Congratulations to Varina Kosovich, George Hernandez, and Kaylee Nauer, winners of HSLIC’s 2023 Annual Employee Recognition Awards!
Varina Kosovich – Outstanding Performance
“Varina is yet another example of HSLIC staff taking leadership of much-needed efforts and doing work that is for the betterment of HSLIC and the HSC community. Last year, she pushed for HSLIC's JEI committee to prioritize the provision of menstrual products at HSLIC, and these advocacy efforts have paid off. Varina researched other institutions providing these products in their restrooms, and from this research forged an equitable plan that would provide these products to transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people - in both the 'men's' and 'women's' restrooms. Varina also supported this work by pointing to connections between gender equity and social justice--including emphasizing the concept of period poverty--and how HSLIC can position itself as a library that provides access to products in a comfortable and dignified fashion.”
“No matter what project she's working on, she goes above and beyond in terms of organizing, planning, and most importantly sustainability. Her willingness to not only collaborate but to create extraordinary work and projects is extremely admirable.”
George Hernandez – Outstanding Customer Service
“George goes above and beyond to provide exemplary customer service to HSLIC faculty and staff. During 2022, George volunteered to serve as the lead for the Winter Social, helped organize Welcome Back Days, Fuel for Finals, and HSLIC's 45th Building Anniversary, as well as helping facilitate events for the JEI committee. In each of these, George sought to learn more than just the business services end. He wanted to understand the why and how of HSLIC's activities for which he processed accounting paperwork. This enabled him to provide a higher level of customer service and get to know more about what other HSLIC employees do within the library.”
“George is an absolute pleasure to work with on anything related to fiscal matters/purchasing at HSLIC. He helped me uniquely with a much more complex and unusual purchase this year and was always on top of it along the way. He has overall been an excellent addition to the HSLIC team and we are lucky to have him.”
Kaylee Nauer – Outstanding Project/Process Improvement
“[Kaylee] consistently looks for ways to improve processes and make workflows more efficient. She manages course reserves and communication with faculty and keeps an open mind for changing the service to make it more beneficial for users. She continues to seek opportunities to promote the service to both faculty and students. She also managed the 2022 Offsite Bound Journal Shift, in which over 37,000 print serials across 5,000 linear feet were shifted to allow for more equal weight distribution on the shelving bays used for offsite storage. This project not only will extend the lifetime of the shelving, but will also better protect the material, and the employees accessing the material. This project showcased Kaylee’s project management skills and her tenacious approach at completing a project that involved both physical and intellectual heavy lifting.
Kaylee also contributes to HSLIC beyond her assigned job. This year she volunteered to be a member of the Welcome to HSLIC Project Team, a funded project to improve the area in front of HSLIC by making it a more attractive and engaging space. Since the project falls outside of routine responsibilities, all of us involved value Kaylee's contributions, leadership, and motivation.”