Outstanding Work Performance Award

Danielle Beschta

Taking on extra duties this year, including handing the event management system for all three UWSP campuses, earned Danielle Beschta the Outsanding Work Peformance Award.
As the event coordinator in Campus Reservations, Danielle took on the work of two people while a co-worker was on medical leave and after their retirement. She is instrumental in running successful events such as recognition programs, career fairs and large-scale meetings both in and outside of the Dreyfus University Center (DUC). She is also in the process of upgrading the campus event management system and is the campus expert of this platform.
Danielle also took on the role of Greek Life coordinator for campus, working with eight different student groups and national Greek organizations to help these groups succeed.
“Danielle fiercely supports students,” said Susan LeBow, DUC associate director. “She makes sure they are represented, their segregated fees are used responsibly and that others do not try to take advantage of them. At the same time she helps them take responsibility for their actions.”
Danielle serves the campus as a Univeristy Staff Representative, member of the Common Council, adviser of Gamma Phi Delta sorority and volunteer for Commencement and Convocation.

Melissa Kraus

Driven, organized, focused on quality, hard-working and committed – these words were used to describe Melissa Kraus, a member of the cusodial staff at UWSP at Wausau.
Melissa was recognized with the Outstanding Work Performance Award for taking on extra tasks due to limited staff in order to keep the Wausau campus and its testing site clean during the COVID pandemic. She also trained new hires and worked to reduce a backlog of tasks while improving effeciency of services.
“Melissa understands how to stretch a dollar and make things work better but never by compromising quality,” said Ann Herda-Rapp, then campus executive.
“She is a tremendous asset to the campus,” said her supervisor, Gary Radunz.

Mary Jo Oliver

As a non-credit registration specialist for Continuing Education (CU), Mary Jo Oliver has a can-do attitude, resiliency and a committment to service-excellence that earned her the Outstanding Work Performance Award.
“Mary Jo immediately rolls up her sleeves to ensure a quality experience for our customers,” said Anne Rogalski, CU outreach program manager. “She has genuine pride in what Continuing Education offers to our community.”
She has helped keep up the quality of customer service despite staffing reductions. She played a significant role in implementing updates to the registration system and communicating with external audiences and internal partners. Mary Jo has also learned how to build and manage the CU website and helps manage student workers and office supplies.
When events were canceled due to the pandemic, Mary Jo was the point person for refunding tens of thousands of dollars in registration fees to constituents.

Nicole Proulx

Over the past three years, Nicole Proulx has worked tirelessly to create an organized and methodical way of managing ticket sales and reconciliation of the Univeristy Information and Tickets area. She has been the stable force in the area through several staff transitions, earning her the Outstanding Work Performance Award.
As an office operations associate, Nicole worked with the financial services team to develop sound accounting practices and trained new full-time staff and student employees. She created and recorded a faster and more effecient reconciliations process.
During stressful times, such as hockey playoffs, COVID refunding and other issues, she kept a level head and was a true leader, said Susan LeBow, DUC associate director.
“Nicole approaches challenges with a ‘roll up your sleeves’ attitude,” said LeBow. “During particularly difficult times she kept a smile on her face and always put the issue in perspective. I am grateful every day to work alongside her.”