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Classified Senate has named Melanie Quolke, administrative specialist for the Department of Human and Consumer Sciences, the Employee of the Month for March 2020. 

This recognition is Classified Senate’s way of awarding those employees who have shown outstanding individual achievement and performance of their jobs, while inspiring and supporting the achievement of others. 

Criteria for selection include:

• Positive attitude and serving as a role model;
• Productivity and commitment to quality;
• Initiative and taking on additional responsibilities

Quolke was nominated by OHIO employee Donnie Brown. The following is a sample of the comments made about Quolke in the nomination:

“Melanie must work with a variety of people within and outside of the department on a daily basis. She is caring, empathetic, and helpful to all she engages with. She seems to be able to answer all questions from faculty and students alike. Melanie is knowledgeable and takes charge of any situation when needed.”

“In the last 12 months, Melanie has done a multitude of things. They include: scheduling classes, organizing meetings, solving tech issues, assisting students, maintaining the financials of the department, managing the department social media, updating the department catalog and website, planning the department advisory board meeting. When meat spoiled in the kitchen, she took it upon herself to clean out the freezer prior to the incident getting worse. 

She has helped two student organizations get off the ground and is currently advising two. She is designing an independent study for practical experience for students with social media for the department. She designed a comprehensive budget for the McCracken industrial kitchen facility including figuring out depreciation on items to set a schedule for replacement. 

Melanie designed a mentoring program from scratch to help address classified employees’ issues with onboarding at the university. She also designed marketing materials for her department and strategies to help with enrollment. Melanie created a Qualtrics training for classified staff and implemented it. Stepped into a leadership role in Classified Senate. She assisted the Patton College mentoring committee with their meetings and the collection of data as well as completed a master’s degree.”

“Melanie is loyal and a joy to be around. It is a pleasure to work with her regularly.”

Quolke recently answered some get-to-know you questions:

How long have you worked at your job?
This is my 5^th year with the university and my 4^th year in my current department. Prior to that I worked as a student employee with the university and have been a part of the Bobcat community for over 10 years now. 

What are the most enjoyable things about your job?
I love working with my student workers. It is so rewarding to watch them grow and change over the years. I recently had my first 4-year Federal Work Study student, and I am proud to say that she stayed with the department for her full undergraduate experience. I also really enjoy getting to do the high impact work with the Patton College of Education. It is the extra projects that often make my job more interesting, although with an industrial kitchen facility in our department and our great faculty who provide so many experiences in the facility it is truly never dull in our area. 

If you weren’t in your present job, you would be working as a ______? 
If I were not working in my present job I would either be running for a political office or starting a non-profit in the area. It wasn’t always my ambition but after completing my master’s program and with my knowledge and skills and experience doing organizational operations I feel I can make a real difference in the community and help grow the area by being a voice for the people of the Appalachian region. My other ambition is to start a non-profit with my husband to help enhance the region’s technological capabilities.  

What hobbies or interests do you enjoy pursuing when you’re not at work?
When I am not working, I am hanging out with my husband and dog (a 70 lb. German Shepard/Black Lab mix) named Pazuzu. I enjoy reading and watching television shows with my husband. I particularly love cartoons and am always up for watching one. I often volunteer in the community and try to help wherever I can. I enjoy crafting and writing and hope one day to complete and publish a novel. 

What is something that most people don’t know about you? 
I have had two lower back surgeries and I’m only 30. So I really empathize with people with back issues and understand why it can be such a difficult thing to live with and work with on a daily basis. 

What is your favorite saying or quote? 
“People get built different. We don’t need to figure it out, we just need to respect it.” - Princess Bubblegum, Adventure Time

“Human progress isn’t measured by industry. It’s measured by the value you place on a life. An unimportant life. A life without privilege. The boy who died on the river, that boy’s value is your value. That’s what defines an age. That’s what defines a species.” - The Doctor, Doctor Who

More information is available on the Classified Senate website about the Employee of the Month program, including a nomination form.