM animal caretakers

This group is still coming in, even at this difficult time. Most of them are here on campus taking care of all research animals, making sure they stay healthy, fed, and cared for. They are leaving kids and family under the care of others to make sure all works well here too.
Gladys Valeriano, Division of Comparative Medicine
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