Several Nebraska Wesleyan employees were awarded NWU’s Golden Service Award at the December 2025 staff meeting.
The group came together in November to assist Residential Education and Student Life in providing students with personal attention while supporting their health, safety, and success.
The group was led by Kara Brant, director of residential education, and Maddi Galusha, assistant director of residential education, who took on extra responsibilities and leadership during a period of transition for the Residential Education Office (REC).
In addition, staff members inside and outside of student life stepped up to ensure REC on-call procedures were maintained. That group included Workstation Support Associate Christian Sunderland, Assistant Director of Student Engagement Alex Munson, Project Director for the Gender-Based Violence Team Jen Dyson, and Assistant Vice President of Human Resources Maria Harder.
With Brant and Galusha developing training materials for the group, Sunderland, Munson, Dyson, and Harder offered to move into campus housing to serve in the on-call rotation and ensure there were no gaps in on-call and emergency response coverage on the NWU campus.
These individuals received training, provided leadership for NWU’s Peer Assistant staff, and responded to urgent concerns in NWU’s residence halls over the past month.
Members of the group were also able to make more personal connections with NWU students. For example, while staying at Pioneer Hall, Dyson was able to bring members of her family on campus to play ping pong and pool, eat dinner, and meet new residents.
The Golden Service Award promotes Nebraska Wesleyan’s core values by recognizing and awarding staff and faculty working as a group and demonstrating cross-departmental collaborations, whose efforts and contributions as a group significantly exceed expectations in demonstrating or promoting one or more of these values: excellence, liberal arts, and personal attention to students, diversity, community, and stewardship.
Congratulations to these individuals and thank you for your service and dedication to our community.