Sterling Silver Award
Amber Hasz
Senior Administrative Assistant
Communication and Fine Arts Division
Employee of the Month
"Amber is the glue that holds our department together. Amber is the mother bear of our department. She joyfully contributes to the success of our department. I always enjoy walking into the Boswell office to see her smiling face. We have a large and diverse faculty with many disciplines and she is able to navigate each. This is not an easy task, but she makes it look easy." - Don Kinsey, Assistant Professor - Communication - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"Always helpful, always cheerful. Makes my job easier because she does her job so well." - Carole Urquhart, Costume Designer/Part-time Instructor - Theatre - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"I would like to nominate Amber Hasz for the Sterling Silver Award. Since she took her position in our building, Amber has been a consistent, enthusiastic, and dependable contributor to many facets of what make our division work. She is a joy to be around and has been such an important part of getting through the difficult pandemic months in our division. This is the first time I am nominating someone for this award, and I feel Amber is highly deserving of it!" - Dwayne Huff, Assistant Professor of Music - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"Amber has been an incredible asset to the department and a joy to work with. She's incredibly helpful and has been very adaptable, given the very unusual situation we find ourselves in at the moment. She's done so much to help the faculty and students, we're very fortunate to have her and she's so deserving of this award." - Jessica Raetzke, Associate Professor of Art/Photography - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"Amber Hasz, our division secretary, is wonderful! She is on the ball with everything and so pleasant, even under pressure. Our division would not run the same without her!" - Marietta Hardy, Music Instructor - Piano - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"Under pressure, no matter what's going on, Amber handles it with grace, with good humor and efficiency. Throughout the pandemic, school closures, new students and staff, changes to procedures, Amber is the go-to. As the face of the department (have you seen her amazing snow globe office?!), she is a joy to work with and a welcome smiling face for all." - Carrie Scozzaro, Art Instructor - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"I am a new employee for the 20/21 year at NIC, and Amber is the most helpful, diligent, and welcoming administrative employee I have ever had the pleasure of working with out of many schools I have taught at. She absolutely deserves this award." - Brian Fahlstrom, Art Instructor - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"I am pleased to nominate Amber Hasz, Administrative Assistant for Communication and Fine Arts, for the Sterling Silver Award. Amber exemplifies a dedicated and committed employee. Please allow me to explain. Amber is a go-getter. If you present Amber with an idea or she sees a need, she will work tirelessly to implement a solution. Even if the solution requires her to do additional work. For example, she has enhanced the Division recruitment efforts and swag which was greatly needed. She also went to the effort to research, write, and submit a Foundation Grant to ensure Art students work would be actively showcased on the main floor of Boswell Hall. She is efficient, collaborative and readily volunteers for any project. Perhaps one of her greatest assets is her easy-going and fun-loving attitude. She makes the main office a warm environment and makes coming to work a joy. She never complains about changes or extra work as she is fully committed to ensuring students get the best experience. She is courteous and professional with employees, students, and the community. She has raised the bar in the Division. NIC is lucky to have such a motivated, collaborative, and action-oriented employee!" - Sherry Simkins, Division Chair Communication and Fine Arts/Professor of Communication - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"Our dear Amber is one in a trillion. Her very full plate is handled with grace and kindness. Her tone is always upbeat and understanding. When I think about the many elements she completes and efficiently reports it is miraculous to me. Most remarkable is her always pleasant demeanor. We are all recipients of her peaceful diligence." - Mikki Stevens, Communication Instructor - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"During the past months of darkness and uncertainty due to COVID, one person in particular shined brightly - Amber Hasz. I believe Amber is worthy of the Sterling Silver Award for many reasons. Amber exudes an abundance of optimism and constant good cheer that help lift all spirits. She is silly and uses her wit to bring people together to participate in a little fun. She is creative, always striving to improve our environment whether it's through holiday decorating or live plants throughout the halls we wander daily. She is also incredibly competent, tending to our requests and concerns about the building, students, classes, etc. She represents NIC beautifully, always welcoming students' questions with respect and patience. Everyone needs an Amber. I am happy she is ours! Thank you for your consideration!" - Teresa Runge, Communication Instructor - Communication and Fine Arts Division - English Instructor - English and Humanities Division
"Amber is always cheerful and helpful. She keeps the department running smoothly with a great attitude." - Jay Carkhuff, Event Coordinator - Conferencing and Campus Events
"Amber started in our division and she took on many roles in assisting faculty and getting involved. She has shared her energy and excitement for everything she is involved in. I have had the opportunity to work with her as an assistant for the Division Chair's office and also on a committee, the NIC Day of Dialogue. She brings joy! She is positive and uplifting and her energy is welcomed in our area. I feel like she has taken on this position, assistant to the Division Chair's office, a few years ago and has made it her own. I think when someone comes to NIC and starts engaging, how she has, and acting to be involved this shows a person's character in how they are a part of a team. Thank you for this opportunity to highlight Amber Hasz and I hope you consider her for the Sterling Silver Award. Thank you" - Tracy Struble, Associate Professor of Communication - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"I had the honor of serving Amber during her educational journey, and that honor continued when she earned herself a career at NIC as our division's senior administrative assistant, where she has not only thrived but also supported each and every one of us with her ingenuity, work ethic, foresight, and thorough attention to detail. Amber brings a certain joy and light to our department with her cheerful, positive demeanor, and in doing so, her service to our division and the college community as a whole is made better." - Josh Misner, Professor of Communication - Communication and Fine Arts Division
"It is with great pleasure that I nominate Communication and Fine Arts Division Senior Executive Assistant, Amber Hasz, for the Sterling Silver Award. Amber brings to her job a personality perfectly suited for her role as the division's Executive Assistant. It's a tough job managing the myriad demands of so many departments and personalities within the division but Amber manages it all with competence, grace and always good humor. In addition to her endless tasks like managing department schedules and budgets, assisting in all division meetings, researching and compiling information and reports for program reviews, facilitating purchase orders, overseeing work-study students, writing grants, etc., etc., she nonetheless finds time to quietly help others in less glamorous jobs like moving furniture, being a tour guide for Boswell Hall, designing and making promotional buttons for each department, enhancing everyone's working experience by beautifying Boswell Hall with her art and green thumb, decorating and winning (!!) office decoration contests and always, always lending a sympathetic and patient ear to all of us who interrupt her to tell her of our woes. She makes life so much better every day she shares her sparkle and generosity with those of us lucky to work with her. She simply requires the Sterling Silver Award." - Michael Horswill, Professor of Art - Communication and Fine Arts Division
