An Honor Well-Deserved

The night of September 16^th was Midwestern University's Faculty and Staff Recognition Dinner, held at the posh Renaissance Hotel at Glendale's Westgate City Center.

It was a night to get dressed up and mingle, and with the ongoing expansion of the University's faculty and staff ranks, a lot of people were dressed up and mingling. The ballroom which hosted the dinner looked cavernous when the Office of Communications staff arrived to help set up, but once everyone showed up there was barely room to walk. It was a first-hand testament to how significantly the Glendale Campus has grown over 15 years in the Valley.

One of the highlights of the annual dinner is when Dr. Goeppinger announces the Littlejohn Award winners. Named after the founders of the osteopathic school that eventually became Midwestern University in Illinois, the Littlejohn Awards are the University's highest honor. Each year, they are handed out to a faculty member, a staff member, and an alumnus.

The catch is that Dr. G likes to keep the identities of the winners a secret until she announces them over the podium. For new guys like me, it makes for some entertaining suspense when the names are read - for the "old salts" in the room who have been around the University for years, it must be a bit more nerve-wracking since any one of them could be called upon to get up in front of everyone and not only accept the award, but also give a little acceptance speech as well. I would guess that it also complicates their choice of wardrobe for the night.

While I felt relatively secure that my odds of being called to the dais were worse than my odds of being selected for this year's Pulitzer Prize (that said, don't stop believing!), I had a hunch that I knew who one of the honorees would be before Dr. G even got to the microphone. Ever since I found out what the Littlejohn Awards were and who had won them in the past, I was positive that one person I worked with was a shoe-in for the award sooner rather than later.

That person is my immediate boss, Karen Mattox, Assistant Director of Communications. Karen has been with Midwestern University almost as long as the Glendale Campus has been in existence. She is one of the hardest-working people I know, which is a good thing considering just how much she has on her to-do list. Effort is one thing - passion is another, and Karen has that in spades. She seems to know everyone, and while for some that might be a function of career longevity, in Karen's case it's because she wants to get to know people and learn more about them.

That attitude has served her well at Midwestern University, especially when it comes to organizing events such as the Health Careers Institute for High School Students. The HCI is one of Karen's favorite events of the year. It is a big project logistically, but the huge upside for Karen is that she gets to work with and be around some truly brilliant high-school kids whose appetite for new things and intellectual curiosity matches her own. Talking with kids who have gone through HCI, they always make a point of mentioning "Miss Karen" and raving about her.

Which is why, when Dr. G mentioned working with kids about a sentence and a half into the staff category for the Littlejohn Awards, I knew she was talking about Karen. I can't imagine that I was the only one who realized it, or that I was the only person in the room thinking, "It's about time!"

The great part of working with someone who has a passion for what she does is that that passion is infectious. It makes for a great working environment in our department and a close-knit group.

I won't lie - it was nice to get out and dressed up and enjoy a tasty meal at a four-star hotel. For me, though, the highlight of the night was seeing Karen get the recognition she deserves.