Debbie Sarna, who works in the Registrar’s Office at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, has been named the recipient of the December STAR Award.

She was nominated by Rebecca Habeck, who works in the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department at UW Oshkosh.

Sarna’s nomination follows:

“Debbie Sarna is so deserving of a STAR Award! She always goes above and beyond helping our department process retro credit forms. We have been using LEAN to streamline the process and she’s helped me improve the efficiency of processing 1000+ forms from two weeks for my predecessor to about two hours! This also helped support the University’s commitment to sustainability because it reduced the bi-annual project from using six reams of paper to almost paperless. She is always friendly, helpful, and student-centered. She’s willing to help answer questions, even if they’re outside her area of expertise.”

Other comments from Lisa Danielson and co-workers:

“Debbie is a dedicated, detail oriented, highly valued and highly respected employee. She sincerely cares about the University as a whole and especially about the Registrar’s Office and its commitment to upholding data integrity and University policies.

“Debbie maintains a high level of professionalism in her interactions with all students and staff. She provides excellent customer service to students, alumni, and staff and is more than willing to go beyond what her job requires. On more than one occasion she has worked late to assist frantic alumni who were in immediate need of their official transcript or replacement diploma, but were unable to come in prior to closing time.

“Debbie is a very loyal and respected co-worker. For several weeks she unselfishly provided a temporarily-disabled staff member with transportation to and from work. An act that, not only took her out of her way, but also added 20 minutes on to her already 50-minute commute from Manawa.

“Outside her work at UWO, Debbie devotes much of her time volunteering. For several years, she has organized and directed the Manawa Snodeo, which raises funds for Waupaca County snowmobile trails, Manawa area families in financial need, and scholarships. Recently, she spearheaded the organization of a group of Manawa area residents to build a Veterans memorial park: Manawa Area Veterans Freedom Park. Debbie is a true asset to UW Oshkosh.”

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