"Of the Month” Campus Recipients Recognized Posted Friday, April 23, 2021 @ 1:38 PM OTMs are “Of the Month” awards that recognize exceptional students, staff, faculty, programs, or initiatives during the month. Any resident or staff member can submit an OTM, and the general categories are: Advisor, Executive Board Member, First Year Student, Student, Residence Life Professional Staff, Institution Faculty/Staff, Organization, Resident Assistant, Student Staff Member, and Spotlight. Individuals can also recognize programs for OTMs, and those categories are: Community Service Program, Diversity Program, Educational Program, Passive Program, and Social Program. OTMs are due by 11:59 p.m. on the last day of each month and can be submitted here. The UCF OTMS are overseen by the UCF NRHH, or the National Residence Hall Honorary. Learn more about the March winners below. Institution Faculty/Staff: Vasanth Bhat Vasanth Bhat is a graduate student working on his Ph.D. and a lecturer for a Statistics for Engineers course. Mr. Bhat has done an excellent job at keeping the class relevant, detailed, and interesting. While Mr. Bhat has been a fantastic teacher since the semester began, he has truly shown his talent and charisma during March of 2021. His nominator said, “One of the first things I think of when thinking about Mr. Bhat is how easy it is to talk with him. I normally get to his in-person class five to ten minutes early, where I am always greeted and have a nice conversation with him. These conversations this past month have ranged from current events such as the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines to resources and encouragement for me to pursue my MBA.” Resident Assistant: Cody Crittenden Cody was recognized for being a great Resident Assistant who is always willing to put in the time for the job and does it with a smile under his mask. Cody is also very affirming of the other RAs in his community and expresses how thankful he is to be working with them and have fun movie nights together. He makes sure to have a good connection with his residents. Recently, he even saw some residents at a campus event and made sure to go converse with them. Afterward, they invited him to grab food, which he was happy to join them for! His nominator said “I am sure it can be hard joining as a new Housing staff member in the spring semester, but Cody has done a marvelous job of figuring out the job and getting to know his residents. He is someone I have had good conversations with, and I appreciate the jokes he makes and the stories he shares. Cody has even incorporated his Art major into a community event that a couple of Resident Assistants also attended. I did not expect to, but I had a really great time making pixel art and zoom backgrounds. I am glad that Cody joined the Apollo community.” Graduate Assistant: Brett Miller Brett Miller is a Graduate Assistant in the Hercules Community being recognized for his ability to bring together the Hercules team during this time of largely virtual environments and Interactions that make connections and friendships much more difficult to foster. Brett has proven to be an invaluable asset to the team for the past few months while the Hercules coordinator position has been vacant. While many would be overwhelmed by the influx of responsibilities that comes with the vacancy of an important team role, Brett has still been able to connect with his team, even planning a boundary-breaking activity that allowed coworkers to share heartwarming experiences and genuine feelings in a welcoming environment. His nominator said “Brett is mindful and caring. Although this activity could have been met with disinterest from the staff or could have been seen as unnecessary, at that meeting, as a result of Brett’s desire to bridge the pandemic-induced gaps between the Hercules RAs, all of them were able to really see one another for the first time. Suddenly taking over the countless responsibilities of the coordinator position is a remarkable feat on its own. While one could simply call it at that and still be held in high regard, Brett recognized the desires of his professional team and chose to be the positive and outgoing force that the Hercules staff needed.” Residence Life Professional Staff: Brett Miller Brett Miller was also recognized for his professionalism and leadership as a supervisor. While the past year has been challenging for everyone, Resident Assistants on campus have particularly gone through a roller coaster of challenges presented by COVID-19. Brett has made it a priority to create personal relationships with his employees, as well as relating important community updates to them as soon as he gets them. His nominator said “Working in the position as an RA is not always an easy task, but supportive and professional staff really make it a better place. When I had concerns surrounding having a supervisor who could be supportive around personal issues in addition to RA concerns, Brett heard those concerns and has been very active in providing that support for me. Without Brett’s continued support I don’t know how I would balance my work life with the various events going on in my personal life. Very thankful to have such a great team!” Organization: UCF Housing Marketing Team The past year saw the in-person housing tours at UCF come to a screeching halt as a result of the pandemic. Allowing students and their families the opportunity to have a clear perspective and vantage point of where they will be living has great value. While virtual tours were conducted with stagnant pictures and replayed community videos that had been filmed in the past, it still did not give the audience that feeling that they were walking through the community, through the building, looking under the bed, touching and feeling the features that would be in their student’s perspective new home. In March, the Housing Marketing Department collaborated with Undergraduate Admissions and First Year Experience to create a live virtual tour that let the viewers feel as if they were walking the path themselves. They staged Housing Ambassadors and Graduate Coordinators in each of our communities. We paired them with another housing employee that would film them using the cameras on their phones and the results were phenomenal. It was like watching a special news broadcast going live at the scene where the tour guide had banter with the host who fielded questions from the audience via the live chat. This provided an in-depth look at all the extras like additional storage spaces, how high the beds can be raised and what the view looks like from the bedroom window. It took a lot of coordination and a few dry runs, but the result had 732 views on Facebook Live and YouTube the day of the tour. Their nominator said, “We are so proud of the innovative approach our team took to make prospective residents already feel at home.” Student: Brandon Lynch Brandon is a student in the Hercules community recognized for being a friendly and creative resident. Specifically, Brandon is a part of a group of students who have used their free time to bring joy to others in the building. This group always displays what resembles a newspaper filled with satirical stories for bypassers to read. His nominator said, “For the past couple of months, my rounds have been made so much better by the creativity of some of the residents at our Hercules community. Their creativity is outstanding, and I hope that they can continue to come up with such amazing stories. The name I read the most is Brandon Lynch; thus, I am to believe that they are responsible for such entertaining literature. From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank you and your team for making my night with what you are able to come up with. One of my personal favorites is the conspiracy of Nike.” Back