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Our Residence Halls have recently undergone a change in the way we operate, and we needed
someone with the ability to carry out this change with strong work ethic and a smile. That
someone is Katie Deaks. She carried out one of the biggest test drives our halls have seen:
opening our community center, the Chase Peterson Heritage Center, for 24hrs a day, 7 days a
week for the month of April and until closing. What this involved was much more than staffing the front desk for every shift, it was the
logistics that went into it and the desire to provide resources to students that they did not
have access to once the building closed. Katie did her research with Housing and Residential
Education for how to maintain the building during those full day stretches, including
managing room reservations, which was difficult in a transition. When she did need to
address staffing, she was nothing short of gracious to her staff for picking them up. Each one
that I’ve met has something good to say about Katie and how she continues to work with
them in an open and caring manner. Even in the long shifts from midnight to 5:00am or
6:00am, they would still know that their supervisor was not one to force it upon them, and
would work out anything they were concerned about. Katie makes sure that she is in her
office, especially during this last month, to be present in the case of concerns or bumps in
the road. Another bigger task is how to appeal to students after hours. Taking many of the housing
surveys done in the past, Katie poured over them to ascertain programs and uses for the
center when many students are asleep. Reservations for rooms to practice playing musical
instruments or resources for the entertainment area was important in this change, so Katie
worked to streamline the accountability and sign up. Also she made sure to publicize that the
space was in fact open, and available for room reservations for Resident Advisor activities,
RHA events, or weekend activities for the residents who remain on campus. Lastly, she
coordinated food provisions late at night for those residents who stayed around as a type of
incentive, and a way for them to tell their friends. I believe that Katie Deaks is a wonderful supervisor to her staff, tremendously caring, open,
and encouraging, while also an effective manager of the facility. In the month of April, Katie
really went above and beyond in her work. For this, I firmly believe that she should be staff
member of the month of April.
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