Through the SHCS Outstanding Contribution Awards, we recognize employees in our unit who make extraordinary contributions at UBC and beyond.

This year we received many wonderful nominations. Thank you to everyone who nominated one of their incredible colleagues.

While it was challenging to select from all of the outstanding nominees, we are pleased to announce the following four recipients of this year’s Outstanding Contribution Awards.

These recipients were honoured at a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday, April 15, 2021, alongside recipients of the 2020 SHCS Long Service Awards.

Outstanding Contribution Award

Nicky Lau

Sales & Catering Coordinator, Sage, Food Services

Nominated by Levi Semadeni.

“I am so proud of Nicky for receiving the Outstanding Contribution Award. It is through his hard work and dedication to excellence that Sage has become the premier venue and catering service at UBC. He has consistently exceeded my and our clients’ expectations over the past five years. I am proud and honoured to have Nicky as a colleague, a confidante, and a friend.” — James Minhinnick

Congratulations Nicky; your work in SHCS is amazing!

From Nicky's Nomination

“Nicky organized hundreds of weddings & events since joining the team. On top of being extremely professional and organized, one of Nicky’s top abilities is to be able to patiently listen to all our clients’ requests and turn their dreams into reality, often exceeding expectations. His work and dedication has impacted the entire team; and Sage’s reputation and image has improved greatly during his tenure. Nicky was not only instrumental in growing the wedding market (from around 10 weddings/year to approximately 60 weddings/year) but also enhanced Sage’s reputation as the premium Meetings & Events space for the UBC community.”

— Levi Semadeni

Louisa Staton

eCommerce Supervisor, Custom Merchandise Buyer, UBC Bookstore

Nominated by Ruzzle Co.

“It has been my distinct pleasure to work with Louisa for a number of years as a buying team colleague. Louisa has always been a team player, looking out for the good of our customers and for ways to support our staff through finding innovative processes to do things better and faster. None was more obvious than this past year when COVID challenged our way of doing business at the Bookstore and we had to pivot fast to expand our online business.” — Jennie Orpen

Congratulations Louisa; your work in SHCS is extraordinary!

From Louisa's Nomination

“Louisa has always actioned on the betterment of the store and others. She does so selflessly and without complaint. For me she’s greatly influenced my personal work behaviour and has motivated me to work harder and more efficiently. She has challenged me to think differently and offered support wherever possible. I consider her to be both a colleague and a friend because she also is there for me whenever I’m having a tough time personally (she doesn’t need to do that but she does). It’s hard to speak for others, but I know many people would agree the profound impact Louisa has made in the bookstore.”

— Ruzzle Co

Outstanding Contribution in Sustainability Award

Joanne Thember

Health and Safety Associate, Student Housing and Community Services / Safety + Risk Services

Nominated by Jessica Sterman.

“Congratulations Joanne on receiving the Outstanding Contribution in Sustainability Award! Your efforts to incorporate sustainable practices into daily routines are impressive and deserving of acknowledgement. Many within SHCS know you for your work in safety; however they may not recognize you are also a sustainability champion within the unit. You actively demonstrate positive sustainable actions through your bike to work practices (even in the rain) and your composting and recycling leadership within SHCS. Your passion for cycling has influenced many of your colleagues to ride to work and actively make changes in their lives with positive sustainability impacts.”  — Gontran Paget

Congratulations Joanne; your work in SHCS is remarkable! 

From Joanne's Nomination

“Joanne is not only a superstar in her work, but she also promotes health and well-being among her SHCS peers and community outside of work. She singlehandedly began, manages, and recruits members for the ‘SHHS Road Warriors’ cycling group – a group who sees how many kilometers they can cycle in a week (twice annually) for a challenge put on by the HUB Cycling non-profit cycling advocacy organization. In early 2020, she rallied her peers to victory, in winning the most amount of kilometers put on a bike as a group, out of all of the competing UBC groups (beating out the Michael Smith Lab team who had held the title for the past 5+ years and have at least double the amount of participants).”

— Jessica Sterman

Outstanding Contribution in Community Leadership

Connie Lay

Retail Manager, Food Services

Nominated by Sam Wellman.

“Connie is an amazing leader because she lives by this important rule: “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”” — Colin Moore

Congratulations Connie; your work in SHCS is incredible!

From Connie's Nomination

“On Connie’s days off she volunteers at a homeless shelter on the downtown eastside where she hands out food and comforts the community with kindness. On campus, Connie volunteered to be part of the outreach program for Students in isolation – reaching out to over 30 students to be a comfort and a support to them. In addition, she plans activities for our staff such as ice cream sundae days, organizing pot lucks, baking and handing out holiday cookies – to name a few.”

— Sam Wellman