Staff Awards and Recognitions

Congratulations to the following RecWell staff for the following awards and recognition.

**Staff Member of the Year**
Academic Year	Student Staff	Professional Staff
2015-16	Lauren Mazurkiewicz (Guest Services)	Chris Baker
2016-17	Taylor Hurley (Marketing)	Juliann Montemayor
2017-18	Natalie Hensperger (Aquatics)	Elizabeth Michel
2018-19	Jessica Ross (Aquatics)	Greg Bailey
2019-20	Trent Bontrager, Tanner Bontrager and Anthony Lijewski (Ice Arena)	Chris Lukas
2020-21	None	Jim Kraus
2021-22	Emma Smith (Operations)	Jim Underwood
2022-23	Bhargav Doddala (Fitness & Wellness) Erin Stock (Aquatics and SRC VP)	Sue Barker
2023-24	Seema Dhaher (Aquatics)	Greg Bailey

Career Exploration & Development 2023 Student Employee Awards Celebration

Brooke Schwerha (Operations): "Change Maker Award" in recognition of her impact as a distinguished disrupter to create positive change through her work.
Jenna Gilbreath (Adventure Center): "Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Award" in recognition of her awareness, attitude, and ability to equitably engage and include people from diverse backgrounds in her work.
Owen Dame (Adventure Center): "Sunshine and Positivity Award" in recognition of his positivity, kindness, and dedication to act in the interest of his workplace and community.
Chris Lukas: "Outstanding Supervisor Award" in recognition of his mentorship, leadership, and commitment to respect, trust, and student development in the workplace.

Emerging Leader Award:
- Stephen Connor (Ice Arena)
- Mary Nern (Kent State of Well-being)
- Payton Schramski (Operations)
- Taylor Smith (Guest Services)
Creative Innovator Award: Kennedy White (Adventure Center)
Ray of Sunshine Award: Annie Perrotta (Fitness & Wellness)
Student Ambassador Award: Alexis Reed (Adventure Center, SRC President)
The Most Outstanding Student Employee of the Year:
- Bhargav Doddala (Fitness & Wellness)
- Erin Stock (Aquatics)
Unsung Hero Award (Professional Staff):
- Gautam Gupta (Lead IT Support Analyst)
- Jan Rader (Accounting Specialist)
The Most Outstanding Professional Staff Member of the Year: Sue Barker (Groundskeeper II)

Student Employee Awards Celebration hosted by Career Exploration and Development on April 9, 2024

Recreation and Wellness Services won the Flashes GROW Award, in recognition of our dedication to engage and develop student employees through high impact, reflective conversations.
Keerthan Gopu (Adventure Center) won the Sunshine and Positivity Award, in recognition of his kindness, positivity, and dedication to the morale of the workplace and community.

Emerging Leader Award: Olivia Liggett (Ice Arena)
Creative Innovator Award: Payton Schramski (Operations)
Ray of Sunshine Award: Tess Hardin (Kent State of Well-being)
Student Ambassador Award: Evan Coates (Kent State of Well-being & Operations)
The Most Outstanding Student Employee of the Year: Seema Dhaher (Aquatics)
Graduate Assistant Excellence Awards: Alex Sanchez (Ice Arena) and Mary Nern (Kent State of Well-being)
The Most Outstanding Professional Staff Member of the Year: Greg Bailey (Senior Associate Director, Business and Administrative Services)