The President’s Staff Awards and Employee Recognition Event brought the University community together to celebrate service milestones and outstanding contributions.

The event recognized employees marking five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of service, as well as those receiving the President’s Staff Awards for Service Excellence, Leadership, and Creative Initiative.

This year’s President’s Staff Awards were awarded to:

• Service Excellence – Amber Friess received the individual Service Excellence Award for her willingness to mentor and support students, faculty and staff. The team award was shared by two groups this year - staff in Library Services and the team in the First Nations Centre. Library Services was recognized for providing critical front-line support to students, often handling complex situations, to ensure students are connected to essential services. Members of the Library Services Team includes Vaunda Dumont, Ashley Aarts, Anna Williams, Hasina (Mosammat) Akter, Nicole de Blois, Jonathan Pratt, Renata Gerbert, Justin French, Faezehalsadat Khalifehsoltanian, Olena Dekhtiar, Raegan Cote and Orhan Sahutoglu. Staff in the First Nations Centre were celebrated for fostering a welcome and inclusive space, empowering Indigenous students and extending their support across the entire UNBC community. The team is made up of Roxanne Umperville, Cher Mazo, Shannon MacKay, Spring Coltraine and Lori Dansereau.
• Leadership – Dakota Den Duyf and Jill Mitchell Nielsen were this year’s Leadership Award recipients. Den Duyf was recognized for her efforts to strengthen collaboration across the Prince George campus through her work with the Student Career Centre and Student Life and Orientation. Mitchell Nielsen was recognized for her leadership efforts as Associate Registrar, Graduate in reshaping graduate education at UNBC by improving systems for students and staff.
• Creative Initiative – Cynthia Williams and Tracy Hall received the Creative Initiative Award for their work on the Magnifying Black Voices program. The initiative brought student mentees together with faculty and staff mentors, fostering meaningful conversations, building relationships and inspiring personal and academic growth.

The event also honoured long-serving employees who have dedicated 30 years to UNBC: Sherry Beaumont, Melody Buzas, David Casperson, Greg Halseth, Jennifer Hyndman, Margot Mandy, Kerry Reimer, Heather Smith, Shari Terhaar, Roger Wheate and Todd Whitcombe.

And those marking 25 years: Jenia Blair, Heather Empey, Twylla Hamlin, Pranesh Kumar, Loralyn Murdoch, Ken Otter, Umesh Parshotam, Mark Shrimpton and Maria Walsh.

Their contributions have helped shape UNBC into a community that fosters innovation, collaboration and lifelong learning.