每个星期五, 你会找到90年代的玛丽(麦康纳), director of the Augustana 学生成功中心, 穿着海军蓝和金色的衣服, 还有她的12bet游戏平台级戒指. On the shelf in her office sits photos from her time as an Augustana student — “90s hair” and all. 涂装 displays her Augustana pride in many ways and, 现在, she can display it in the ultimate way — with the 2024 Augie Pride Award.
涂装 was recognized with the award on Wednesday, April 17, at the university’s annual Service Awards & Retirement Recognition Ceremony in the Ordal 餐厅 Hall in the Morrison Commons. The Augie Pride Award is given to those who go above and beyond the call of duty to provide exceptional service to the university — nominated by other AU employees.
“One cannot ignore 玛丽's role as Augustana's biggest cheerleader and champion. 无论是在校友活动上, 学生编程或社区聚会, 玛丽 consistently goes above and beyond to promote the core values and achievements of Augustana,托索奖的一位提名人写道. “Her infectious spirit and positive energy contribute immeasurably to the sense of community and pride that defines our beloved institution. Where there may be barriers in a student’s personal life, 玛丽, 毫不犹豫地, takes as much time as needed to meet their needs.”
涂装, who has served Augustana for nearly 25 years, said she wasn’t even thinking about the Augie Pride Award when President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin began her presentation. But, as soon as 涂装 realized she was the recipient, her immediate feeling was gratitude.
“这么多年来, I've just so greatly admired and been so excited for anyone who's ever been recognized with the Augie Pride Award,托索说. “能和他们在一起，我感到很谦卑. I think about people who have been here like Mark Hecht (director of recreational services), Nancy Davidson (director of advancement operations) and Joni Krueger (registrar & 教务处助理副教务长), who have been Augie Pride Award winners — just to be thought of as a person who's as dedicated to this place as I k现在 all of those people are is humbling. And, when you pour yourself into a place, it means a lot to k现在 that someone realizes it.”
涂装, 苏福尔斯人, has been pouring herself into Augustana since she began in 2000, 最初担任学生活动主管. She has also served as director of alumni eng年龄ment, director of internships & employee relations and, 现在, director of the 学生成功中心.
有人会说, 然而, that 涂装 first began pouring herself into Augustana in 1986, when she stepped onto Augustana’s campus as a first-year student. 在她学生时代, 涂装是一名常驻顾问(RA), 新生迎新(NSO)联合主席, 维京时代联合主席, 奥古斯塔学生协会(ASA)参议员, The Augustana Mirror editor and member of The Augustana Band.
“I was an English and journalism (double) major, but I realized that the advisors I was working with at Augustana, 这就是他们的事业,托索说。. ”,, 我心想, “当我想起我在12bet游戏平台的经历, the thing that I've loved the most is this involvement that I've had.’ Jim Bies (retired vice president for student affairs) was my mentor and he helped me find my master’s degree program at Loyola University Chicago so I could get my master’s in college student personnel.”
托索离开12bet游戏平台有十年之久, completing her master’s and starting a family with her husband, 约89年, who she met at a Halloween party her first year at Augustana. In 2000, when the director of student activities job became available at her alma mater, 托索申请并面试了毕斯.
现在, 学生成功中心的负责人, 涂装 leads a team that works with students as they design their college experience and eng年龄 in high-impact practices such as internships, research and leadership roles on and off campus. She is also a primary academic advisor for first-year students in the 商学院.
去年初秋, I walked into 玛丽's office for the first time with not a clue what I was doing,托索的一名学生提名者写道. 我坐了下来, stressed and greatly overwhelmed with so many questions about resumes, 求职信和工作. After I finished dumping my frustrations onto 玛丽's desk, she immediately began to help me build my cover letter and resume from the ground up. She devoted herself to helping me gain confidence in myself and never once failed to answer a question I had.”
涂装’s devotion to her students includes her own children, 其中三位是奥古斯塔校友, 也是现在的学生. 贝卡·马霍瓦尔德，17届, 雅各20, 23年的马修和25年的伊丽莎白, 还有托索的丈夫, 乔纳森, were on hand to surprise 涂装 during the Service Awards.
“For us, we just have a lot of pride that all of our kids are going to be Augie grads,托索说。. “Just k现在ing that there's a lot of the 涂装 family connected to this place, and to have them all here with me on such a special day solidifies and makes me realize, 再一次。, 这个地方对我有多重要. 这流淌在我们的血液里. 这就是我们. It's also a neat feeling to have our kids be like, “我妈妈真的很喜欢这个地方, and other people realize that she really loves this place.’”
奥吉骄傲奖始于1999年. 要查看所有过去的收件人，请访问 奥吉.edu/ServiceAwards.