Shout Outs

Matt Thomas: Thank you so much. What you pulled off and the work you put in to help our team over the last two days is nothing short of amazing. I know the team is very grateful.

Thank you for being so patient with all of the last-minute and not-so-easy tasks. Your attention to detail and excellent communication skills made a huge difference throughout the process. It really shows how good you are at knowing how to get the job done. We all know it was a tough task to accomplish in such a short time frame, but you made it happen.

Thank you from the entire Athletic Department — and especially the Baseball team.

We truly appreciate you!

Thank you Beth for your help yesterday! Your support is beyond measure!

Dr. More is one of the most dedicated and genuinely caring people at EIU. She works tirelessly on behalf of the students, her colleagues and community to continue to make EIU a better place and provide the best education possible. It is an honor to work with Dr. More at the university!

Melissa, you are a rock star! You ensure that every donor receives a timely and accurate gift receipt, that our records are up to date, that our processes are working correctly, and so much more. You play a substantial role in our advancement and fundraising efforts at EIU! I wanted to let you know that you are appreciated!

Thank you so much for all that you do to support the fundraising efforts at EIU! You ensure every donation is processed appropriately and moves through our systems. It's a lot of work behind the scenes, and I wanted to let you know that you are appreciated!

Jessica is the Department of World Languages and Cultures' beloved Office Manager. Her dedication to her work, her colleagues, our student workers, and departmental culture as a whole are truly exemplary. Previous staff in her position may have done their job well, but I truly don't recall anyone being so consistently pleasant, cheerful and truly helpful as Jessica (and I've been at EIU for almost twenty years), Our Department will be merging with English soon, and we in World Languages and Cultures are fortunate to keep Jessica as our full-time Office Manager. Thank you, Jessica, for everything you do!

I would like to recognize David Smith's kindness and generosity, evident a couple of weeks ago as I put the finishing touches on my portfolio. For the first time I decided to submit it electronically, fully expecting to run into technical problems at some point. The week before it was due, I asked my wonderful Office Manager (who deserves a shout out of her own) about how to turn separate PDF files into one giant PDF (as this is what is required for the electronic portfolio -- four giant PDF files). She didn't know, so she immediately contacted David, who is an instructional technology specialist. Two days in a row, after 5 pm, he came to my office to do different operations, the first of which was to install Adobe Acrobat in my office desktop. When it was clear my old desktop was unable to perform any function in Adobe, he promptly decided to copy my individual PDF files to the Cloud, run to his office, perform the combining operation on his computer in Lumpkin, run back to my office to do the second batch, and save the first two giant files on my desktop. He said that the fact that my individual PDFs were numbered saved us time (because their order was respected). The following day he did the exact same thing with the remaining two sections of the portfolio, and proceeded to upload everything to D2L using my student account. (which I didn't even know existed). A small but critical omission on Form A was found on Saturday morning as I was reviewing my submission, which prompted me to email David (as well as other people in charge of handling portfolios) in panic mode. Long story short, David handled the last-minute emergency with efficiency and grace, thus ensuring that my work (and it was a lot of work) had not been in vain. Thank you, David, for your invaluable help!

For white glove service delivering a pallet of paper and saving me a lot of heavy lifting. Thank you, thank you! You went way above & beyond the expectation, and I am so grateful!

For white glove service delivering a pallet of paper and saving me a lot of heavy lifting. Thank you, thank you! You went way above & beyond the expectation, and I am so grateful!

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend my mother’s funeral service. Your very kind gesture meant a great deal to our family.  

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend my mother’s funeral service. Your very kind gesture meant a great deal to our family. 

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend my mother’s funeral service. Your very kind gesture meant a great deal to our family. 

Shellie really puts students first, helping to make sure they are safe and successful, and not accepting set backs. Her work on behalf of all music students, past, present, and future, is so appreciated!

Thank you, Christy, for helping us with the Argos secondary credentials we were struggling with. We appreciate that you persevered until it was complete, but more than that, we are grateful for the patience you extended to us. You are a terrific problem-solver!

Gail is a delight. She makes my day every time I talk to her.

SHOUT OUT and thanks for always being pleasant and helpful answering questions and clarifying processes. You are appreciated!

Makayla is always so helpful in helping us process our requisitions - thank you for all you do for EIU!

Ashley, thank you so much for all that you do for your faculty colleagues and your students! You've been tremendous all year long!

Haley has been a tremendous, organized, thoughtful, and personable colleague since she started at EIU in August! Her students absolutely love her, and she is always looking for ways to improve her classes.

A big shout-out to Jordan for taking care of the issues in U. Court over the weekend! You are always ready to help and have great insight into facility situations.

Thanks for all the help, and being so easy to work with!

Thank you for all the help! You are great to work with!

Thank you for being there for everyone all the time.

Misty is incredible in her role at the MLK Jr. Union! She is patient, calm and super knowledgable as she provides all the back-end support for events in the Union. She is fun to work with and made our events run smoothly!

The dedication Rebecca shows to her students is genuinely inspiring.

R.J. has been instrumental in migrating data from D2L to EAB Navigate ahead of the launch of Navigate in May 2026. Because of R.J.'s work, academic advisors will be able to see the grades entered into D2L on a student's profile in the Navigate platform. This will help academic advisors address course deficiencies sooner and help students achieve better outcomes. The change may come slowly, but the work R.J. put into this project will increase retention and graduation rates at EIU.

Michelle thank you for all that you do as a Graduate Assistant with Freshmen Connection at EIU! Your care, warmth, and dedication make such a difference in creating a welcoming and supportive environment for our undergraduate students.

Events like the Meet & Greet are a success because of the thoughtfulness and heart you bring to your work. We are truly grateful to have you as part of our Freshmen Connection Community!

Thank you Liz for all your hard work as a Graduate Assistant with Freshmen Connection at EIU! Your dedication in planning and supporting the Meet & Greet helped make the event a welcoming and successful experience for our undergraduate students.

We truly appreciate your contributions and the positive impact you have on our Freshmen Connection Community.

Tanner, thank you for stepping in to support Freshmen Connection! Your enthusiasm and effort helped make the Meet & Greet a great experience for our students.

We truly appreciate your contributions and are excited to have you as part of our Freshmen Connection Community!

Thank you, Alesha, for everything you do as a graduate assistant with Freshmen Connection. The Meet & Greet was a success thanks to your hard work and dedication. We are truly grateful for all that you contribute and the positive impact you make on our students!