Cassie Carter

A user needed urgent assistance with a software licensing issue. Cassie not only took responsibility, she executed immediately and resolved the user's issue. She embodies the definition of dependability and continues to be a valuable ITS asset.

-Mukarram Shahzad

Lee Faber

Lee was instrumental in the successful re-spacing of our Aquia 223 suite. She helped handled the blueprint planning, ensuring contractors stayed on schedule and performed high-quality work through her consistent onsite monitoring. Her proactive communication kept us informed every step of the way, including timely updates on installation dates. Lee also provided valuable furniture arrangement suggestions and was exceptionally attentive to our needs, ultimately delivering an excellent and much-needed storage space for our group. Beyond this project, Lee consistently showcases her exceptional organizational and customer service skills as the university's Move Coordinator, a role in which I frequently collaborate with her. She is meticulously organized, ensuring all parties adhere to deadlines and providing prompt support for any inquiries. Our group truly values Lee's support on projects; her proactive approach and outstanding customer service are second to none.

-Tommy Dang

Tomy Isra, Richard Jackson, Kate Orf, Allen Santora, Mukarram Shahzad

Mukarram reported in an Ops channel post that he had multiple users identifying problems with MicroStrategy. From the error on a user's screen, he said it appeared to be a certificate that expired the day before. His information allowed us to quickly identify what the problem was. Kate Orf and Richard Jackson immediately jumped in with information on the certificate in question, how to fix it, and offers to help. Our SE was on vacation, but his backup, Tomy Isra, took this information, and solicited the help of Allen Santora, to remedy the situation. Because so many people communicated together, offered and asked for help as needed, the problem was fixed as quickly as possible. Great teamwork! Thanks to all who contributed.

-Francesca Brunner-Kennedy

Grant Stewart

It's my pleasure to nominate Grant Stewart for the VTTC recognition award, acknowledging his exceptional, ongoing contributions to George Mason University's phishing identification and remediation efforts. Grant's innovations have been pivotal in streamlining our phishing program, significantly boosting efficiency, and reducing remediation times through the development of new and refinement of established procedures. His strong communication, teamwork, and leadership are evident in the team of analyst interns he has empowered to lead investigations and contribute to program enhancements. Lastly, Grant has been our team's lead and made continued improvements with ITSO work with the Tier 1/Tier 2 Support Center personnel in our fight against phish.

-J.D. Sayle

Adilakshmi Pratyusha Mothadaka

Pratyusha worked to create the Banner Access Request workflow. This was not an easy task, but she showed great integrity in her work. She "owned" the work. She would take the time to ask questions to make sure she was getting it right, quickly addressed issues that we found, and is always patient and willing to listen and learn. She is a great asset for ITS!

-Lori Polnow

Christina Crockett, Ryan LeBreton, David Lutz, Kate Orf, David Robertson

This team worked late at night and into the early hours of July 1 to monitor and correct changes to the Anthology Chat service. Their teamwork and communication are evident in their MS Teams chat, which tracks from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m. Their dedication to the George Mason community is appreciated! THANK YOU!!

-Charlie Spann

Ryan LeBreton

Ryan is amazing to work with, no matter what I throw his way. He always balances what I ask with web best practices and accessibility requirements. He is organized, communicative, and prioritizes tasks. Together, we are a can-do team, which I greatly appreciate. Thank you, Ryan, for all you do!

-Christina Crockett

Ben Allen, Deb Burns (Boldyn), Casey Campbell, Nikki Dinh, Emilio Goncalves, Kristi Horning, Richard Jackson, David Lutz, Chris Nayeri, Lori Polnow, Lauren Reese, David "Drob" Robertson, Larry Song, Sandy Winter, Qian Xu

Everyone came together at the last minute to open up a day for the last Arista cutover. The cutover had to be moved because it initially fell on the first day of The Washington Youth Summit on the Environment. Additionally, the Arista team had to work around another important student event, The Washington Journalism and Media Conference. All the diverse teams got together and made it happen in short order. Times like these remind me what an agile and amazing organization we are. A big thanks to Boldyn, our partner, for helping out in a pinch. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!

-Christina Crockett

Hamza Abdi, Joseph Spezzano, Abbas Khan

Hamza, Abbas, and Joseph work together to ensure the Collaborative Learning Hub (CLUB) remains operational. While each individual has a set of tasks assigned to them (i.e. Hamza focuses on equipment, Joseph on administrative, and Abbas on scheduling), they seamlessly work together to tackle Blackboard/Canvas issues, including collaborating with the Blackboard (Bb)/Canvas Admins.

During our meetings, Hamza, Joseph, and Abbas are always prepared to bring up the working, the not-so-working, and the plain-old broken. When there is a particularly tricky problem that needs to be addressed before our meetings, they will seek solutions amongst themselves and, when necessary, with the Bb/Canvas Admins or myself via Teams. Without a dedicated full-time Admin, these part-timers have been making the most of the resources they do have. When faced with a challenge, they explore options readily available to them as well as brainstorm alternative solutions and viable workarounds.

To cite a recent occurrence, a flustered TA walked in an hour before closing. They needed help with Lockdown Browser/Honorlock for a test that was happening in two hours for a class of 150 spread across the globe. Abbas and Hamza brought calm to the chaos and worked with Rob and Joe over Teams to find a solution.

Additionally, Joseph is working with the Orientation team once again to ensure they have a space in 311B to register incoming Freshman this summer.

The reason we are able to keep the CLUB open in spite of not having a dedicated CLUB Admin for nearly two years is because of Joseph, Abbas, and Hamza's hard work.

-Ashley Adams

Tommy Dang

Getting a new building prepped and ready with the network needs of the new residents is not an easy task. Not everyone knows their networking needs. This was the case recently with Fuse. As the ITS Move Coordinator, sometimes this means tracking down network information from any source possible, so that on move in day, residents can move in and safely begin to work. Usually configuring and porting a network out to the site does not happen overnight, but when a last minute out of process need arose for Fuse, Tommy Dang got his crew on it and got it done! As ITS, we know that opening a new building is an important event. Fuse being such a prominent new building to so many, made this network request even more important. When I reached out to Tommy, he and his team stepped in and stepped up! They were awesome! Not only did Tommy understand that this request had to be completed in a hurry, but he also worked with his team and got the network up and configured so that the Arlington team could complete the work. This is when "ONE ITS" really shines. Sometimes it is stressful, but it ALWAYS gets done, and Tommy GOT IT DONE! Thank you, Tommy, and thank you to your team. Fuse is up and running because you care, and that makes all the difference!

-Lee Faber

Jody Faber, Zein Eldin Holail, Shane Hayes, John Silvia, Evelyn Vuong

These individuals made up the Fuse Move-In Day Support Team. They represent Desktop Support, Logistics, and Telecom, and the recent move into Fuse could not have happened without them! This team was a combination of people from Fairfax and Mason Square, and it showed just how well ITS can collaborate and coordinate its resources and teams and SHINE! A very heartfelt THANK YOU to you all for making move-in day a positive experience for so many new residents in Fuse. Your thoughtfulness to detail—from ensuring all new residents onsite knew of the electrical outlet design, making sure everyone who needed a surge protector extension cord got one, to helping grad students understand their new workstations and helping them set up the basics—all was noticed by many. You worked together to put the motto "ONE ITS" into visible action and positive results. You made sure everyone was helped. You even did a last walk-through before leaving to be sure any late comers that needed assistance didn't get missed. This team was most definitely Valued to the CORE on this move! Thank you to you all!!!

-Lee Faber

Thomas Zuo

The new Fuse building just opened in Arlington and as the ITS Move Coordinator, it is so important to have the help and cooperation of the home campus to assist in getting things prepped for move day. This move was no exception. Thomas Zuo took the initiative and reached out to me. He worked with me to ensure that the network lines were patched and ready to go in the TR (network closet), and he created a "Day of Move" spreadsheet that the move team will continue to use on future moves! He did this all with such a positive outlook! No move is without hiccups ...yet...but because of Thomas' pre-planning and day of preparation, all of the desktop and telecom technicians as well as the logistics onsite help were well informed on who was moving in, how the TR's were set up, and everyone had the tools they needed to get the new residents of Fuse moved in, which ended with three positive install days. The new residents thanked the team for their efforts, and we all knew that we couldn't have done it without Thomas' "plan ahead" mindset. He even bought donuts for everyone, including the patching crew that he set up to get the grad pods ready. Additionally, he worked out a parking plan so that the crews could get their vouchers validated—FREE PARKING! If you are ever on the Mason Square campus, you will probably see Thomas as he is always checking on things and saying hello as he helps out a resident with a technical question. Everyone there knows him, and for a good reason...he loves his campus and those he serves. As the ITS Move Coordinator, I couldn't have done it without him and his crew. Thank you, Thomas! You are absolutely Valued to the Core!

-Lee Faber

Lauren Hutt

I have multiple projects in play in multiple, overlapping areas, most with ITS involvement. Lauren has been an integral element moving things forward on all these projects, including (... just to name four efforts that leap to mind):
• Wireless print fleet connectivity beta testing
• Taking on-prem print servers to the cloud
• Onboarding George Mason's new foodservice providers & their associated tech needs
• Auxiliary & Business Operations Tech Team Director hiring committee member

Throughout all these projects—projects of critical importance that serve every George Mason student, faculty, or staff member, as well as the general public—Lauren has been a calm, professional, and critical resource, identifying needs, overcoming obstacles, assisting with requirements, and generally going above and beyond as she supports these disparate and multifaceted projects and critical needs. Her collaboration is deeply appreciated and should serve as a model for any group effort containing IT needs.

-Buz Grover

Lisa Carr, Stephanie Klare, Brad Sullivan

These individuals were critical in aiding in the phish response workflow for a series of high volume phish needing account closures, triage, and remediation. We could not have protected the university without them. They are great to work with and always take time out of their busy day to prioritize critical work.

-Grant Stewart

Matthew Berlejung

Matthew helped out our team during a critical point in our work week. He was responsive, quick with his solution, and helped document it for later use!

-Michael Benedict

Joe Balducci

Final grades submitted! Semester completed! Canvas a success thanks to Joe's (Joey "B") depth and breadth of knowledge. Joe truly is an ITS gem!!!!

-Susan Kehoe

Josh Grant

Josh is a pleasure to work with, bringing a fresh and helpful perspective to any situation. Despite feeling under the weather and being up all night with his newborn, Josh came in to assist with the Lumen analog installation at the Mason Square Campus. His ability to tackle challenges with a positive attitude makes him an exceptional team member. Josh embodies the core values of ITS, and his contributions deserve to be recognized.

Thank you, Josh, for being an indispensable part of the team!

-Nikolai Majorin

Elizabeth Redwine

On April 16 there was a Zoom issue that Liz Redwine, tier 2 support, immediately notified our Enterprise Collaboration (EC) office about. As with all small offices, people were out, and I picked up on it even though I was also unexpectedly out. Liz was able to get me more information that there was a major outage and offered to prepare an alert right away. I know it does not fall on tier 2 support to do this, but she was very accommodating. She initiated an alert and by that time I had more people in the office to update it. I just want to express my gratitude that Liz went the extra mile for me and the team. It is great customer service, and we appreciate that Liz stepped up for EC. KUDOS!!!

-Cherie Galantis

Casey Campbell, Tomy Isra, Sandy Winter

Casey, Tomy, and Sandy responded to a request on Friday, April 25, to add more temp space to the Informatica Servers during the data load and data migrations for Patriot Connect. The request occurred late on Friday, and the team responded and added the space to allow the EDIS team to continue to load the data in a timely manner.

-Mary Lulis

Vicky Palazzo

Vicky is so great! I had an access form that I needed to fill out and had some questions about how to complete it. Vicky walked me through what I needed to do and then took the time to show me the new and upcoming form (which was great). Vicky helped me get my tasks completed so I could keep the process moving for an EPAF. Thank you, Vicky, for being so wonderful and a pleasure to work with.

-Carrie Stewart

Toni Mehrman

No matter what I throw at Toni, be it to put in an order, to cancel an order, return an order, find invoices for reconciliations, or just for information in general, she does not bat an eye. Toni is prompt, professional, and above all, a fantastic colleague. She epitomizes the ONE ITS slogan. Kudos to Toni for all that she does for me, ITS, and all of Mason!

-Cherie Galantis

Josh Grant, Zein Holail, John Krug, Nikolai Majorin

I was in the Central Heating & Colling Plant (CHCP) today (4/10/25) when Nikolai Majorin came in to finish the installation of our telephones. He and the three other guys (Josh, Zein, and John) came in to do the installation and to get our analog strobes working. I got tired and told the team they could stop, but by this time it had become a quest, and you could tell. It was rather amusing, and while at the time he may not have found it funny, I did. Anyway, all of CHCP’s strobes are working and we needed that as CHCP is the main after-hours contact number for the university. When our equipment is running you cannot hear the phone. I cannot say enough about how this will make our job easier.

-Dennis Peterson

Lisa Carr

I was unsuccessful while trying to migrate some emails and I just couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. I reached out to Lisa, and after listening to my problem, she suggested a few innovative options. One option was "old school," but it was simple, and it worked and I'm so thankful she was able to help me sort out my time-sensitive issue!

-Alex Galantis

Allen Santora

Allen supports the backbone of our enterprise system, Banner. He is the system engineer ensuring the servers that Banner relies on are up and running. Sometimes these behind-the-scenes jobs don't get the recognition they deserve, and I just want to shine a light on Allen who has always done a top-notch job in supporting our needs! Thanks for all you do for Mason, Allen!!!

-Patricia Coray

Zein Eldin Holail

I would like to recognize Zein for his outstanding customer service today! When assisting with a phone issue in the Office of Admissions, he went above and beyond to ensure it was fully operational. Faced with the challenge of accessing difficult-to-reach jacks behind a workstation, he tackled the task with determination and efficiency. Even when troubleshooting unexpected boot-up issues, he remained focused and thorough.

Beyond resolving the initial request that brought Zein to the Admissions Office, he took the initiative to address additional open tickets for our office while on-site, maximizing his time and ensuring our team could continue working without delays. His proactive approach, professionalism, and clear communication — keeping me informed when he needed to seek additional support — demonstrate his exceptional reliability and dedication.

Zein’s commitment to excellence and willingness to go the extra mile exemplify outstanding service. I am grateful for him and the seamless support he provides.

-Jennifer Flammia

Stephen Tate

I recently reached out to Stephen Tate via Teams chat with questions about retaining a Vonage phone number when an employee leaves Mason and how to transfer it to a new hire. Stephen introduced me to the “hold pool” feature he had added to Pinnacle. When I mentioned that I wasn’t aware of this option, he took the time to share his screen and walk me through the process of submitting the request.

During our conversation, I also brought up a billing issue we had encountered while reconciling our department’s budget. Not only did Stephen have immediate answers to my questions, but he also went a step further by providing a quick tutorial on how to find and run billing reports in Pinnacle.

As a longtime telecom coordinator, much of my Pinnacle knowledge has been self-taught through trial and error. In just 20 minutes, Stephen provided more clarity and insight than I had gained on my own over time. He explained each step in a clear, approachable manner, making the process easy to understand.

I truly appreciate Stephen and the support he provides. He is an invaluable resource and a key asset to the Telecom Admin team. His expertise, patience, and willingness to go the extra mile have made a significant impact. Not only does he solve problems efficiently, but he also empowers me by generously sharing his knowledge.

-Jennifer Flammia

Collin Clavin

I had the pleasure of working with Collin on the TrueScreen integration project and ever since it went live, he has diligently communicated when there is an issue with the file transfer; ensures the next run is good and confirms when everything is stable. I have always said communication is key and Collin is winning in that department. Thank you, Collin for all you do for Mason!

-Patricia Coray

Charlie Spann

When the Salesforce leadership position became vacant this year, Charlie immediately stepped in to get up to speed and fill the role. He has helped make what could have been a project risk into a bump and has kept things moving without issue.

-Erica McQuiston

John Krug and Nikolai Majorin

Nikolai and John took on a Vonage analog line install of 27 lines on the Fairfax Campus in seven buildings. A majority of these lines were fax lines. These need extra attention as they involve ATA gateways, configuring the line, testing prior to the move so we know dial tone is working, then testing again to make sure dial tone still reaches the machine. When there are problems, the team has to do more intensive troubleshooting. It took over 6 hours to complete this install. Great teamwork!! Thanks Nikolai and John!

-Cherie Galantis

Cory Faber

The facilities elevator upgrade has been a monster of a project. It entails over 140 elevators. Cory has visited all 4 campuses, working with the install team on identifying lines, checking dial tone and marking them for the move/removal. Not only that but it seems when they install, lines get misplaced and Cory has to go back out to fix them, sometimes 2-4 times. As they are winding down the installations, Cory is still called back to check dial tone. It has been a very hectic project for him. He has been patient and by all means he has gotten his steps in! Kudos to you, Cory!

-Cherie Galantis

Nico Clemente

This week we encountered a production issue with an application that caused the server's CPU usage to spike to 100%, resulting in the application hanging. I reached out for Nico's assistance, and he responded promptly. He swiftly increased the server's CPU capacity from 2 to 4 cores and closely monitored the CPU usage thereafter. Later, I had to apply an emergency patch released by the vendor to address the issue. Nico supported me throughout the process by handling backups and preparing the server to ensure a smooth and efficient resolution. His calm demeanor, patience, and professionalism made a significant difference. It’s always a pleasure to work with him, and I am truly grateful for his support.

-Tian hui Wang

Tracy Holt

If all goes well between now and go-time, Tracy agreed to handle a presentation I was mostly leading at ACCS-VA. His decision to make the harder choice and presenting (easy choice = cancel) made my emergency departure less awkward for me. Tracy was also selflessly concerned about the attendees that wanted to learn more but would otherwise find an empty room. There are many of us that appreciate what you do, Tracy, on the daily grind and especially when the stress is high. Thanks, Tracy!

-Matthew Berlejung

Collin Clavin

For his support of the Canvas custom data exchange work. Collin found solutions to meet the requirements that Joe Balducci and Rob Solander described and was able to explain them to me or even document the solution so that I could update the requirements documents. I'm grateful for his help.

-Kathy Bine

Mindy Stawarz

For her support of the Knack data exchange, continued support for RAMP (both Payroll Certification and the incidents), and troubleshooting a question we had with the Archibus data exchange. Mindy bails me out regularly by demystifying the select and filter logic we use for population, which I update in our requirements documents. I'm grateful for her help.

-Kathy Bine

Matthew Berlejung

I received my new laptop remotely and needed assistance with establishing various settings in order to streamline my work. As always, Matthew was able to work with me and walk me through the many settings much quicker than if I had to figure it out on my own. Matthew has always been spot-on and courteous by never making me old and outdated. I appreciate his patience and time! Great job, Matthew!!!

-Cherie Galantis

Mike Rothgeb

I wanted to take a moment to call out Mike Rothgeb and formally thank him for his amazing support of authentication services. My team has been working on SSO implementation for WordPress and he has been so helpful throughout the process. This past week we called on him several times and he was able to jump on a short notice call and help us work through the SSO solution and get it functioning. This will benefit the university greatly and we really appreciate his collaboration and support.

-Kate Orf

Nathalie Lam, Ryan LeBreton, Sean Wilder

Nathalie, Ryan, and Sean were so helpful this past week in fielding urgent requests for new domain names from university administration. This required careful collaboration between all three, and they were late breaking on Friday evening. I really appreciate your dedication to excellence and teamwork! Thank you all for going above and beyond to handle those requests so quickly. You are truly valued to the core!

-Kate Orf

Ryan LeBreton

Ryan has been a key player in developing the ITS News space on our website. Throughout this effort, he has been incredibly patient and understanding of my needs, as well as creative in suggesting solutions. Since launching the external ITS newsletter, Ryan quickly helped implement changes to the site based on feedback I received. We couldn't have launched the newsletter or created this space without him, and I am so grateful for his excellent work!

-Anna Stackhouse

Cory Faber and Josh Grant

The POTS elevator conversion project to Simplifi/FirstNet is underway and has been a great team effort, but I wanted to highlight the extra efforts and work done by Cory Faber and Joshua Grant. They are great and always willing to help with any and all tasks. We wouldn't be on track without their excellent work.

- Chris Freas

Patricia Coray

For her remarkable patience with all of my picky questions about Banner and the data available to support Archibus, I am so grateful.

- Kathy Bine

Whitney Sublett

Whitney is always there to help, to lead, to clarify, and to listen. ITS is incredibly lucky to have her skills and knowledge. She had a plan for the holiday party that helped us achieve a lot in very little set-up time. She also took ideas from the planning committee, such as a photo booth and a decoration competition, and figured out how to do them with little budget and even less time.

- Kathy Bine

John Clark, Chris Galvan, Jeff Kling, Eric Potter

John, Chris, Jeff, and Eric were instrumental in assisting GMU-TV with a tricky technical issue in the Merten 1201 BoV room. Though the issue was only impacting GMU-TV's video signal, Jeff and Co. were extremely responsive to the problem. They came that day and stayed until a resolution was reached, which took quite a bit of research and testing (and of course - smarts). We are very much appreciative of their expertise and efforts.

- Richard Wood

Carrie Stewart

Carrie has been AMAZING in coordinating the interviews (14 of them!!) for the CISO search. Because of her planning, we are quickly moving through the first round of interviews and will more quickly have our new CISO on board.

- Charlie Spann

Lisa Carr, Cherie Galantis, Tracy Holt, Stephanie Klare, David Lutz, Grant Stewart

After a vendor workshop, the above people helped me determine the scope of a simple error that affected many people. Each person helped tremendously in different ways. Thank you to all of you for providing excellent teamwork, respect, and communication that was necessary to proceed!

- Matthew Berlejung

Kris Piyavansuthi

Kris showed a very can-do attitude when assisting faculty/staff for a special walk-in event. He took responsibility for every issue any user had and gave it his all to solve their problems and leave them with a very positive image of George Mason and ITS. It was an honor working alongside such a talented individual; George Mason is very lucky to have someone like Kris on our team.

- Mukarram Shahzad

Ethan Ervin and Dylan Gerhard

Dylan, Ethan, and the whole network team are so responsive and helpful. Occasionally, my team needs to request a quick DNS change for website hosting, and they are always right on top of it. In addition to excellent, thorough, and speedy work, they are friendly and wonderful to work with. Thank you, Dylan, Ethan, and networking team! You are truly valued to the core!

- Kate Orf

Guiness Yates

While working on the Elevator Line Conversion project, Guiness Yates has stepped up and been invaluable to our team. This conversion project, with partnership from ITS, requires an understanding of where our team must step in and take action and where the vendor holds the responsibility. In many cases we are working with configurations that have remained untouched for more than 20 years. His ability to adapt to changing requirements, working through various responsibilities with the vendor, and the stress of a tight timeline have shown Guiness to be a critical component of our success and customer satisfaction. Through it all, he has been supportive and collaborative in his approach and interactions with customers, vendors, and team. He has shown integrity and commitment to the team in making sure this project gets off the ground and runs smoothly. Whether we are in a telecommunication room, telecommunications core, or on any campus, Guiness has been there, ready to support another team member to help however he possibly can. Most recently I was out of the office sick, and Guiness took initiative and relayed himself as the point of contact to guarantee that any questions were answered quickly and to ensure that the workflow was not interrupted regardless of my absence. I believe Guiness should be recognized for this exceptional effort and attitude toward the success of this important project.

- Cory Faber

Mike Rothgeb

Mike is one of those superhero team members. We identified an issue that was preventing some users from accessing the Patriot Virtual Lab environment. One phone call with Mike and we were able to talk out solutions, develop pros and cons of each, and the best path forward. He then delivered in less than half the expected time. I always know I can count on Mike to get the job done and done right.

- Mike Fletcher

Kevin Nguyen

An update was pushed - my laptop hated it. On that laptop was my class syllabus. Kevin quickly understood the importance of the situation and TWICE braved record cold to pick up and diagnose and then drop off my fixed computer. Great customer service, outstanding professionalism!!

- Susan Kehoe

Joe Balducci

Moving from Blackboard to Canvas is exciting (and a little scary). Joe Balducci made the process seamless, painless, and a whole lot less frightening.
Thanks, Joe, for being such a valuable university asset and for being so very awesome!

- Susan Kehoe

Matt Berlejung

Had a heart stopper today when I was creating folders and such in Teams for a project for the President and SLT. I moved a bunch of files, and they disappeared (sort of)!! Spent 20 minutes on the phone with Matt Berlejung and he got me straightened out - crisis averted.

THANK YOU, MATT!!! I truly appreciate your help especially on a Saturday! Let your little one(s) know I appreciate them sharing you with me today

- Julie Zobel