Employee of the Month

Ray Perea is the Facilities Assistant at the Modesto Campus, and our Employee of the Month for August.  Ray does many of the thankless jobs on campus and helps to keep everything running smoothly and looking beautiful.

“Ray, the copier is jammed!”  “Ray, The toilet is backed up in the restroom.”  “Ray, I have 12 picture frames that need to be hung up.”  “Ray, there is a water leak in culinary!”  “Ray, after you load all 5 copiers across campus with paper, could you please help me rearrange my office?”  “Ray, it’s raining, can you please bring in the American flag?”  “Ray, we have a student parked in the Visitors’ parking space.”

We could go on and on about what Ray does for the campus day in and day out!  He is like the Mike Rowe of IOT Dirty Jobs!  You will never hear Ray complain (unless it’s about the students dropping too many cigarette butts on the ground) and he will do everything within his power to make sure every request is taken care of in a timely fashion.

Ray is a tremendous asset to the BrightStar family.  His work ethic rivals no other and one would be hard pressed to find an employee with a negative thing to say about him.  I think this quote by Sam Ewing fits Ray perfectly, “Hard work spotlights the character of people:  some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”  Ray always turns up his sleeves.

Congratulations, Ray!  Your hard work is noticed every day.

Melinda Wood is a graduate of the Institute of Technology, and has worked at the Clovis campus for ten years. She brings a great deal of passion, knowledge, and energy to her role as Clovis’ Director of Student Services. She has recently demonstrated her commitment to excellence in two significant ways.

Firstly, ever since the Clovis campus moved to their newest location in 2005, students have had to get off the bus on the north side of Herndon Avenue, and walk from there to the campus on the south side of Herndon. Since Herndon is an expressway, it is not a friendly walk. Students have had to walk a long way in order to get to the campus while crossing the street legally.

To help out these students, Melinda (with assistance from VP of Compliance, Rick Wood) appealed to the City of Clovis to change their bus route. And they did! Clovis now has a bus stop directly in front of their school on Magill Avenue!

Secondly, the Clovis Campus re-entered 30 Fresh Start students this month. That is an all-time record at Clovis and a remarkable achievement! Melinda leads Clovis’ Fresh Start efforts, and she approaches the role with fervor. With 41 terms so far this month, the Clovis campus has a current July drop rate of only 1%!

Congratulations to Melinda Wood, the BrightStar Education Group Employee of the Month for July 2010!

Our June Employee of the Month award goes to the admissions department from our Valley Medical College campus.  Director of Admissions, Erin Miller-Burns, and Representatives Kaylee Carroll and Katherine Harper have earned this monthly award based on their impressive performances in enrolling students throughout the year, and in June especially.

The two representatives from Salem own two of the top three lead-to-start percentages in the company, and as a team, their lead-to-start numbers are more than double that of any other campus.  They have consistently been the most efficient admissions team in the company, earning the coveted team-of-the-week title for six weeks in a row at one point, a very impressive feat!

In the month of June, the team was asked to over-sit the start budget which they did by 14 students. Additionally, when each was asked to prepare and interview candidates for another non-budgeted early July start, all accepted the assignment with the excitement that a new challenge brings to committed and competitive people. So, on the heels of an early June start, the team put together another early July start, all the while enrolling for their critical September start.

Valley Medical College and BSEG is fortunate to have these great team players on board.  Please join me in congratulating Erin Miller-Burns, Kaylee Carroll, and Katherine Harper as our June BSEG Employees of the Month!

Maria Valdez is a critical part of the IOT Modesto Family. As the registrar, she is responsible for overseeing the attendance, grades, schedules and many other needs that may or may not be associated with the duties of the registrar, Maria really does it all.

Over the past 5 months, she has completed all of these responsibilities single-handedly, while at the same time attending IOT to complete her Associate’s Degree in Human Resources. Maria is diligent and devoted to every aspect of her position.

“Miss Maria has taken her time to assist and explain procedures to several departments. She is always willing to lend a hand to complete projects and ensure that we are following the rules, regulations, and best practices of the Institute of Technology.  Her unwavering dedication to her position allows the staff and faculty to depend on her knowledge when questions arise,” said Kim Clemons, Modesto’s Student Success Leader.

To echo these sentiments, Director of Career Services, Grace Fitch had this to say about our May EOM: “Maria is amazing at what she does—she doesn’t sugar coat things—she just gets things done and gets them done right.”

We are proud to award Maria Valdez as the Employee of the Month for May 2010.  Congratulations, Maria!

Eric Earls has done outstanding work in his role as Student Success Leader at the Roseville Campus.

Eric works daily to encourage students in all areas, and has been particularly successful in his efforts to re-enroll fresh-start and re-entry students in their programs. Each start, Eric brings 10 to 12 students back to school, and goes to great lengths to remind students that their dreams of success and self-improvement can be realized.

Whether working with students, conducting student rallies or being involved in the campus’ ride share program, Eric always conducts himself in a professional manner. He is a team player who strives to do his best in everything, and to be his best with everyone.

During the five months that he has been the Student Success Leader, Eric has done an outstanding job, and is a positive role model for students and employees alike.

Congratulations, Eric!  You deserve recognition as BrightStar Education Group’s Employee of the month for April 2010!

Valley Medical College recently hired John M. Jones to serve as a part-time IT guy and full-time career services director. “He has accomplished more in the few weeks he has been here than I have seen anyone achieve in months—and in many different areas,” said VMC president, Bob Enger.

As an example of his production and dedication, when VMC’s new computer systems and server arrived, John was at the campus all weekend ensuring their proper operation.

When the need to accommodate new personnel arose, John quickly designed a new office layout plan.  Additionally, when the new layout was authorized, John had a construction team on site over the weekend, to make certain the construction was complete, faculty and staff were relocated, and computers were set up and operational. This was all accomplished on the weekend before a start.

In his short time at BrightStar, John has made his presence felt with his leadership and can-do attitude.  John is an invaluable member of the VMC team and an example to us all.  VMC and BSEG are fortunate to have him on board.

Congratulations, John!  You are BrightStar’s Employee of the Month!

As the Technical Division Director at the Clovis campus, Pha has taken a division that has historically had one of the highest drop rates on campus and dramatically reduced that rate.

Over the past three months, Pha has sliced the average drop rate of his division by over half: from an average of 4.55% to an average of 2.22%.  This past December, his department had an incredible 0.37% drop rate!   This is the lowest rate the Clovis Technical Division has ever had.

During this time, Pha has also forged a stronger relationship between the Technical instructors and the Career Services team to help address placement rates.  Not only has this partnership resulted in several new job orders and placements, but the groundwork has been laid for a significant increase in our PAC participation.  In addition, Pha has helped plan a Technical fair for this coming April that should bring HVAC employers to the Clovis campus just in time for the key hiring season!

Pha is well respected by his peers and by the students on campus.  His energy and optimism are contagious to all who work with and for him.  We are proud to announce Pha Mouavangsou as our BrightStar Employee of the Month!

Under the direction of Richard Melella (Academic Dean) and Melinda Wood (Director of Student Services), the Clovis Campus posted an average monthly drop rate of 3.28% during the second half of 2009, an impressive achievement. Richard approaches obstacles with a calm and intelligent eye, identifying the problem and moving his team toward solutions while keeping the focus on our commitment to our students. Those who work with him appreciate his intelligence, experience, passion, and good sense of humor.

His leadership is appreciated on every campus in the BrightStar organization. In fact, Redding campus president Jim Herberger had this to say about Richard’s support, “Richard has driven up to Redding every week since November 2nd to carry on the daily duties of the campus DOE while taking the lead on the ACCSC site visit preparation, faculty development, etc.”

He adds, “We had a very successful ACCSC site visit due in significant part to Richard’s contribution, and I don’t know how we would have been able to accomplish what we have in the last two months without his tireless commitment to the Redding campus; all the while carrying out his regular duties.” Congratulations, Richard, and thanks for all that you do.  Your contributions are greatly appreciated!

December’s Employee of the Month award goes to Joe Trumbo, Outreach Manager at the Clovis campus who consistently performs at a high level.  Joe started as an admissions representative with IOT in May of 2006, and has been an integral part of the Clovis admissions team for his entire time there.

JT has taken the concept of Agency enrollments and turned it into an important part of IOT – Clovis’ business. His Agency enrollments have grown to the point where they now account for between 10% and 15% of Clovis’ starts.

Agency enrollments are like no other, they contain a great deal more paperwork and constant contact with the student’s agency counselor. Joe has learned what is needed to make sure that the student succeeds and that the Agency is happy with the student’s experience at the Institute of Technology.

Joe has also developed a training plan to help other Agency Representatives in the BrightStar family develop and grow successful Agency business at their campus, and has taken on a leadership role in the Admissions Department helping to train new staff members and to help lead the team, in support of Ron Gardner.

Congratulations, Joe, your hard work is appreciated!

Lt. Joseph Blohm, our Criminology and Emergency Response Management (CERM) Program Director, is the BrightStar Employee of the month for November 2009.Joe has been the primary architect of a criminology program that separates our school from our competition. With five distinct career paths and numerous certifications, our CERM program will prepare our students to launch their careers in emergency response management, corrections, security, emergency medical technician, or law enforcement.   

Joe brings 32 years of experience with the Fresno County Sherriff’s Department and two decades of experience teaching criminology to his role at the Clovis Campus. His visionary leadership has been appreciated not only at the Clovis Campus, but also at the branch campuses, as Lt. Joe has helped those campuses find faculty and make preparations to launch the CERM program in those communities.      

Douglas Den Hartog (Assistant Director of Education at the Clovis Campus) says, “Lt. Joe has a passion to train the next generation of criminal justice professionals, and we appreciate his sincere and intelligent leadership.”  

Congratulations to Lt. Joseph Blohm, the BSEG Employee of the Month!