#APUSVibes

"As a key APUS commencement point of contact, Lacy has spent the past few weeks focused on making decisions regarding the 2023 commencement experience. She has worked with multiple APUS/APEI teams and outside vendors to get the main details solidified so that we can move forward - at full speed - with the other components of the planning process.  I am confident that this will be the best commencement yet!” Thank you, Lacy!"

"Dr. Kelli Frakes is the most decisive person with whom I work at AMU. She is always ready to engage with issues of interest and importance, and take appropriate action on them, whether that involves making a decision herself or bringing the matter to the attention of others at the university to address the issue and get it resolved. Recent examples of her decisiveness include her efforts to create a new graduate degree program for SSGS (Security and Defense Studies) and visiting each classroom in her department (well over 50!) to assess how well instructors are engaging with students, share best practices she observed, and identify areas where individuals and her entire department can make improvements. As a department chair, her monthly department meetings are well planned, conducted with great efficiency, and effective in bring issues to be addressed to department members: they are never time wasted, and always result in action(s) being taken that produce results and improve the department. As a supervisor, Kelli is constantly available and rapidly responsive to those she oversees, offering sound advice, clear direction, and sincere encouragement. While tremendously thoughtful, Kelli has a bias for taking action that is somewhat unusual for and in academe, and she exemplifies the definition of decisiveness as being one who is able to come to a firm conclusion quickly, turn that conclusion into a decision rapidly, and take action that is appropriate and effective. Napoleon said that "Nothing is more...precious than to be able to decide," and Kelli Frakes has that ability, demonstrates it daily on behalf of her constituents, and places it in the service of AMU and APUS. There is truly no one who I believe is more deserving of this award and recognition than Kelli Frakes.” Thank you, Kelli!"

"I am honored to nominate Jessica Lucas-Hartman for March Achiever of the Month. The theme 'We are ambitious and always play to win' embodies Jessica's verve for her job. In 2022, Jessica studied and earned National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrator (NASFAA) credentials in more subjects than any other member in her department. She earned a place on the NAFSAA Honor Roll for her knowledge in the Application Process, Cost of Attendance, Federal Pell Grant and Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, Packaging and Notification of Awards, Professional Judgment, Return of Title IV Funds, Satisfactory Academic Progress, Student Eligibility, and Verification. Not only is Jessica eager to learn all she can, but she is also continually submitting process and communication improvement ideas to upper management.

Jessica has a heart to go above and beyond to help students. Upon encountering a frustrated student on the phone, Jessica identified the student's needs and devoted the time necessary to ensure the student's experience was above par and ended on a positive note. She helped the student for 45 minutes while maintaining her encouraging tone throughout the call. By the end, the student profusely thanked her for taking the time needed to help her. Jessica addressed the questions and concerns at hand and ensured to explain additional information that she knew would be useful for the student's success.

Jessica uses her experience and knowledge to answer questions for her team to ensure they succeed as well. She puts her all into each situation and makes her mark wherever she goes. So, yes, Jessica plays to win, but not in a self-promoting way. She wins by making each student interaction the best she can and challenges others to do the same."

"I am honored to work with Dr. Fuson as she has been a source of support since the day I started to work at APUS. Jill was the first Program Director of the Retail Management program, and she worked hard to ensure we had a positive introduction to the program. Dr. Fuson has been a cheerleader for developing faculty as well. She has earned the respect of many across the University.

Dr. Fuson has volunteered to attend Commencement ceremonies conducted on military installations over the past 7 years to represent APUS on stage in full regalia to honor graduates who are unable to attend the official ceremony. She has assisted the Military Outreach team at Fort Campbell, Fort Knox, and Fort Benning. She has a genuine positive spirit & enthusiasm that makes our graduates feel special and always has a smile on her face. The Military Outreach team is very thankful for her willingness to participate, and she proves we are a 'one team, one fight' University!

For the past twelve years, I have worked with Jill in different capacities at APUS. No matter what role the university has asked her to fulfill, her positivity and teamwork have been consistent. She builds others up and shows her genuine desire to see others succeed in their roles and careers. Her commitment to serving those who serve is apparent in everything she does at APUS. Jill not only is ambitious and always plays to win, but she makes sure to bring everyone along in her quest for success.

In the seven years that I have known Jill, she is always ready to help in various capacities to support the University. Her positive attitude and professional manner of approaching all her roles and duties make her an excellent candidate for achiever of the month."

"Dr. Novadean Watson-Williams consistently demonstrates her commitment to the value of "Everyone Matters" through her actions and leadership choices. As the Instructional Designer for the School of STEM, I am included as a participant in the IT team faculty meetings.

One exemplary instance of this value was during the April faculty meeting. Novadean invited a student to share their experience and provide feedback to faculty. This approach fostered a sense of community and demonstrated her commitment to hearing directly from those she serves.

When communicating through email, she includes all relevant stakeholders, ensuring everyone is kept abreast of important developments. When working with external contractors, she manages the projects well, connecting everyone as necessary and constantly checking in to ensure people have what they need. Her support helps to maintain accountability for building and teaching quality courses. As a member of a supporting department, I feel immensely supported by her leadership and am a valued team member."

"I am honored to nominate Heather Cousino, Manager of Financial Aid Operations, for the "Everyone Matters" Achiever-of-the-Month Award. Heather has been a dedicated APUS Financial Aid team member and leader for over 12 years and has consistently demonstrated an exceptional commitment to our company's core value of valuing everyone equally and ensuring that every voice is heard.

Heather goes above and beyond to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for colleagues, students, and partners. She takes the initiative to ensure everyone feels heard and respected. In decision-making, communications, and interactions, Heather considers all stakeholders to meet the unique needs of each constituent while balancing business needs. Specifically, Heather led the first financial aid hybrid team to promote cross-training our student-facing advisors and processing specialists to ensure students receive "one-contact" resolution. No matter who she communicates with, she shows appreciation for their work and perspective.

Heather consistently goes above and beyond to create an inclusive and welcoming environment and promote the well-being and professional development of her team members and others. She takes the time to mentor and train colleagues and provides valuable feedback and guidance to help them grow in their careers. She does an outstanding job of motivating others on an individual level while ensuring each person understands their role and value in the university's mission.

Overall, I believe Heather embodies the spirit of the "Everyone Matters" award and has made a significant impact on our workplace culture. I strongly recommend them for this recognition and believe that they are truly deserving of this honor."

"I started in my full-time position with APUS last July with Sylvia as my chair. Coming into any new position is a big deal and can be a little overwhelming but as I have learned the ropes, Sylvia has been the most incredible leader when it comes to letting me make mistakes. She has been gracious and encouraging at every step. I can honestly say it has been the most welcoming workplace I have ever moved into and because of the team I work with I feel I have found my forever career home. While I really try very hard to do everything right, things do go wrong and I make mistakes as we all do. Here I feel like I can really learn from them without being looked down upon or penalized. I have worked in a hostile work environment before and working with Sylvia has been a relief and very refreshing. I can't tell you how much I appreciate her!!"

"I am proud to nominate Jordan Fritts, Manager of Financial Aid Operations, for the "We Welcome Mistakes" Achiever of the Month Award. Jordan has created a safe environment for our team to make mistakes and have the courage to try new and creative ideas.

Jordan has sacrificed his time with his more experienced team members to assist in the development of our new hires. Traditionally, our new advisors have been trained on an individual basis, but Jordan was the first to experiment with a group training process. Jordan had to adjust his training methods during this initiative after finding prior methods he used may not work as well in a group dynamic. He taught our new advisors to embrace mistakes by providing them with honest feedback in this group dynamic and encouraging them to share their own feedback with each other. Through this, he was able to create morale by ensuring our new advisors know we welcome mistakes.

Jordan has welcomed mistakes with other team members as well, regardless of their experience. His coaching style allows his team to feel comfortable to independently problem-solve in situations, even if they do not come to the right conclusion. He encourages them to brush incidents off and not be upset by mistakes, and instead, helps them apply what they have learned to future situations. Jordan has led by example in this area, as he handles any mistake he may make with grace, honesty, and looking to the future instead of staying stuck in the past.

Jordan embodies this value of welcoming mistakes through the patience, understanding, and compassion he shows to all our team members through their learning process. He has directly contributed to fostering a positive and understanding team environment, and I strongly recommend him for this recognition."

"Tonia has been my Department Chair in the psychology department for several years. I am an adjunct instructor so I don't always attend the faculty meetings or keep up with the latest news or trends that are affecting the University, and frankly it can be a little lonely out here in the online adjunct world without much interaction with my peers. However, WITHOUT FAIL, for YEARS, Tonia has gone above and beyond her call of duty by sending out the best emails that highlight the information from those meetings. She explains things very clearly, includes suggestions about what the changes might potentially mean to our department, and suggests ways to incorporate the new information into our classrooms. She has always been welcoming and encouraging of everyone in the department to reach out to her by phone or email and has been a real anchor for me due to feeling included and valued as an adjunct instructor. I have never felt lost at APUS because of Tonia, and am very thankful for the privilege to have her as the Department Chair. Tonia is more than an exceptional communicator, she is an inspirational leader who has made a difference to me over the years here at APUS. Her ongoing, unfaltering support for me and the dozens of other instructors has been the invisible glue that helps hold the department together. Recognizing Tonia for the "achiever of the month" award has been long past due, because she is an unsung hero who might better qualify her to be the recipient of the "achiever of the year" award"

"Lisa was hired onto the Military Assistance Team in October 2018 as a Military Assistance Specialist I. Due to her strong work ethic, professionalism and commitment to our students, team and organization, she was promoted to Manager in August 2022. Lisa represents the values of our organization - accountability, integrity and dedication. The management team has been focused on ensuring that our team continues to perform in a professional manner and upholding the values of our team and organization. Lisa has ensured that she and her team maintain our professional and personal integrity and commitment to excellence. Lisa acts with accountability and integrity with a strong professional foundation. She continues to demonstrate her commitment to the success of the team and organization with the quality and quantity of work she produces. She fully understands and supports the mission of our team and organization and ensures that this message is instilled in existing and new team members. In March of this year, our Vice President transitioned into a new role within the University. This posed new challenges and a significant increase in the workload for the management team. Lisa has played an integral role in assisting with the new responsibilities placed on the management team. She is proactive, eager to learn new processes, and always willing to assist in any way possible to ensure our processes are complete in a timely manner. I, personally, am very grateful to have Lisa as part of the Military Assistance Team and the management team, as she has willingly and eagerly shared the additional responsibilities we have been tasked with. Her contributions have made and continue to make a positive impact on our organization, our students and the MAT."

"Dr. Wilson embodies the spirit of “We love simplicity.” Even when faced with complex challenges, she adopts a back-to-basics approach in developing seemingly simple solutions that benefit students and faculty. I have been impressed with her approach but never as much as when she addressed the complex challenges resulting from the rapid growth of the students’ use of AI and ChatGPT. After discussing with her team, she broke the complex issue down into manageable components, including response to students, support to the faculty, redesign of course content, etc. The overall issue seemed so overwhelming but in breaking it down, she was able to draft simple solutions to each component. She has consistently demonstrated this approach with other challenges as well. In her back-to-basics approach that demonstrates simplicity, she never loses sight of what is in the best interest of students’ learning. Coupled with this, her approach benefits faculty, and she excels at faculty communication consistently breaking down complex issues. It is for these reasons that I highly recommend Dr. Wilson for this month’s achiever-of-the-month!"

"Sometimes we need to ask for complicated things, and sometimes we just need a helping hand. Admissions has been extremely busy lately and has been undergoing a lot of change. As things keep changing, one thing remains the same - we need to value and see our teammates as people who deserve to live a happy and balanced life. Cathy Timmons sees that and makes the effort to help. We have met some staffing challenges on our weekend shift, and Cathy has consistently volunteered, over and over again, with a can-do attitude, no matter what we need to ask of her. She has the "I'm here to help" attitude. By following this simple mantra, she not only uncomplicates things for her team, but she also cuts to the heart of what we are all trying to do - help others. We are fortunate to have Cathy in Admissions, and I feel she is deserving of this recognition. She keeps her eyes on the prize and remembers the big picture -simplicity at its finest."

"Dr. Andrea Walker has been a part-time faculty member for just over a year but has displayed a strong pattern of being focused on students and curriculum during this short time. She readily volunteered to serve as a Co-Faculty Advisor for the Kappa Delta Pi honor society chapter, consistently seeks guidance about students with challenges, attends faculty meetings and collaboratively helps improve curriculum, and takes the initiative to email about any curriculum issues she observes in classes she teaches. Andrea shows caring and passion for students' success and curriculum quality. She exemplifies the notion that "We are focused." She works well with students, asks for help as needed, and goes over and beyond to support students. In one course where a couple of students were struggling, she offered to meet asynchronously and also created a voice-over PowerPoint with examples for students who could not attend. She noticed a trend among a few students' difficulties with scholarly writing, etc., and tried to help them improve. She is focused on course specifics and outcomes. In faculty meetings, she speaks up with great suggestions to improve key assignments, rubrics, and course aspects. She is not only caring, passionate, and focused, but she is always positive, collegial, and pleasant in her written and verbal communication. She is a very focused faculty member."

"I would like to nominate Kent Thomas for the August “We are focused” Achiever-of-the-Month. Kent is a consistent and proactively engaged contributor to building and supporting the Admissions Department and the University’s mission, vision, and values. Through Kent’s work and contributions to the University, it is evident that he is devoted to ensuring that APUS students are supported and provided with the best possible resources to make educated decisions. He is also a go-to for many of his colleagues, as he is instrumental in providing targeted solutions and spotlighting creative problem-solving pathways that reflect his focus on our goals. I have had the privilege to see Kent’s attentiveness to focusing on matters that are important to both students and the University firsthand while collaborating with him during our Admissions Workflow Pilot, where he concentrated our combined efforts on providing valuable information to our prospective students while adding beneficial ideas on ways to increase our productivity as a team. Additionally, Kent has been an asset to our Strategic Admissions Leadership Training Program (SALT), where his awareness of our organizational culture and his persistence in offering thoughtful insights on various leadership areas, such as Coaching, Feedback, and Effective Communication provides his teammates and team leaders with practical and constructive views on elements of our university culture that matter most to us. Kent is an unsung leader for our team and our department, and he ensures that our focus remains on the essence and heart of our University. As APUS moves through various changes, Kent’s initiative in living our Core Values, serving students, and supporting his colleagues makes him the perfect candidate for this award."

"Ah, where to start...? As one of those who represent the value of 'We measure what we treasure.' , I cannot measure what I treasure about my boss. Simply put, she pushes me. In this way, I can push others to excel by caring about them as people like Dr. Fowler does. We are people first, all of us. Once we all understand this, we can positively move forward and continue to help each other and APUS to be innovative educators in the forefront of learning.

She fosters a community of togetherness and through her leadership and actions encourages people to be more and to do more. These actions are the very same ones that we as teachers encourage in our own students since the ultimate goal is to create a community where teachers are students and students are teachers."

"Stacey is an expert at connecting the data, 'what we measure,' with what is important for our School and institution, 'what we treasure.' She has developed myriad reports that she shares weekly with the DCs in the School of Health Sciences so that we can focus on continuous improvement. She encourages us to explore the data and take nothing at face value, which has allowed us to identify both big and small issues within our courses and programs. It has also allowed us to identify and celebrate excellence. This combination has led to a School culture where data is seen as a positive resource. Stacey is continually considering what additional information may be valuable and how to collect such data. At the core of everything we do at APUS is the quality of the academic product that we put forth for our students and their experience inside of our virtual walls. Stacey's commitment to data leads to excellence in both areas!"

"I am delighted to nominate Jan for the Achiever of the Month award in recognition of is exceptional qualities as a servant leader. His unwavering commitment to serving others, their remarkable leadership skills, and their dedication to our team and organization make him a truly outstanding candidate for this award.

Servant leadership is a rare and admirable quality in today's workplace. It entails prioritizing the needs and growth of others above one's own, which ultimately creates a nurturing, positive, and motivating environment. Jan personifies this philosophy in every sense, consistently going the extra mile to support colleagues and encourage positive change.

What sets Jan apart is his consistent demonstration of servant leadership principles. He is always the first to lend a helping hand, ensuring that the team has the necessary support and resources to excel. Whether it's providing advice on a project, offering guidance to new team members, or simply being a supportive presence, Jan is the anchor that keeps our team grounded. He has also been a very dear friend to me and I support him 100%."

"Jenny serves as the APUS Student Conduct Officer and manages all third party and escalated grievances. Her empathy, patience, and knowledge of APUS policies and practices is critical to her role, but it is her commitment to high-quality service, administrative, and educational policies and practices that helps APUS improve every time we identify a problem within the student experience. Whether she identifies a one-time issue or a more widespread systematic problem, Jenny uses the opportunity to advocate for (and sometimes educate) the student and work with the right functional areas across the University to learn from the matter. Thank you to Jenny for supporting our students and colleagues and upholding our institutional mission to promote quality and continuous improvement!"

"Kerry has been a strong, unifying, and stabilizing force in our Program for years. With the recent retirement of our Department Chair, he has really stepped up and helped many of us with all kinds of issues from how to respond to problematic discussion posts, to how to support struggling students, to how to manage our workload. Kerry also is involved in helping military spouses through the Military Spouse Club, which he runs. Military members and spouses are a large chunk of our student population and Kerry, who has been both, is an excellent guide for this group.

Working remotely can be isolating and lonely. Colleagues like Kerry make this job much more fun and rewarding, and I think he deserves recognition for the substantial positive impact he has on all of us."

"Linda is such a quiet and consistent force for good at APUS. I've noticed that, as she oversees the CurCom process for all five Schools, she has to interface with an inordinate number of colleagues and personalities (not all of whom appreciate the onerous, behind-the-scenes work that Linda undertakes). Despite the immense coordination and detail-oriented nature of her work, Linda remains cheerful and service-oriented, always striving to provide the highest quality service. Linda is also incredibly humble. She takes direction from others very well and attends to her duties with great seriousness. An example of her humility happened earlier this month when there was a need to flip-flop on scheduling that had been unforeseen. Linda humbly rolled with the punches, got her work done, and kept her vision clear for the continued needs and success of the program. Overall, in my 3 months working here, I have come to have a deep appreciation for the unseen and often unsung work that Linda does. She is a consummate professional and deserves recognition and appreciation for all that she does. I admire her output, and I admire her attitude. She is such a wonderful asset to the System and to our community of professionals."

"Kate Brannum never fails to make me smile and laugh every day. She works hard and achieves great results for all of our students, but also shares her irreverent humor with all. She meets with doctoral students frequently, giving important advice but also providing them essential encouragement and self-deprecating humor that helps to motivate them. She makes our job more fun as well as making us all take ourselves just a little less seriously."

"When I saw that the Achiever of the Month needed to value fun, I knew who need to win this award. Selection Committee, Carolyn Todaro is who you’re looking for. Carolyn has created a culture of fun in Academic Advising since 2016. If you’ve worked on this team or with her in any capacity, you have undoubtedly witnessed how her positive energy and dedication to her staff, students and organization makes APUS a better place. We don’t have enough space to list out all the fun things Carolyn has her hands in, so let’s just briefly mention a few. Has she dressed up as a Mrs. Claus before at an end of year party? Absolutely! When the Department embraced a French cat mascot (long story), did she get her team berets to wear? Oui! Did she spearhead a Back to the Future themed step challenge for all of Operations? You know she did! Does she take the time every year to send personalized treats and birthday messages to every person in her department? That’s a fact. Did she get pied in the face to raise money for charity? She did, and it was hilarious! Does she stress the value of laughter and happiness in the day? She does, and it’s contagious. Carolyn understands the importance of creating a fun and engaging department atmosphere, and how that impacts her team’s morale – which transitions into a more positive experience for our students. It is without question that Carolyn brought joy to my and many others lives because of her fun spirit and attitude. She makes this department a great place to work, not only because of her amazing leadership qualities, but because encourages everyone to have fun.

In order to try and articulate how much Carolyn Todaro deserves the award for ‘we love to have fun’, I pulled together comments from some of the manager in the Academic Advising Department, all who value Carolyn and the work she puts into making this an amazing place to work:

• -Carolyn takes the time to get to know us individually and praise us when it is earned. She keeps the work culture positive and fun, while also making sure that we balance our personal and professional obligations and priorities. She also goes along with our antics and is pretty easy going.
• -Carolyn is synonymous with caring – that’s why it’s even a part of her name – she isn’t just being nice, she genuinely wants to know what makes her staff tick and what she needs to do to keep that clock ticking.
• -Carolyn is always willing to be silly with her team whether that is with French cats, walking challenges, or a pie in the face, she always puts herself out there and eagerly joins in on the fun.
• -Carolyn celebrates special occasions like weddings, birthdays, new home purchases, etc. with her employees. She recognizes these major life events in departmental meetings and sends flowers or lunches or cookies/cakes to employees at home.
• -Carolyn values her team, their unique personalities.

As you can see, Carolyn has a positive impact on each and every one of us. She works hard to build a culture of fun, where everyone feels supported, cared for, and enjoys where they work."