Linda is always doing little things to make our students day a little brighter. Parts of her job responsibilities include putting the mail in student’s boxes. February is typically a rough month of college students developmentally. Many of them are ill or stress out due to major tests and exams. Linda placed several “get well” cards in students’ mail boxes. In fact, she hand makes cards (with her own printer she brought to work) for any students she hears saying they did not get mail or are “bummed out.”

Linda has been instrumental in the success of two major programs in Bluff. Linda has helped really educate students on the process related to Bowl for Kids Sake that RHA and Bluff Hall Council are sponsoring for SIUE. She is the one registering teams and answering questions as students come in. Second, she has really been a motivating factor behind the success of our New Orleans Trip. The students really wanted to take an educational trip to New Orleans in April, but many of the logistics have to be planned and executed now. Linda has really advocated the students’ needs to our bus charter company and the hotel we booked. She also helped me by contacting these agencies and working out details related to accessibility, including talking our bus charter company into giving us a more accessible, larger bus at the same cost! Finally, Linda has offered to sponsor two students to take the trip! This is $200 she has voluntarily offered to make sure two students get to participate in this opportunity. As she explained it, “I want to students who might not get to go because of money, have a chance to experience something new and cultural in New Orleans.”

Finally, in the month of February, Linda also joined a University Housing residence life committee, “The Student-Centered committee.” Many of the civil service workers in University Housing are perfectly content just doing their job and not getting involved in the department’s committee work. Linda goes above and beyond to try to make the department and university as student-friendly as possible. Many students seek out Linda for assistance about other campus offices, because they know she is knowledgeable about campus resources at SIUE.

Linda is a tremendous asset to the Bluff Hall community. She is truly a “student-centered” professional at SIUE. For all the things she does to go over-above, the late hours, the cards to students, and the help to our student leaders, Linda Ellis is very deserving of February 2005 Spotlight of the Month.

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