IT Campus Champions

Thank you for helping celebrate our talented Information Technology team. Our Campus Champions page highlights the outstanding assistance we strive to provide every day. In addition to direct messages received by someone in IT, we have included campus submitted Applause Awards.

If you would like to share a time when you received excellent service from an employee in Information Technology, let us know using our "Did You Get Great Service?" form. Thank you in advance for taking a few minutes to submit your gratitude.

2024

Ryan "reached out in regards to an integration error to ensure the appropriate data updates went through. I get an email notification, but I appreciate the personal follow up." Thank you, Ryan, for checking in to make sure services were not disrupted! -- Chris Hendry, March 2024

"We proudly recognize Jon's exceptional work in installing, configuring and troubleshooting  EDConnect. His collaboration with SAIG, IT and the Financial Aid team, addressing issues and ensuring proper implementation of security measures, has been commendable. Jon's dedication, attention to detail, and effective problem-solving skills contributed to the success of this crucial task for the FAFSA project. We extend our appreciation to Jon for his exemplary performance on behalf of the IT and Financial Aid teams!" --Jaime Russell & Ivonne Mejia Berzunza, March 2024

2023

"I was having some trouble with an incorrect, old name showing up in the myHR portal and Sadie got it all squared away within a couple hours of seeing my ticket this morning.  Thanks so much for your help! It's really appreciated." --Amelia Vallecillo, October 2023

"During my many years of running london.sonoma.edu, [Barbara Moore] was consistently ready to help, instruct, solve problems. I could count on a quick response and clear instructions. The site's success was much based on her guidance. She was indeed a champion throughout!" --Clarice Stasz, May 2023

"Barbara Moore has been so responsive (over the course of many years) to any question or concern about anything to do with the SSU website. She has helped me with technical questions and provided me with “how to” instructions for many issues. I’m personally thankful that we have such a personable and knowledgeable webmaster in IT. She certainly is an asset for the entire Sonoma State University community, and helps us stay connected with students and alumni, and the larger world of academic interests." --Marilyn Cannon, April 2023

2022

"Jan relentlessly troubleshot a Word plug-in on my computer over the course of a day that was totally unfamiliar to him, while simultaneously providing oversight and guidance for the Help Desk team. He effectively leveraged support from other members of IT, and displayed dogged determination in pursuit of a solution. Thank you for your hard work!" --Sadie Pettit, December 2022

"Scott created a Google calendar for one of our rooms quickly. Though it was created quickly, we had troubles granting access to a couple people, Scott helped to troubleshoot the problem and provide updates on the progress. Though in in the end it sounds like it is a larger issue, they still were able to find a way to grant them access." --Stephanie Toves, September 2022

"I have always been pleased with the service I receive from Sadie.  She is quick to respond and is extremely helpful!" -- Stephanie Graham, August 2022

"Nick is always always so helpful. Countless times he has solved my tech problems. I'm always happy when I receive an email from IT and it is from Nick. What an amazing employee!" -- Elizabeth Burch, August 2022

"Rosie made several good suggestions to solve my Key Chain Password issue, and the first suggestion solved the problem (use most recent old password rather than current password), thank you!" -- Matt James, August 2022

For Sadie Pettit "Very prompt and easy assistance."  -- Giselle Perry, July 2022

"Ryan always lets me know if there is an error in OnBase document mapping from CampusLogic. He gives me detailed information that allows me to update what is needed and then he fixes it, always in a timely manner. Without Ryan- FAO would be lost!" -- Whitney McDowell, June 2022

"Doug has been very responsive, informative, patient and helpful. Whether I have a complicated question or one that I could have found with a simple Google search, he provides detailed answers and resources without judgment. His attitude and kindness provide a great learning environment and I'm grateful to have him as a resource." -- Ryan Johnson, March 2022

"Risk Management would like to extend their gratitude to Sadie Pettit for their dedicated and quick work on a student query that was needed, saving the COVID Monitoring Team hours of manual work and allowing COVID notifications to be sent out quicker and more efficiently. We're so grateful for their work on this!" -- Kendall Jackson, February 2022

"Our class had software access issues in the initial weeks of Spring 2022 in our assigned lab. While the rest of the IT team worked to resolve it ( and it stands resolved now ), Abbie and Moe helped us by providing us with SPSS installation support on our personal systems. This was done quickly and in a timely manner that it helped us to continue the classes without any interruption. They and the help desk team also helped with interim class room/lab arrangements." -- Nadiya Parekh, February 2022

"Ivonne has been a wonderful PMO for the Entrust/Transact project that has vexed SSU, SSC, and myself for years. Her calm leadership and attention to detail is inspiring." -- Michael Hazen, January 2022

Applause Award to include Tori Chavez, Kimmy Lillo, Ivonne Mejia Berzunza, Carrie Schmidt, and Cheryl Santa Cruz, February 2022

2021

Applause Award for Nick Arnold, Tori Chavez, and Scott Lance, November 2021

Applause Award for Jon Byers, April 2021

2020

Applause Award for Michael Hazen, August 2020

Applause Award for Andres Chavez, April 2020

Applause Award for Andres Chavez, Todd Wright, Vince Orton, April 2020

Applause Award for Jon Byers, March 2020

Applause Award for Moe Calvez, January 2020

Applause Award for Jon Byers, January 2020

"2020 was a challenging year for everyone, and SSU has had to make many changes quickly.  We would like to recognize our amazing Workstation Support Services team for all they have done to make working, teaching and learning remotely a possibility for our students, staff and faculty.

Workstation Support Services consists of the Help Desk and Geo Team.  They are IT’s front line, providing services and support directly to every student, faculty, and staff at SSU. While this was predominantly done through an in-person Help Desk and 1 on 1 consultations prior to COVID-19, the WSS team has shifted their approach to a remote framework quickly and effectively.

The IT Help Desk transitioned to a drop-in Zoom session available to everyone in the SSU community.  IT Help Desk phone calls are also routed through to the Zoom session to ensure there’s always someone immediately available to assist the user.

There’s been minimal impact to the quality of service we have provided.  Faculty and staff have been given MFA, VPN, and RDP to meet security requirements while empowering them to do work from their off-campus workspaces.  WSS has helped to enable soft phones that allow campus VoIP phones to ring on employee’s workstations and cell phones alike.

A core group of WSS staff volunteered to maintain an on campus presence to address the in-person requirements of providing IT support that is otherwise impossible to do remotely.  This includes distributing computers and peripherals, configuring labs and classrooms for both in-person and virtual instruction, and relocating the equipment in a primary instructional hall in advance of its renovation."

Zooming with WSS screenshot