Valerie Bhat, administrative assistant in the Department of Women and Gender Studies, was named the Employee of the Month for the Division of Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences for the month of September. She was presented this honor by Dean of Social Sciences, Dr. David Brown in recognition of her dedication, passion and hard work.
"Valerie has been a vital part聽of聽this two-person staff team for several years, and as聽of聽late, has jumped in, in a way that has really provided valuable support to聽the聽department faculty and students. In聽the聽COVID environment, Valerie has adapted to creating virtual events like spring commencement, assisting with producing virtual forums and becoming an expert in聽the聽needs for remote teaching. Multiple nominations shared how valuable Valerie鈥檚 assistance has been in transitioning from hands-on, interactive classroom formats to remote. We鈥檙e told she has provided countless hours聽of聽assistance with Zoom, CANVAS and expert remote-learning technical support to faculty and students. She always does this with kindness, patience and care. Valerie has been described as 鈥榯reasure鈥� to聽the department and 鈥榮imply amazing鈥�. How wonderful to see how expertly people are adapting during聽these challenging times, and putting聽themselves out聽there as a source聽of聽support to those who need聽them. Please join me in congratulating聽Valerie聽for receiving this well-deserved award."
Valerie will celebrate ten years working with WGST this January. In her time off work, she enjoys writing and performing music, painting, metalwork, building guitar pedals, and attempting to keep the Cottage's ivy plant alive while she works remotely.