Jumbo Appreciation Award Winners
February 2022:
Donna Cirelli, Computer Science
Category: Above & Beyond
Donna is tremendously focused on the CS undergrads. This was especially visible during the pandemic when she worked tirelessly to support them, and as she helped raise funds for students to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration, which encourages women in computer science.
Laura McDonald, Tufts University Art Galleries
Category: Leader of the Herd
Laura is one of the unspoken treasures of Tufts University. Laura has led our campus artwork audit, analyzing our collections for equity and diversity, and executing much needed artwork rehangs and edits to ensure that our spaces and the art within them reflected our community. Laura is on call 24/7 and will always have a great story to tell you, whenever you do call! She is a great mentor to colleagues and students alike.
David Watts, Residential Life and Learning
Category: Team Player
David has had the most impossible tasks and yet still finds time, energy, and desire to figure out how all of our students are going to be housed. Beyond his own workload, David never ceases to be supportive of other folks who reach out asking for a favor, specific information he is able to source from all the data he has, or just needing to talk to someone who will meet you with empathy and raise you up with a good laugh. Tufts is sooooooo lucky to have someone like David on the team!
May 2021:
Elissa Milto, Center for Engineering Education and Outreach
Category: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice
Elissa has been CEEO’s leader in DEIJ work, chairing the center’s anti-racist committee, organizing conversation roundtables for undergrads, and conducting diversity-related data analysis in surrounding communities that the center serves. She continues to push both herself and all of us to look within, take action, and evolve both CEEO and the broader University into a deliberately anti-racist organization.
Felicia Astorino, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Category: Jumbo Ideas
Felicia works behind the scenes to support the smooth running of the Graduate School and to ensure that graduate students have a seamless experience. Through this work, she has acquired a wealth of knowledge which allows her to reimagine existing processes to make them “leaner” and more efficient. Felicia is consistently pleasant, helpful and thoughtful about how we can improve the operations of the school.
Ilene Coddon, Financial Aid
Category: Team Player
As we transitioned to remote work, Ilene was the person who streamlined systems and figured out ways for our team to do our work not just remotely, but efficiently and seamlessly. Ilene has spent countless hours figuring out ways to make processes better for her co-workers. In addition, although it is not technically a part of her job, Ilene, because of her wealth of expertise about our financial aid software, provides significant support and assistance to the financial aid folks at the medical, dental and vet schools - all members of the “Tufts Team.”
April 2021:
Jaouad Elkamouss, Philosophy Department
Category: Above and Beyond
Jaouad has proven himself in every job he's had as hard-working, reliable, resourceful, and with a special talent to support, encourage, and cheer those around him. Jaouad learned all of the aspects of his current role even faster than we has hoped. During the transition last year to remote teaching he took control of all aspects of the transition, and made sure it went smoothly and successfully. We are all immensely grateful to Jaouad!
Tim Jordan, Residential Life and Learning
Category: Above and Beyond
Tim has a significant amount of responsibility in his regular job, but he assumed this responsibility of recruiting, training, and managing the team throughout the past year. This semester, the group pivoted to focusing on communication instead of on-the-ground peer contact. This has also been outside of his regular job description but Tim has been incredibly helpful in continuing to encourage compliance. He is always thinking creatively and with students, health, and wellness first in mind, and should be recognized for his outstanding commitment to the health of our community!
March 2021:
Laura Sacco, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Category: Above and Beyond
Laura makes the (CEE) department run, but she is more than that. Sometimes we think of her as THE department. Laura pays special attention to the student experience and puts in above and beyond effort in making sure that everyone in the CEE community - faculty, staff, students, and alum - feel connected. You can see how dedicated she is by her hard work and willingness to help everyone. She makes it a great place to work.
Coco Gomez, Environmental Studies
Category: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice
Celia is the epitome of the phrase "above & beyond"! Celia is the ultimate team player within Student Services, continuing to come in twice a week to process requests for paper transcripts for the duration of the pandemic, and helping student staff get trained, be supported and feel safe while most staff have been working remotely. Her extra effort was instrumental in the success of Student Services being able to open in person this year. Celia has just been such a superstar, and should be recognized for her outstanding work!
Celia Gittleman, Student Services
Category: Above and Beyond
The ENVS program is a rapidly growing major, Coco has been instrumental in the program’s growth and she is essential to all that we do. Coco has developed strong ties to other organizations which has helped start new programs, such as the food resource collaborative and the Tufts Food Systems Symposium. These programs have become fixtures within the University, and both are geared towards diversity and inclusion. Because of Coco’s commitment to our students, we are able to advance our program as well as the interests of the University.
February 2021:
Kaitlyn Clark, Tufts University Art Galleries
Category: Above and Beyond
Roxana Woudstra, Graduate Admissions
Category: Leader of the Herd
January 2021:
Mary Ellen Leone, Department of Child Study and Human Development
Category: Above and Beyond
Josh Hartman, Office of Residential Life and Learning
Category: Above and Beyond
December 2020:
Maddie Key, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Category: Team Player
John Wescott, Office of Campus Life
Category: Above and Beyond
November 2020:
Gabrielle Otto, A&S Communications and Marketing Department
Category: Team Player
Joe Golia, Office of Campus Life
Category: Above and Beyond
October 2020:
Monica Morin, Department of Biology
Category: Above and Beyond
Laura Generous, Dowling Hall Tech Team
Category: Above and Beyond
September 2020:
Kenson Truong, SMFA
Category: Above and Beyond
Samantha Brumer, StAAR Center
Category: Jumbo Ideas, Above and Beyond
August 2020:
Maria Nicolau, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning
Category: Above and Beyond
Christa Ricker, Office of Campus Life
Category: Jumbo Ideas, Above and Beyond
July 2020:
John LiBassi, Department of Sociology
Category: Above and Beyond
Casey Spicer, Registrar's Office
Category: Jumbo Ideas
June 2020:
Angy Sosa, Residential Life
Category: Above and Beyond
Lauren Gibson, Research Administration
Category: Above and Beyond
May 2020:
Sarah Rich, Department of Mathematics
Category: Above and Beyond
Margot Cardamone, FIRST Resource Center
Category: Above and Beyond
April 2020:
Caleb Davis, SMFA
Category: Above and Beyond
Robin Brown, Registrar's Office
Category: Above and Beyond
March 2020:
Wendy Medeiros, Department of English
Categories: Leader of the Herd and Team Player
Jennifer Granquist, Counseling and Mental Health Services
Category: Above and Beyond