Ovation for Sarah Benal

“Sarah’s enthusiasm for helping others transforms the environments she works in, and we in the English department have benefited from this “Sarah” effect many times over. Nothing characterizes this effect more than Sarah’s smile and response of “Sure, how can I help!.” Her cheerfulness and genuine care for the staff in the office benefits us all. Recently, I can think of two examples when Sarah’s ethic of service to the department stands out. This spring the English Advising Office coordinated English visit days in which prospective high school seniors who have been admitted to UNL spend a day in our classes and meeting our current English Student Advisory Board members. On one of the days, a Student Advisory leader became ill and couldn’t participate in the planned student lunches. Sarah volunteered to help with the lunches, and during her lunch session she offered her experience of working in our department copy center, participating in Education Abroad to Jordan, and being an active member of Laurus’s editorial board as evidence that our English department is a place where students thrive. Now Sarah is an honorary member of our English Student Advisory Board. Always responsive and positive, Sarah doesn’t shy away from the odd favors like helping to unpack boxes of books during office moves, or assisting with filing when our Advising office is slammed with student appointments. Recently, Sarah helped prepare our Big Red Road Show materials when two of our office members were ill, myself included. While assistance is written into her job description, she assists well beyond the copy center, and she maintains a positive commitment to the mission of our department. For these efforts, which extend beyond her student employment, I think Sarah deserves to receive an Ovation award!”

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"I nominate our student office worker Sarah Benal for an Ovation Award. Sarah is an outstanding asset to our department. She is trustworthy and friendly, and deeply appreciated by all of us who have had the privilege of having her on our team. She’s willing to do any task that is asked of her, from the complicated to the mundane, and she does so happily. She has worked in the office for years, and she has consistently been a reliable, capable, and professional employee, often going beyond what is asked of her to not just finish a task but to complete it in such a way as to make it better than we expected. We all will miss her enthusiasm, humor, and positive outlook when she graduates this summer. It has been a joy having her in the office!"

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"Sarah has been an excellent student worker in the English Department, working in the department’s copy center and helping out at the front desk when the staff is at lunch or in a meeting. But the reason I am nominating Sarah is to let you know about the wonderful work she has done with the undergraduate student literary magazine, LAURUS, for which I am the faculty advisor. Sarah has been on the student editorial board for three years and has served as the group’s treasurer and vice president. Sarah has worked especially well with her peers and has been a vital link between me and the group ‐ because I can easily check in with her while she’s working in the copy center. Sarah was also a student in my science fiction class when we first launched the course, when Sarah was a sophomore. She was easily among the most enthusiastic and committed student in the class. I encourage you to award Sarah the Ovation Award. She has definitely been a vital part of the English department in her time here at UNL!"