How long have you worked at Buffalo State College and, if applicable, what other areas have you worked/positions have you served in at the college?
I began working at Buffalo State in Academic Affairs 19 years ago. After that I worked in Exceptional Education where I later transferred to my current position in Higher Education Administration.
What motivates you to provide excellent services for your colleagues, students, and supervisor?
I feel that the students are the reason why we are here. It is very rewarding to me when I am able to help and listen to them. I love the energy and excitement the students bring, and I enjoy watching them grow while they are here. It is so bittersweet for me to watch them graduate.
I have also been very fortunate to work with a lot of appreciative people across this campus. I am forever grateful for the help I have personally received and the friendships I have made. I will never take either of those for granted as I continue to learn something new here every day.
What personal philosophy about working with others guides your day-to-day work?
I am the first person I wake up with in the morning and the last person I go to bed with at night, so I need to feel good about the person I am during the day.
What do you do when you are not working?
Outside of work, I enjoy working out, catching up with friends, primitive/colonial decorating, reading romance novels, and watching the Buffalo Sabres.
The location of the Higher Education Administration (HEA) Department office is somewhat ill-placed in that it is on the central floor in Bacon Hall where all the classrooms are located. Dawn is the only individual in that central office. All faculty offices are on the third floor of Bacon Hall. Therefore, she is inundated with random students who are not in the HEA department but are simply looking for an event, or a class, or some other bit of information and stop in the only office they can find. In fact, faculty outside the HEA department also utilize her in these ways, whether it's borrowing paper, staplers, dry erase markers, or asking her to make a few copies before class. Dawn consistently and kindly serves students and faculty outside the department as if they were part of the HEA family.
I believe the character of "positivity" is simply the foundation for all the other characteristics of this award. It is because of her positivity that she is kind, willing to engage in campus beyond her role, and is so student-centered. I know that every prospective student, current student, and faculty in our department would speak to her positive nature, whether it's her demeanor on the phone, in emails, or in person. Administrative assistants are undoubtedly one of the most important recruiters on our campus. Their interactions with prospective students have a significant impact on whether that student contacts that office again. We are so lucky to have Dawn as our front-line recruiter and know that she has positively shaped the journeys of so many HESAA students.
Dawn is the front-line staff for all student inquiries and communication through our office. Prospective students have shared with me how helpful she has been helping them navigate the application process or connecting them with the Graduate School or Financial Aid to assist them specifically. Our current students consistently cite her as a "strength" of the program when they are asked to conduct a SWOT analysis of the HESAA program in their strategic planning course. Her responsiveness to student questions is well known, making her a continued resource throughout a student's journey in the program and even beyond as alumni. Upon graduating, our students will continue to cultivate a relationship with her as she has always put them first above and beyond other her administrative duties.
“She always has a smile on her face! Dawn has helped me navigate the institution in numerous ways as I have begun to explore and understand what higher education is truly about. Dawn will ask me about my life and bring up details that I have mentioned months before. That has shown how much she cares about me as a person and as a student.”
“She is a constant source of strength, caring, kindness, and compassion who never stops short and always exceeds the mark when giving of herself to others. She inspired me to succeed when I was a student in the HEA program, which continued through my strenuous job search as an alumna, and she continues to support and encourage me today as Buffalo State staff. She has a way of lifting you up that doesn’t diminish what you are going through. She has a way of lifting you back into the positivity she’ll tell you that she sees in you every day. She reminds you that everything is temporary, and then she tells you a funny story to get your mind off whatever tragedy has befallen you. She is like a mother to us all, she is at every event and every graduation, cheering us on. Dawn reminds us to take care of ourselves, so that we can take care of our students, and without her, we would forget that very important, yet very simple message. She is the HEA rock, and no matter how much work is piled on her desk or how little time is left in her day, she will always find time for you.”
