2024
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Michael Heaslip
Manager of Print Services
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, President and CEO Claude Brulé presented the President’s Star Award to Michael Heaslip, Manager of Print Services.
The President’s Star Award is given to employees who demonstrate a commitment to excellence in their role within the College community; regularly and consistently demonstrate outstanding service; and truly embody our shared commitment to student success and the College’s values of Caring, Learning, Integrity and Respect.
Nomination of Michael Heaslip
“Mike has been the driving force behind the printer fleet renewal project, an initiative that involved the complex coordination and installation of over 168 units across our three campuses — Perth, Pembroke and Ottawa — as well as additional off-site locations. The scope of this project is large, and while it’s within Mike’s role to manage such projects, the level of dedication, leadership and personal commitment he has demonstrated far surpasses what is typically required.
What truly sets Mike apart is his unwavering commitment to ensuring that every member of our College community, regardless of their technical ability, feels supported throughout this transition. This goes beyond his job description; Mike has taken it upon himself to offer personalized support — before, during and after installation — to employees and off-Campus departments who might otherwise have struggled. He consistently ensures that each user is confident and fully operational, even if it meant answering repeated questions with the same patience and care each time…. Conversations with other department leaders quickly reveal a unanimous recognition of the attention and care he brings to his work that far exceeds expectations.
An organization of the [College’s] size heavily relies on IT and print services to function efficiently, and Mike’s exceptional efforts have ensured that these services remain not only reliable but also user-friendly. His work directly supports the academic and administrative functions of the College, thereby contributing significantly to student success. Mike embodies our core values of Caring, Learning, Integrity and Respect through his dedication to his role and the College community. His actions reflect a commitment to excellence that goes far beyond the scope of his job duties — they demonstrate a true passion for service and a deep understanding of the impact his work has on the entire College community.”
Jennifer Thurston
Manager, Enrolment Services
On Wednesday, Feb. 7, President and CEO Claude Brulé presented the President’s Star Award to Jennifer Thurston, Algonquin College’s Manager of Enrolment Services.
The President’s Star Award is given to employees who demonstrate a commitment to excellence in their role within the College community; regularly and consistently demonstrate outstanding service; and truly embody our shared commitment to student success and the College’s values of Caring, Learning, Integrity and Respect.
Nomination of Jennifer Thurston:
“Jennifer consistently goes out of her way to connect with students and other Algonquin College staff in a warm and caring manner. She goes over and above to support individual students to help them navigate systems and gather information they need to succeed. She does this while also mentoring a large team of Enrolment Service Representatives (ESR), who importantly serve our students directly.
Jennifer has been challenged with continuous training of new ESRs, which requires using her communication and mentoring skills. She is an excellent communicator and uses that skill to work with other departments to service students to the highest standard. She identifies and helps some of our most vulnerable students who may have barriers to accessing information or advocating for themselves, ensuring these students have access to achieving Algonquin’s mission to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success.
She inspires her team and all those who work with her with professionalism and leadership. Examples include demonstrating a commitment to excellence in their role within the College community and consistently going out of her way to be accessible to her staff and student/parents who she interacts with.
She supports her enrollment service representatives who may have challenging questions from students/parents and takes over to support, find information out and follow up with all parties. This supports the student/parent to get the appropriate information and follow up, while supporting her ESR team with exceptional or possibly difficult issues to resolve.
Jennifer regularly and consistently demonstrates outstanding service. This Fall, she went out of her way to follow up on behalf of a student seeking exemptions, who needed a GenEd to graduate. She followed up with myself, the registration officer and the student, supporting the student to enroll in the GenEd they needed in a monthly intake to have student success. This follow up was over a couple of weeks, and was over and above to help this student gain success.
She performs acts of significant merit, described by her team as approachable, accessible and caring. She goes out of her way to include everyone and allow them to feel heard. When team members may be quieter or not confident in speaking during meetings, she will go out of her way to encourage and include them in such events.
Jennifer will coordinate with other areas of the RO and College to help to support the student and get the information they need. She embodies our core values of Caring, Learning, Integrity and Respect and will drop anything to help serve the students. She routinely jumps to help out students before or after the Registrar’s Office, showing her dedication to supporting students. She is present and jumps onto the front line in busy times such as start of term, supporting students and her staff. She is professional, positive and respectful in her interactions to support the RO.”