Nominations:

• Since Maria has joined the team she has taken on the role of 'field project guru'. This is not an easy role and we don't usually get an eager volunteer to do this like we have with Maria. Maria rarely receives thanks for all her hard work and I would love to see her get some recognition for all the hard work.
  
  1. We are inclusive and embrace our diversity - Maria goes above and beyond to ensure that each individual student's needs are recognised - for example students with disabilities are communicated with and she ensures they feel comfortable at all times and included. She has attended extra training on transgender awareness so that she is able to support all of our students. The cost of living crisis has hit our students hard and she has escalated cases where a student cannot afford a trip and explored ways to find cheaper alternatives to help them.
  
  2. We make a positive difference. Maria's work on the trip to Tenerife this year has been outstanding. She went above and beyond booking coaches and taxis for students travelling to airports to ensure that students could afford the fieldtrip and to make it easier for them to travel together. This has never been done before and took a lot of hard work.
  
  3. We strive for environmental sustainability. Maria is always looking for how to run the field trips in the most sustainable way which students can afford. Examples of this would be organising the coaches to the airport to reduce the emissions of multiple vehicles, also with careful planning she has reduced the sizes of the coaches to suit the number of students.
  
  4. We are a helpful and friendly community. Maria always steps in to help when needed. For example, one of the student services team is unable to be in the department due to a family situation. Maria volunteered to take over all of her in-person post offer visit days which take place on weekends. Despite her high workload and being a busy mum she is always smiling and supportive of everyone in the team.
  
  5. We are curious and always learning. Maria has made a massive difference in the way she thinks about the fieldtrips. She is always thinking of how something can be improved and is proactive in bringing solutions to problems.

• In her role as Student Services Administrator Maria has continued to deliver outstanding support to the Field Trips across the Department which are such a key part of the learning outcomes for our UG and PGT students. She has been hugely dedicated to what is quite a challenging portfolio of tasks. Each trip is essentially a mini project and she tirelessly worked to ensure that the trips have been as successful as possible. Acknowledging Maria for her work here would give recognition to a member of staff who is rarely recognised and as far as I’m aware only sporadically thanked by members of staff for her work. She often has to deal with problem after problem in the run up to and as the trips are taking place. It can maybe feel like a thankless task and urge the panel to consider her contribution to the panel under the following headings.
  
  We are inclusive and embrace our diversity
  
  Field trips are complex things to deliver and Maria has consistently ensured that we are able to make our field trips as inclusive as possible by making sure that students are given maximum support in being able to participate. Maria has been very empathetic in helping out with students who might have financial difficulties, helping out with support arrangements for specific students (i.e. those who require individual rooms) and with disabilities. She also works with academic and technical staff to ensure that students have timely access to information about the trips which is an important part of making sure that students feel confident and prepared to go on the trips.
  
  We make a positive difference
  
  Maria has made a hugely positive difference in ensuring that staff organising the trip in particular remain engaged with practical arrangements and finalise arrangements as quickly as possible. There were huge challenges this year around organising transport to airports for students in advance of the trip to Tenerife. Maria spearheaded collating info about the transport needs of the students and arranged additional coaches and taxi transports to support as many students as possible travelling to the airport. Without this additional support which above and beyond planned support the students quite simply would not have arrived in Tenerife.
  
  We strive for environmental sustainability
  
  Maria has been instrumental in drawing up a full list of One Day Field trips this year to ensure that we can more proactively manage booking coaches. She has spotted some efficiencies where smaller coaches could be used because of smaller numbers thus directly reducing the environmental impact. She is also instrumental in making sure that with the exception of Field Trips out of the UK transport is as sustainable as possible with many groups travelling via train to their destinations e.g. Newcastle and Edinburgh. This often requires a level of support that is a step above booking a coach. She is also involved in the earlier stages of planning transport to more sustainable destinations via more sustainable transport in AY 2024/25.
  
  We are a friendly and helpful community
  
  In all her input to Field Trips Maria has demonstrated her enormous people skills in managing staff expectations and liaising with a variety of external partners. This can often prove quite challenging but Maria remains patient, positive and helpful in maintaining those relationships and is calm under pressure. She uses a similar approach to student enquiries. Field trips are a real team effort and Maria’s knowledge and practicality mean that the staff delivering the trips can focus on delivering the best possible experience for students on the trip.
  
  We are curious and always learning
  
  Maria uses her previous experience as a scientist to inform the orginisation and operational support needed for a huge variety of students. This knowledge means she can foresee problems and means that she has an excellent understanding of the teaching and learning outcomes of the trips themselves. Maria also is confident at suggesting different ways of doing things i.e. tweaking itineraries, changing accommodation, and general advice to staff which ensures that we remain on budget and make the trips as effective as possible. Ghana was another example where we delivered support for a field trip which was new and hugely challenging and again Maria brought resourcefulness and patience in ensuring that the staff could deliver such a complex trip.
  

• During the 2022/23 academic year, Maria has worked tirelessly to ensure all Environment & Geography field trips have been well organised and smooth running. She has dedicated most of her working hours, often more, to ensure students and staff get the best possible experience and I believe she has delivered an outstanding service over and above the duties required.
  
  The Field Trip portfolio for 2022/3 includes approximately 30 daytrips as well as UK residential and international trips, many of which are complex and challenging to organise.
  The international trip to Ghana in particular has taken much of Maria’s time and expertise in arranging accommodation that could be booked and paid for in £/GBP. Maria went over and above her duties to identify a way to arrange this, alongside ensuring arrangements for the large cohort of students on the Tenerife trip were in place. This was an extremely busy period for Maria and she often dealt with last minute changes, for example quickly arranging coach travel to airports for students who had originally booked train tickets when the rail strikes coincided with the Tenerife departure date ensuring travel arrangements for all students was accounted for.
  
  During the period January to March 2023, the Student Services Team became short staffed which meant another member of the team who helps Maria with Field Trips became unavailable. Maria works part time, but it is to her absolute credit that she managed to deliver such an outstanding service with only one other member of the team available, often on an ad hoc basis, to help with travel bookings and purchase orders.
  
  Maria is an excellent member of the Student Services Team who works hard to deliver a high-quality service to staff and students. In a fast-paced area of work such as Field Trips, where she is working on several complex trips at one time, Maria barely gets an opportunity to recognise the hard work and dedication she has put into each trip. I am therefore nominating Maria to show not only my own appreciation but that a Making The Difference Award will evidence to her the Department’s recognition that she has worked beyond her duties to deliver this service.
  
  Maria has a good understanding of how her work contributes to the Department's core values and demonstrates this in her day to day work, some examples of which are provided below:
  
  1. We are inclusive and embrace our diversity
  
  Maria is understanding and considerate of the different needs of students and staff, providing excellent individual support to ensure the best possible field trip is experienced. She has supported students for a variety of reasons including disability, neurodiversity, gender and financial situations. She delivers information to staff and students in a timely manner, which helps them to plan ahead for their journeys and arrange other work around the trips. This is particularly helpful to students who experience difficulties in planning for assessment deadlines.
  
  Maria has arranged travel and accommodation to facilitate a seamless experience for students with disabilities who may otherwise have experienced difficulties. For example, Maria worked with coach companies to ensure accessible coaches were used, and identified students who have support plans then worked with them to identify adjustments that may be required such as individual room accommodation.
  
  A number of students on the Tenerife Field Trip module faced genuine financial difficulties which meant they were unable to pay for their flights up front. Due to Maria’s diligence, these students were supported by the department and able to attend the Field Trip.
  
  2. We make a positive difference
  
  I consider that Maria has provided an outstanding example to the Student Services Team in how to work collaboratively with academic and student services colleagues to ensure all trips were organised efficiently. She managed this with positivity and enthusiasm despite facing unexpected situations such as short staffing, industrial action by rail companies and unexpected student requests. Maria's friendly and professional approach has benefitted the team in a huge way, as colleagues learning from each other is such an important factor of team development. I am sure colleagues, as do I, find it a pleasure to work with Maria.
  
  3. We strive for environmental sustainability
  
  Maria always checks to ensure the most efficient use of transport possible is being used. For example, part way through the academic year, she was given the one-day field trips to work on, alongside the residential trips. Rather than just accepting what had already been ordered, Maria checked all coaches against student numbers and was able to reduce impact by ordering smaller coaches where possible.
  
  Despite being short of time due to staff shortages, Maria is always thoughtful when booking travel and accommodation and makes suggestions to staff who request bookings where she can identify a journey that would have less impact on the environment.
  
  4. We are a friendly and helpful community
  
  Maria has excellent interpersonal skills and sets an example to the whole Student Services Team when communicating with staff, students and external contacts. She demonstrates an extremely positive and professional manner, which enables her to build robust relationships with others. She has dealt with many challenging enquiries from students and always responds in a helpful, reassuring way ensuring questions are answered thoroughly.
  
  Accommodation for the Ghana trip proved difficult to arrange due to payment in £/GBP not being accepted. Despite this creating a large amount of work for Maria, she remained positive, enthusiastic and determined, while maintaining a good working relationship with the module leader and accommodation providers.
  
  5. We are curious and always learning
  
  Maria is keen to expand her knowledge, not only of Field Trips but in all areas of Student Services administration. She is proactive and forward thinking, having an excellent ability to identify potential problems in advance and suggest ways to prevent them happening. Maria has discussed with me where she can see potential improvements to processes, such as requesting information on day trips in advance of the next academic year rather than assuming the same trips would happen, arranging meetings with field trip module leaders to ensure all arrangements are in place and making sure international accommodation is always booked through travel agents to prevent having to spend excess time working on this.
  
  

• For the past two years Maria has gone above and beyond to support the organisation of numerous fieldtrips, including two that I convene. She is a vital component in ensuring their success in bringing our pedagogical vision to life and in ensuring all our students have a positive and memorable experience. In addition she's always there to help respond to emergency requests regarding illness, transportation and accommodation, ensuring that the teaching team can continue to deliver the course.
  
  Maria handles all the logistics of the trips which requires hours of negotiations between staff, students, venues and service providers. Despite the many challenges involved, she always does this with a smile and can do attitude. It's this team work and support that is hugely appreciated by the teaching team and the students.
  
  To ensure we are able to deliver programmes that are fully inclusive for all our students, Maria provides substantial student liaison during the planning process, to ensure key needs are fully understood and met at our various venues. She's been vital in our development of understanding how we can better meet the changing needs of our students.
  
  She's an absolute credit to the department

Nominations:

• Rachel has really stepped up to support the team when we have been under huge pressure and feeling under resourced due to staff sickness recently. With the field trips she has taken on a large proportion of the extra tasks that have fallen our way due to train strikes and changes in academic staff on trip. Communicating with staff and students to arrange alternative transport, airport transfers, hotels and extra purchases. We really couldn't have managed with her help and support- and willingness these last few months. Rachel remains calm and helps us keep us in good spirits in the office and her abilities and support far exceed her role description. Rachel's Spanish skills (not part of her job description) have been immensely useful with the planning of the Tenerife trip in terms of communicating with transport companies there. Rachel is such an asset to the team and always goes the extra mile for the department - staff and students. She deserves to be recognised as someone in the department who truly does 'Make a Difference!' every day.

• In the last year Rachel has become more and more confident in her role. She is very quiet and so it is easy to miss the extra work Rachel is doing to support her colleagues and the environment.
  
  Rachel has done an excellent job this year at supporting her colleagues in the Student Services Team when they have been struggling with their workload. Maria has reported that Rachel's support during field trips made all the difference in helping Maria to organise and support the trips. Rachel has also supported events such as the pizza events and we received thanks and praise for this good work from academic members of staff who were attended. Rachel always has a smile and is always willing to help with any task and event.

Nominations:

• I have been extremely impressed with the professionalism and approach Dean Waters makes to our Department in the work he does around visit days and helping track admissions and recruitment of students. The open days are extremely well organised - its easy for staff to come in and showcase our work and the days have clear flow and welcoming feel. Much of the comments by potential students are that we come across as a cohesive and friendly community. This is of course a reflection of many involved, but Dean brings a quality that really adds to how the open days feel, and not just how they run. Dean exemplifies how we can make a positive difference, that we are friendly and welcoming, and how we try to continuously learn how we can make things better. I highly recommend him for an award

• Dean has been running our admissions and the POV days for the last few years with great success. He has taken the delivery of the POV days to a whole new level in terms of professionalism, friendliness, efficiency and enjoyment for our guests. Feedback from our visitors is always positive. The role often includes sacrificing Saturdays. In the truest sense of the word, Dean has really been making a difference.

• Dean has been exemplary in his role as Open Day organiser. There are a large number of things to organise on any individual visit day (some of which need to be changed at the last minute, e.g. through staff issues, covid) and Dean oversees these in a calm, professional and friendly manner. As a result, visitors to the Department often tell us what a relaxed and friendly department we are. It is, however, only possible for us to be relaxed and friendly, because everything has been so well organised beforehand. Dean also has an excellent manner with our visitors, so the tone of the visits is always just right. For these reasons, Dean exemplifies two of our core values: 'Making a positive difference' and 'We are a friendly and helpful community'.

Nominations:

• Tamsyn has done some excellent work improving the GTA process. Her approach has always been to make the process as fair as possible for all parties. She has tackled some difficult sticking points in the process with sensitivity, spending time listening to people's points of view and being respectful to all involved. Her GTA briefing document creation was incredibly innovative and useful, as well as her suggestions of anonymising the GTA recruitment process to make sure we are being as inclusive as possible. It has been a joy to work with her; she is a well-liked and respected colleague who treats everyone with respect in a friendly and professional manner. Her work on the GTA process will affect a large amount of staff and students alike.

Nominations:

• Colin is often the first colleague to put his name down for volunteering. This year he has been volunteering for all four of the POV days, which is well above and beyond what is to be expected. Colin always makes positive contributions to departmental matters and is always a safe pair of hands, whatever the job in hand is, and he has done most of the jobs in the department at one time or another. He quietly goes about his daily duties, but his overall impact on the student experience through the years has been immeasurable. Colin is a super colleague who truly embodies our core values.

Nominations:

• Both Lucy and Chloe have been excellent support to me in my first month in my new role. Being brand new to the University, they have both helped me greatly to settle in and to feel part of the team. Despite heavy workloads and time pressures, they have both taken the time to support me, and this generosity does not go unnoticed. They are both a credit to the Department, thanks to their friendliness and helpfulness. Thank you, both!

Nominations:

• I am nominating Marco and Lluis for going above and beyond to make the department’s final trip to Tenerife such a success. Despite being unable to travel, Marco organised and coordinated all the activities and site visits, and made himself available day and night to provide support from York during the trip. Lluis assisted with pre-trip logistics, organised all the transport while in Tenerife, and worked late into every evening supporting student projects, despite a looming thesis submission deadline, greatly helping to foster a sense of team and cohort community. Field trips like these often form the most abiding memories of a student’s time with us, and both Marco and Lluis were no doubt instrumental in helping to form these memories...... and both can pronounce ‘capacitación’.

Nominations:

• Suzanne has gone above and beyond the standard duties of a GTA in order to support and ensure the success of the the LCF fieldtrip, both in terms of planning and in facilitation of workshops on the trip. When I had to pull out of the trip it meant that there was no other member of the teaching team trained to lead the specialist 3 Horizons workshops on which the learning for the module is based. Suzanne took on additional hours to work with me to co-design 5 days worth of workshop activities that she could then lead on the trip. Suzanne is a self funded PhD student paying international fees. She contributes in so many ways to the department including with the PhD student wellbeing group and acting as an amazing ambassador at various events.

• Suzanne acted as a GTA on the Low Carbon Futures Module. At short notice, the module lead was unable to attend due to health reasons. Suzanne, as the only one on the module with expertise of facilitating the process being used, stepped in to help and led much of the training with the students. While there were other academic staff present, my understanding is that what Suzanne took on board (and who delivered the work with excellence) was well above and beyond the call of duty. She made a huge (and positive) difference to students and staff, did this well and with respect and friendliness, and showed her ability to embrace the opportunity as one for learning. Without Suzanne, and the qualities and positive attitude she brought to this, it would have been very difficult to work with the challenges we faced as a Department.