Round of Applause Awards

Congratulations to the following individuals who have received Round of Applause recognition from their colleagues! To nominate a co-worker for the Round of Applause Award, visit the online nomination form

Round of Applause: Tio Jones

Tio is a wonderful colleague! We needed his support and his perseverance was top notch. He could have easily said that the task was not possible, but he worked with us to completely understand the entire issue and found a solution prior to our deadline. Thank you, Tio!!

Nominated by Heather Hummer

Round of Applause: Kait Littell

Kait is a ray of sunshine and steady support! She provides top-notch support to the entire Strategy & Policy team in so many areas, with a smile and positive, professional attitude. Recently, she has helped me with several Concur travel requests and reports. I find the system to be very counter-intuitive and challenging to use, but Kait patiently held my hand through each and every step of the process to get things corrected and submitted. She changed a very frustrating experience into a much more pleasant one! This is just one of many things Kait does on a daily basis to keep our team in action and able to advance work that supports the University’s mission!

Nominated by Kathie Sidner

Round of Applause: Fred Sellers

Mr. Sellers is consistently supportive of anyone who asks. During the past month, he has met with students and Chiefs of Police from each campus in meetings coordinated by ASG. Through these meetings, communication and relationships between campus police and students have grown. In addition, he has taken time to meet with Student Government Association Advisors to address questions around safety and security. These meetings are not something he has to do, but show his dedication and willingness to provide support.

Nominated by Kimberly Mitchell

Round of Applause: Kyiah Telfair

I’d like to recognize Kyiah Telfair this week for her quick response and great attitude in a time of change and disruption in the HR space, she’s showing up and delivering on what is asked of her but also providing new solutions. Thanks so much Kyiah – I’m so glad we will get to work together more in this new capacity!

Nominated by Anne Schwarz

Round of Applause: Chris Richardson & Chris Hoch

The End User Support Team have been so helpful getting me setup on my new laptop, they graciously spent a lot of their time educating me on different shortcuts and making sure I had everything I needed on my new laptop to be able to transition as seamlessly as possible. Specifically, Chris R. and Chris H. took their time with me, and are always quick at responding to my never-ending questions, and researching the best solutions. Chris R. is extremely responsive and understood all of my technology needs, and Chris H. has created a helpful “my booking” page so I could easily schedule time with him when needed as my schedule allowed. I am thankful for these guys and the team for always being so helpful and easy to work with!

Nominated by Christina Hawkins

Round of Applause: Christopher Richardson

I would like to applaud Mr. Christopher Richardson for his overall dedication to the UNC System Office team. He is always patient, helpful, informative, and most of all kind when he helps those of us non-techie employees navigate various systems. I greatly appreciate him and his endless support of the UNC Sponsored Programs area.

Nominated by Tenora J. Simonez

Round of Applause: Cindy Jones

Cindy is celebrating her 1-year anniversary at the UNC System Office this week. She has been an excellent addition to the Office of the Secretary team. Cindy does her job well and is a responsible, kind, and dedicated colleague.

Nominated by Thomas McBrayer

Round of Applause: Jack Ware

Everyone in the System Office knows I am a technology dinosaur, but Jack Ware doesn’t treat me like the fossil I am! Jack always works with me on IT issues with good humor, patience, and prompt attention. During the conversion to OneDrive and 365, he patiently configured my laptops and made my remote work so much easier that I literally jumped for joy (seriously, OneDrive changed my life . . .). Jack is an invaluable member of our System Office IT team, and I am grateful for his dedication, professionalism, and wonderful customer service. Thank you, Jack!

Nominated by Norma Houston

Round of Applause: Fred Joiner

I want to acknowledge Fred’s heart of service! On a holiday when the office was closed, our team was hosting a training for ~40 UNC faculty and staff in System office. We ran into an AV hiccup in the morning and Fred kindly took my call (while still asleep and, supposedly, enjoying his holiday rest!) so that we could proceed with our day’s training. Many thanks to Fred for his heart of service!

Nominated by Mary Varghese