Early Bird

Congrats to our Roadrunner Shoutout of the Week winners

These exceptional faculty, staff and student employees are shining examples of dedication, innovation and excellence.

By Josie Lavender

March 4, 2021

Nominations continue to roll in for Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Roadrunner Shoutout of the Week awards, highlighting the excellent and important work happening at all levels of the University. This week, we celebrate three members of our University community who inspire students and their colleagues.

“These nominees stood out because they are helpers and problem-solvers,” said George Middlemist, Ph.D., chief financial officer and associate vice president of Administration, who selected this week’s winners on behalf of Larry Sampler, COO and vice president for Administration. “Through the challenges of the pandemic, they kept learning and growing as professionals to support their colleagues and our students.”

Faculty winner – Abel Moreno, Ph.D., chair and professor, Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics

Nominated by Vicky Seehusen, Ph.D., assistant professor, Computer Information Systems, who said:

“Dr. Moreno has been an excellent leader during these turbulent times. He has kept the departmental faculty ‘grounded’ and has consistently reminded us that these are extraordinary times and that the way we have done things in the past may not work in the present.

“He has been supportive and done everything he can to make sure we have the right computing tools to teach in the current circumstances. He meets with us regularly to keep us abreast of all the changes Universitywide.

“Additionally, he works to keep moving us forward with our own specialty accreditation requirements that illustrate our department’s commitment to the highest standards in teaching subjects and subject areas that are constantly changing.

“Dr. Moreno does not complain – he just gets the job done, all the while considering the impact on both faculty and students.”

Abel, thank you for your innovation and leadership as we learn to overcome these unprecedented challenges. Your unrelenting support of the MSU Denver community is greatly appreciated.

Staff winner – Tessa Heyes, manager, Payroll

Nominated by Angela Bender, associate director, Talent Strategy, who wrote:

“Tessa is our payroll manager. She has been a Roadrunner for over a year, and she previously worked with the state, administering payroll. She came into this position and started a large learning curve. In this time, I have seen Tessa change the image of payroll and make significant changes to processes.

“I am nominating Tessa because she has been key to the processing of our payroll every month. Over the last couple of months, we have had significant challenges to include new faculty, furloughs, Canvas payments and many salary changes. She worked weekends and long hours through the week to ensure we made all the deadlines to pay staff. Usually, we do not recognize or realize the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. Tessa is a true Roadrunner, and her hard work makes a difference to everyone employed at MSU Denver.”

Tessa, it’s clear to see you put your whole heart into your work, and that makes you an invaluable member of our team. Thank you for supporting your fellow Roadrunners.

Student-employee winner – Flor Sotelo, TRIO Upward Bound

Nominated by Becca Stone, former advisor and project coordinator, Enrollment Management, who said:

“Flor Sotelo has worked as a student employee for the TRIO Upward Bound program for the past year and a half. Prior to her attending MSU Denver, she was an active participant in our Upward Bound program, so we have been able to witness her growth as both a student and an employee. There are so many wonderful things I can say about Flor. She is dependable, proactive, versatile, driven, hard-working, detail-oriented, consistent and just downright awesome! While I was out on maternity leave, Flor stepped in and completed over 50+ orders of food for our students and learned how to reallocate the expenses in ChromeRiver – no easy task! Flor is someone I can always look to for support with anything and everything because she is always ready, willing and eager to learn and take on new responsibilities while executing them with precision. We are so fortunate to have Flor on our team, and I can’t express how much I enjoy working with her! She truly is so deserving of this shoutout. Thank you, Flor!”

Flor, your work ethic is inspiring. Thank you for embracing the Roadrunner way and working to enhance our campus culture. (Since we couldn’t find a photo of you, here’s one of Rowdy celebrating your accomplishment!)

To nominate outstanding employees for the Roadrunner Shoutout of the Week award, please complete the form on the Roadrunner Shoutout of the Week webpage. Tell us how your nominee is making an impact through great teaching, service to students or innovation. Winners will be selected each week and profiled in the Early Bird on Thursdays. Winners will also get a shoutout on social media.