About the Outstanding Staff, Workgroup, & Kindness Recipients for 2020

Learn about 2020 Outstanding Staff, Workgroup & Kindness Awards.

Outstanding Staff Award

Sergio De La Cruz

Sergio De La Cruz current Technical Analyst 2 at the UNM School of Architecture and Planning. Started his Computer Tech Career after graduating High School in 2008 at the town of Loving, New Mexico. First job was at a Call Center where he provided Tech Support and Sales over the Phone. Graduated with an Associates in Digital Arts and Video Game Animation from the New Mexico State University at Carlsbad, New Mexico (NMSU-C) in 2010. Throughout his education path, Sergio learned all the skills required to build computers and troubleshoot both software/hardware. Moved to Albuquerque, NM in 2010 to continue his education at the University of New Mexico. He graduated in 2014 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) in Interdisciplinary Film and Digital Media. His first job after Graduation was with Adelante Document Imaging. He was a Scanner Operator where he worked in Image Quality Control as well as Computer and Scanner Technician. Sergio was given the Opportunity to join the UNM community in 2017 as a Support Tech III at the School of Architecture and Planning (SAAP). He helped maintain the equipment inside the SAAP Computer Lab and help staff and students with all their computer problems. A year and a half later, his manager decided to resign and Sergio was given the opportunity to step to the position he currently holds. Sergio enjoys helping students, staff, and faculty at SAAP with all their computer needs. He maintains all the equipment in the building, including computers, printers, and servers. His passion will always be helping others succeed, working with computers, and 3D Animation.

Christine Sraha

Christine Sraha is the Operations Manager for Business and Finance at the College of University Libraries & Learning Sciences. She has been a UNM employee for the past 20 years in a variety of positions, and is lucky to be part of such a wonderful community. She holds a Master’s in Accounting from UNM.

Olivia Torres Jjola

Olivia's information will be posted soon!

Kindness Award

Mariah Harrison

Mariah has worked at UNM for 15 years and has a passion for helping UNM and the greater Abq community find ways to connect. Being at UNM, on the board of three nonprofits, and running a nonprofit speaker series has brought her joy and relationships that she deeply values. In both her full time job and volunteer roles she serves to support her colleagues in finding resources, promoting equity of voices, and creating programs and experiences that lift up our community. She is a NM native, CrossFitter, and locavore. **Personal note: The timing of this award is bittersweet - after many proud years of being a Lobo staff member, I am taking a new position in Mayor Keller's office. I want to express my thanks to Dr. Monica Kowal for this nomination and her incredible vision for Community Engagement. My gratitude also goes out to my colleagues and students across campus - you are ever-inspiring and the work you do DOES make an impact. It's been a joy to earn from you.

Outstanding Workgroup Award

The Executive & Professional Education Center

The Executive & Professional Education Center’s (EPEC) motto is “building tomorrow's leaders by providing high quality educational resources to New Mexico's business community.” The EPEC workgroup has seven full-time staff members and six student employees.

EPEC is a unique department within main campus in that it serves students and participants in the spring, summer, and fall semesters from throughout the state six to seven days a week and from the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., depending on the week.

The workgroup serves nontraditional students and community members and is divided into the academic unit and the noncredit unit.

The academic unit serves the Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) and the Master of Business Administration in Education Leadership (MBAED). The EMBA is designed for New Mexico’s emerging, transition, and senior business leaders. As one of two cohort-based programs in the Anderson School of Management, the EMBA program is ranked #74 globally through CEO Ratings and has gained international recognition for customer service and diversity.

The EMBA program serves between 80-90 students during the fall and spring and 120-130 students in the summer months.

The MBAED is the only MBA in Education Leadership program in the country. It teaches business principals and business leadership skills to K-12 public and private educators, nonprofit and higher education professionals. The program serves 40-50 students in the fall and spring and 50-60 students in the summer.

Another component of EPEC is the Career and Professional Development (CPD) and Custom programs. CPD provides a variety of noncredit programs to a network of like-minded, high-achieving individuals taught by ASM faculty and field expert instructors who integrate personal experience and applied research. The goal of the noncredit programs is to expand a professional’s current competencies and develop new skills.

In addition to offering on-campus noncredit offerings, EPEC provides Custom trainings for some of the largest businesses and organizations in New Mexico including Nusenda Credit Union, Sandia National Labs, New Mexico Mutual, Fidelity Investments, CHRISTUS St. Vincent, various UNM and HSC departments, to name a few.