Episode 38 - Support Staff Council

[00:00:11] Speaker A: Welcome to Kendall speaks. I'm Dr. Brian Stewart, Kendall campus president. And today we have four very distinguished members of our campus, our support staff council. Welcome to Kendall Speaks, guys. [00:00:26] Speaker B: Thank you. It's great to be here. [00:00:30] Speaker A: We first have Precious Pugh, our president. Welcome. [00:00:33] Speaker C: Thank you. How you guys doing? [00:00:34] Speaker A: Dennis Edelman. [00:00:36] Speaker B: Hello, everyone. [00:00:37] Speaker A: Peter Molina. Hello. [00:00:38] Speaker D: Hello. [00:00:39] Speaker A: And Vanessa Rivera. [00:00:40] Speaker E: Hi. [00:00:40] Speaker A: All three members of the committee. Precious, let's first start with you. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to the Kendall campus first. [00:00:48] Speaker C: Okay. So I came to the Kendall campus back in 2018. Started off as a part timer in events and rentals when Covid happened. Enjoy that. Free time off. Came back, didn't we? All got put in custodial services under new administration, got promoted to full time, Been doing that, been rocking that department ever since. And when the opportunity came to be a part of support staff council took that a hand. And I'm the office specialist for campus support services at the MDC Kendall campus. [00:01:24] Speaker A: So you're a success story that's worked your way up to a full time position. [00:01:27] Speaker C: Yes. [00:01:27] Speaker B: All right. [00:01:27] Speaker A: That's wonderful. Peter, tell us a little bit about your journey and your time here at the college. [00:01:33] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, it's been fantastic. I started in 2022. I've been with Dean Vasquez in the Dean of Students office now this whole time and truly enjoy every moment of it. I mean, working under her, she's honestly a leader, a role model and somebody that actually pushed me and guided me to come to support staff council as well. And it really and truly was the best decision working with her, working with the department and working with this that we have here today. Really influential and just awesome people that we love to work with every day. [00:02:00] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think our audience is going to hear how great a team they are as we go through our questions. Vanessa, tell us a little bit about your journey to the college. [00:02:06] Speaker E: So I started in 2014 as part time. [00:02:09] Speaker A: Okay. Veteran here. [00:02:11] Speaker E: It was both CNS and media services combined. And I've been. I was part time and then I was promoted to full time and I'm a part of an amazing team. We take care of the photography, the videography, events, graphics, emails, and it's been great. [00:02:30] Speaker A: Okay, glad to have you. [00:02:31] Speaker B: Such an awesome team. You guys do such great work. [00:02:33] Speaker E: Thank you. [00:02:34] Speaker A: And finally we have a returner to our podcast. Dennis, welcome back. And tell us a little bit about yourself again, if you would. [00:02:39] Speaker B: Well, I first came to Miami Dadekandoll College back in the mid-80s. I was actually A student here for several years and now when I walk around the campus, I keep expecting to run into my younger ghost because every place is full of memories. So I started here though in a full time position in the library as a library instructor in 2018. Prior to that, I had been at the University of Miami for 15 years in the law library before coming to MDC. And MDC is better. I'm going to put that on the record right now. The time I've been here, I have enjoyed much more at um, so it's the place to be. [00:03:15] Speaker A: All right, well, let's go around the table and talk a little bit about what. What encouraged you to join the support staff council. And Dennis, we'll start with you. [00:03:22] Speaker B: Well, the term that is often used in the library is voluntold. And that's kind of what happened. I was approach approached by my library director, Jennifer Dipty, and she said, look, we need you to be on the sports of council. And as I always do, I said, yeah, sure, of course I'll do that. You know, whatever you say, boss, I'm the guy. But it turned out to be a fantastic volunteer because I have absolutely enjoyed being a part of this group. The things that we do, the activities, the support that we give. So I'm like, voluntel me for anything because it's all good ideas here. [00:03:55] Speaker A: And just so the audience knows, you might have been serving as a role as Santa Helper today a little bit before now. Well, [00:04:03] Speaker B: maybe just a little. [00:04:04] Speaker A: Maybe just a little. Vanessa, tell us what interests you in this organization. [00:04:08] Speaker E: The idea was brought to me by my previous boss and I immediately was encouraged to do it because for my role, I'm pretty much in the office a lot. So it gave me the opportunity to kind of meet people face to face that I email back and forth with on a daily basis. So that's what interested me the most. [00:04:27] Speaker A: That's great, Peter. [00:04:28] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, so I was introduced to support staff through Dean Vasquez. And at first I was, okay, this is something cool. But once I got to meet everybody, I mean, it really does make it something that's fun, something that's enjoyable. But my favorite part about it, without a doubt is just being able to, you know, meet new people every day. You get to connect with people. When someone finds out that you're in support staff, they come up to you and ask a ton of questions. And in that you get to find out a lot about yourself and how you communicate with others and, you know, just being there and supporting the support staff that we do have here at the Kendall campus. [00:04:58] Speaker A: That's great. [00:04:58] Speaker B: No, it's definitely true. [00:05:00] Speaker A: And last but not least, President Precious Pugh. What encouraged you to be that role and then be on this council and lead it? [00:05:08] Speaker C: I was heavily encouraged and I am going to throw the names out there by Amanda Munoz and Ms. Christina Mateo because they believe in me and I appreciate that because I do have leadership qualities that I play down. And honestly, I feel like possibly being a part of the support staff Council has brought me to the forefront where, yes, a lot of people have found me and figured out who I am. They've heard of my name, they've heard me over the phone, but they never got to see me. But now they see me. So, yeah, with Amanda and Ms. Mateo actually believing in me to be the president of all the things. Yeah, it made me feel good. That's good and inspiring. [00:05:51] Speaker A: It's kinda like what Vanessa said, you kind of get out of the office and get to be a part of things. Well, while we're talking, Precious, talk a little bit about the Student Support Staff Council and its mission and you know, what it's all about for those that may not be familiar with it. [00:06:04] Speaker C: Okay. So the Support Staff Council is a group of pretty much full time staff that works at Miami Dade College and they're dedicated to representing all of the full time staff at the campus. So. And we're all part of. It's college wide, so it's not just at Kendall, it's at North Campus, Medical, Padrone, Hialeah, all the campuses. So. And our mission is to enhance the communication between all staff members, provide professional development opportunities and ensure that our staff's concerns are heard. Because a lot of the times places you work, people don't feel heard. And that's pretty much the premises that the support Staff Council was built around when it first originally started. So people that are working for MDC can be heard if they have any questions, if they have any concerns, if they want to have the professional development opportunities to be promoted. It's all wrapped up in support staff councils. Any questions? Even if I feel like the support staff Council is a great opportunity, even though it's only for full timers, because we do have a lot of part timers, but it's pretty much we're just here to support every full timer that has concerns and questions. [00:07:19] Speaker A: That's great. Peter, how does the council work to support and represent staff across departments? And then how do you gather feedback too? [00:07:26] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, so we connect the staff through Open forums, surveys. We're constantly sending out some emails and just reminders as well as departmental visits and one on one conversations. I will say the one on one conversations is probably our biggest, you know, way of being able to speak to everyone and just get that advocacy that we do need. As far as when it comes to those, the support staff that we have here on campus, which is a large group, these touch points, they do help us identify concerns, celebrate success and bring a unified staff, you know, perspective to the campus. Just like you said earlier, we did have Santa pay a visit today and even in that aspect, Santa was there and you know, advocating for what we do and what we are trying to bring to the campus and do for our staff and you know, those that, you know, pour themselves into this campus. So it's just, it's a great thing. [00:08:11] Speaker A: You know, I think it's important what you said about being approachable and one on one because we're so big. And that's one of the things in my short time here that I've. I see is that we are very approachable and I hope the you guys can help people know that, that it's easy to go talk to people. [00:08:25] Speaker D: Absolutely. [00:08:25] Speaker A: Dennis, let's talk about some of the accomplishments and initiatives you're proud of. [00:08:29] Speaker B: So when I think of the ones that I'm most proud of, well, first I'm proud of all of them. We have had fantastic turnouts, fantastic feedback, as Peter was saying. And again, getting known, getting our names out there, getting that facial recognition, then people know they can approach us other places. And I've experienced that too. And it's been really rewarding in that regard. But some of the events that we've done that have been most successful now because it's the holidays and during the holidays something that the support staff council loves to do and this is going to be our third, third year in a row, is support the campus Holiday Toy drive. We have partnered with Toys for Tots for the second year in a row. And we have collection boxes located in three places on campus where anyone, faculty, staff or students can donate. And this is something that I'm really proud of because I'm in a location where two of the donation boxes are, that's Learning Resources building two on the first floor and the second floor you'll find the boxes. I'm there all day, I'm doing my thing and I see members from all aspects of our MDC community. Students making donations, staff making donations, custodial making donations, faculty coming in. So this is something Everyone responds to. Last year, we ended with a total of 136 items donated. These are unwrapped toys. [00:09:39] Speaker A: 100 kids. [00:09:40] Speaker B: 136. Yeah. And that was a shorter period than this year. This year already we're at 93. And I'm hoping when we hit that last deadline of December 16, that we have blown last year's numbers away. But that is something that always makes me proud. [00:09:56] Speaker C: Yeah. We also recently had the Lunch and Learn series with Brandon Castro from CIOL to help staff learn more about AI since my MDC does have the copilot. So Brandon from ciol, we had a room. He showed us how we can work efficiently and make email sending easier by having copilot do it. Thanks, Brandon. [00:10:19] Speaker B: And helping us get over or maybe help me get over my AI phobia. That was a big thing. [00:10:25] Speaker C: And then the other event that I felt was a great accomplishment was Dennis idea for the de stress with pets. [00:10:32] Speaker A: Yes. [00:10:32] Speaker C: That was great. We had so many people coming out and playing with the puppies. We was able to actually donate to the Humane Society that brought the pets out. So that was a great turnout. We hope to do it again. [00:10:44] Speaker A: I think Wasn't it didn't have to bring a can or something to be. [00:10:47] Speaker B: They had to bring. Yeah. Some donation or a monetary donation. But it would work either way. [00:10:53] Speaker A: That line was incredible. Those students were so excited. And staff. Not just students. [00:10:57] Speaker C: A lot of people did say it relaxed them and calmed them. [00:10:59] Speaker A: Sure. [00:11:00] Speaker B: Just a few minutes with a puppy in your arms. It makes all the difference. [00:11:04] Speaker A: You know, I've thought about offering a class with dogs in it. Teaching a math class that dogs are in the classroom. But, you know, people have allergies. But I'd love to. That's one of my pipe dreams one day to do that. [00:11:16] Speaker B: That's such a great idea. Yes. [00:11:17] Speaker A: We'll work on that. Let's go around the table here. What's one initiative that you like to expand or introduce to the future? Vanessa, we'll start with you, if you don't mind me putting you on the spot. [00:11:26] Speaker E: One initiative would be probably to involve CIOL and creating workshops. I know there was something that you mentioned before about like shadowing a different department if you want to, like, develop in a different area or, you know, if you're curious. I think that's something I think more people should have the opportunity to do. [00:11:46] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll follow up on that. That's something we wanted to do and things kind of happen. But we can still make that happen. I appreciate you Bringing that up, because that's an important one. [00:11:56] Speaker C: Yeah, I signed up for it. I signed up for that. [00:11:59] Speaker A: You know, we were going to do a professional development thing, but we could just have that. You know, a lot of high schools have a principal for a day kind of thing, and we could. We'll look into that. I appreciate you bringing that up. Anybody else have anything you'd like to suggest? Peter? [00:12:12] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. So I was actually just thinking about this today. I would love to work on something with networking. So we went. We had our Christmas event, like we had this morning or our holiday event today. And I was seeing so many faces that I just haven't. I've never spoken to. And I think networking and just making sure that we can just get everybody to kind of get to know each other. I feel like we speak to. Like Vanessa was saying earlier, we speak to so many people on a daily basis, and yet we don't know who they are. And I think networking and truly getting to go face to face, there's nothing like that. That face value. [00:12:40] Speaker C: You know, I would take that and combine that with an idea that Stuart had. Do a networking event in the environmental center. That'd be great because he. He likes the environment. [00:12:50] Speaker A: I do. [00:12:50] Speaker B: And it would reintroduce it because a lot of people really aren't aware. Yeah. And again, talking about de stress, just being able to go there and walk through it, walk through the greenhouses, walk through those grounds. It is so beautiful and amazing over here. [00:13:02] Speaker C: I was actually networking event with mocktails. [00:13:05] Speaker A: There we go. I was at the environment center last night, and today we just dedicated the new free library up there. It's really cool. [00:13:11] Speaker B: The free little library. [00:13:12] Speaker A: It's funny, Peter, your. Your comment. Both you guys have great ideas. We should have done this long ago. Today a couple people in Building 9 on the second floor came up to me and said, hey, I want to introduce myself. You've seen my name. And they were so happy to be at our event today. And we do that all the time. We bring them to our hamburger stuff. So that's. That's a good idea is to. To maybe engage some of those district folks. And thanks for that. All right, precious, what's the one idea, or did you already mention yours that you'd like to do? You mentioned a couple there. [00:13:40] Speaker C: Oh, what I do. Well, because since I get to sit with all the other campus presidents and since Kendall is a big beast and hearing all the little campuses do their little stuff, and I'm like, God, I want to do that if we were able to do a medical campus, did it. They had like a. A waffle buffet. Oh, yes, A waffle buffet in Fred Shaw would be nice. Get a waffle, powdered sugar, fruits on it and mingle. [00:14:11] Speaker A: So waffle. My wife did that at her school and she blew out the plug. So you got connections. Let's have our custodial team check the plugs out and we could maybe make that happen when it cools off. Dennis, anything you'd like to. [00:14:25] Speaker B: Yeah, what I'd kind of like to see is if we could expand some of our offerings to include a little bit more with the part time staff members too, because they absolutely give their 110% alongside the full time and many of them would love to be full time, you know, when those opportunities might open up. So maybe including them a little bit more in some of these things can help prepare that or smooth that way or just make them feel, you know, seen and included and acknowledged. [00:14:49] Speaker D: And that's actually a great idea to bridge the gap between part time and becoming, you know, full time. They get to meet these people, they get to network with them and then you never know. You build a connection with somebody and you're like, hey, I'd love to have this person work with me on a daily basis. So. [00:15:00] Speaker C: And you. [00:15:00] Speaker D: It's a great way to connect. [00:15:01] Speaker A: Part timer, you're an example of part time. Anybody else? [00:15:04] Speaker B: And Vanessa, didn't you start as part time? [00:15:06] Speaker A: See, so those are, those are, hey, four great ideas. I'm so glad I asked that question. I'm going to combine the next two questions, if you don't mind. What are some of the superpowers that you see with our support staff and then maybe if you know, a funny or memorable moment that you'd like, want to highlight. Yeah. [00:15:21] Speaker D: I mean, if you want me, I can take this on. [00:15:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:15:22] Speaker D: So when it comes to superpowers, I mean, I think everyone that works at Kendall campus, it's adaptability that should be the number one superpower that everyone has because things are constantly changing. Like Precious said, this campus is huge. So just being able to be adaptable and be able to be multiple and just being able to put a hand in this and a hand in that and just being able to really give it your all, but making sure that everybody's doing the same as well. So that adaptability, I think is a superpower that I've seen everyone in this room have. And it's just the ability to pivot in emergency situations, to problem solve problems. Just making sure. That the campus is running smoothly, and no matter what, they're prepared for what comes their way. And if they're not prepared, you're adaptable to be able to adjust and, you know, move forward. [00:16:02] Speaker A: So anything funny or memorable that comes to mind or. [00:16:05] Speaker D: Yeah, funny would be probably the first day that we all met. So I remember sitting in that room, [00:16:10] Speaker C: there was so many questions of what is support staffing? [00:16:15] Speaker D: Yeah. So I think there was a common theme of, you know, being voluntold, like Dennis was saying. But, I mean, at the end of the day, it brought us together. [00:16:23] Speaker C: Yeah. It wasn't voluntary. It was like a little, like, it was a nudge, a shove in the right direction. [00:16:29] Speaker A: Well, you all know that you wouldn't have been selected had there not been some skill that your supervisors. [00:16:33] Speaker D: You're not wrong about that. [00:16:34] Speaker A: So it's true. It's a very not wrong about that. Yeah. [00:16:37] Speaker C: And I do get a lot done. [00:16:38] Speaker D: But, yeah, definitely funny would be that first meeting, we're just looking at each other like, hey, so what's this? And honestly, it's blossomed ever since then, and our relationships have as well. So it's been. It's been great. [00:16:47] Speaker C: Honestly, when you think about it, it's like they pick the right departments, all the right departments. You have campus support services, you have student center, you have media, you have the library, the main part. So, yeah, we do. [00:17:01] Speaker B: It's super facilitating because we all kind of lock into place, and we all take a different piece of the puzzle or whatever activity we're doing, and we all cover that, and that's how we bring it together. [00:17:11] Speaker A: Vanessa, what superpower and memorable moment you got? You got one. [00:17:14] Speaker E: I think a superpower would be positivity, because sometimes the changes are not always positive. And by keeping ourselves positive, we can. We can, you know, share that and kind of help others get through whatever changes might be happening at the moment. [00:17:31] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think budget's an example of that. I think all of you have been in and done a great job. High five for that. If I could give it to you. Anything funny that comes to mind. We can come back to you if you think of something. All right, Dennis, you're up. [00:17:44] Speaker B: I think a big superpower that all of our staff really have, again we've mentioned it before, is the approachability, particularly those of us who are student facing and being open and accessible. Friendly face that says, I can help you. Step right up to me. Come and see. On my name tag, it says students first. And those aren't just words here I think it's not just something we say, it's something we live. And I see that in all of my colleagues, all of my staff, too, when dealing with students. And I think that really makes all the difference. [00:18:11] Speaker A: Anything funny or memorable? [00:18:13] Speaker B: Well, definitely memorable. I think the second event that we did, which was kind of like a lunch and learn with Ciol, it was very early on, and people were looking at us like, you know, who are you? And. And what is this? And we kind of were starting from this position of, like, all being strangers in the room. Yeah. But by the end of just that one event, already we saw that change of. We were all talking, we were all connecting. People as they were leaving, were shaking hands and saying, this was great. I got so much out of this. And of course, the food was delicious. So, yeah, that was just such a cool moment because it's like, yeah, we can do this. Hey, guys. We can. [00:18:48] Speaker A: That's great. Precious, I'm going to start calling you Triple P. President Precious. Q. Triple P. I think that's a cool nickname. Triple P in the house. Triple P, what's a memorable moment for you? And then maybe a superpower that you see. [00:19:01] Speaker C: A memorable moment for me was when I was asked if I wanted to be president, and I was just like, huh? What? Of what? And just being stuck in that moment of, why me? But to me, that was funny. Cause honestly, again, like I said, for me, I just always keep myself small, like a little ball, you know, out of the way. So to be like, hey, Precious, we want you in the forefront. Huh? Why no. What? Why no. But a superpower, I would have to agree with everybody here. We're adaptable. We accept change. We like when it comes to change, especially in my department, since we do setups. We're changing every second, every day, last minute, everything. And a lot of the times my name gets brought up in a lot of stuff. So, yeah, I know. I'm adaptable. Also, the superpower that Miami Dade has, or this pretty much Kendall campus is we really embody the whole bmdc. Like, we are here for our students. We are here for our staff. Shoot. We're here for even the strangers that aren't even taking classes that are just on the campus looking around. So, like, we. We touch the community when the community comes out. We recently had, what spooky night of Halloween. So many people from the communities. Oh, what are you guys having next? What's next? I love coming to all of your events. So it's like everybody here is just embodying the whole bmdc. And it's the adaptability, being able to deal with change, being able to just be there and being supportive of who you work with. And I feel like that's Miami Dade Kendall superpower. [00:20:41] Speaker A: Well said. I think a word that resonates to me is collaborate. And I think you guys are very collaborative. How do you collaborate with departments? Student life, administration? How do we try to collaborate with everyone and be there for everyone? [00:20:55] Speaker C: Now with student life, we haven't collaborated with them yet because supposedly with support staff, counselors, mainly for employees. But I do sometimes think when we have certain events, like how you had suggested with the jazz ensemble being out in front of Starbucks, that is nice. Hearing the nice live music bands playing when there's certain events. Cause I know sometimes student life has events where they'll go to a high school and get the high school band. I'd be like, MDC has a band. Get the MDC band. And I know since I do events all this week in K, the music department is having jazz concerts, the band [00:21:34] Speaker A: concerts, they're killing it. [00:21:35] Speaker C: So it's like, yeah, that would be great. We've done collaborated with CIOL for professional developments. It's just hard getting the people to get there. Read your emails. People read your emails. Like, not all emails are phishing or spam. Read them. We've also collaborated with your office when you pretty much helped us with our lunch and learn series, with our meet and greets and helping us collaborate with CIOL because you know, you had to tell us where we needed to go and who we needed to speak to because, you know, we have to collaborate with everyone. But yeah, I feel like working with the administration and pretty much when we collaborate with CIOL to do the professional development, it is reaching out to all departments. We let everybody know, come learn something. I know sometimes we may have food and that will pull people, but sometimes it's for the, the information and not the food. People, we learn a lot of stuff and it's good stuff that COL actually has for professional development that you can come do with us or just do in your office. [00:22:38] Speaker E: And I think another big department is learning Resources. And we're very lucky to have Dennis. [00:22:42] Speaker C: Yes. [00:22:43] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:22:43] Speaker B: Now I'm lucky, guys, because it's a two way street. It's mutual. What we're doing is we're building bridges between departments and then suddenly we're connected. I'm connected with your department, we're connected with yours. You're connected back with me and everything is flowing. We've stopped Being our little separate pockets, you know, and all doing our jobs and doing our jobs great. But as our as separate pockets and now we're more unified, it's more MDC universal because of that. Yeah. So every time we do something with some new group that is a door that is left open for good and for two way traffic flow, we get [00:23:16] Speaker A: out of those silos. And I think what's also important is the learning centers in the middle of the campus. And we've got great, you know, today was Fred Shaw Plaza right in the heart. So we've got great spaces and we've got more great spaces coming. That's a whole nother podcast I wanted to add. [00:23:31] Speaker E: Also meeting with you, Dr. Stewart, monthly is also a big help for us because a lot of we get a lot of questions or we're in limbo. We don't know what's going to happen with the budget and things like that. And I think meeting with you monthly [00:23:42] Speaker C: help it does because actually when you provide us information helps fill in certain holes where it's like, oh, okay, okay, okay. I don't have to guess or figure out. I was told exactly what I need to know. Okay. I feel, I feel good. [00:23:55] Speaker B: And helps us to fine tune when it's kind of a rough idea. You know, we're like spitballing and like we're just throwing this out here and you kind of help us refine, kind of narrow the focus. [00:24:03] Speaker A: I appreciate that. I'll send you a check in the mail. Let's talk about all your colleagues. I know one of the things we've talked about in our meetings is, you know, getting more people involved and that kind of thing. What are some of the suggestions? And maybe one is that everybody that listens to this podcast on the staff to understand and learn more about support, staff, counsel. But what are some of the ways we can help support you or your colleagues can help support you? [00:24:25] Speaker C: Okay, I'm going to go ahead and plug it in right here. You can always email us at SSC, Kindle, D.C. edu. [00:24:36] Speaker A: I didn't know that. [00:24:37] Speaker C: Yes, we have an email address and most likely you can search our names and find our extensions if you need to talk to us personally. [00:24:42] Speaker A: So maybe we get you some big pink shirts that you have to. No. [00:24:46] Speaker B: Well, we do have our red shirts. [00:24:48] Speaker D: Oh yeah. [00:24:48] Speaker B: That we wear at events. Yeah. And we do have the pins. [00:24:51] Speaker C: Oh yeah. [00:24:52] Speaker B: That show off. So when we're at some other event that's supporting it, you know, we're recognizable. [00:24:57] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. I mean and colleagues as well. What they can do is they can attend our events. You know, we do try to host some events and we do send out those emails with Vanessa's help. We do, you know, let the staff know what's going on because then at these events they can share their feedback with us. You know, they can even volunteer for some initiatives as well if they want to become more involved with, you know, the community. [00:25:15] Speaker C: Just an event. [00:25:16] Speaker D: 100. [00:25:18] Speaker C: What would you like to see at MDC? [00:25:20] Speaker B: Yeah. What would help your department that we can facilitate? [00:25:23] Speaker D: Yeah, I guess overall message is the best support would be collaboration, just everybody collaborating, being, you know, unified. [00:25:28] Speaker C: And send an email. You know, we might be busy, it may take a little while for us to get back. But send that email, ask that question. [00:25:35] Speaker D: Yeah, without a doubt. [00:25:37] Speaker A: When are the next elections? I know we have elections coming up [00:25:40] Speaker C: and the elections are supposed to be coming up in the next year for us. I think we're even. And the other campuses are odd. But that has been put on hold until we finish the new bylaws. Okay, so we're working on new bylaws for the college wide support staff council. Once that's done, then we'll go ahead and move into elections because the elections part is a very complex thing because when with the elections, everybody E V E R Y B O D Y everybody is elected to be a part of support staff council. Unless you give a written letter saying, I do not wish to participate. Other than that you can be selected. That's it. You could be right where I am right now as a president. [00:26:34] Speaker A: All right, my last question. We're going to go around the table. We're going to start with you, Dennis. If you could share one message with support staff across the campus, what would it be? [00:26:42] Speaker B: Come and talk to us. Anything that's on your mind. You have something to share. You have a question, you have a complaint, I am here to listen to that. You're going to find me in the library. Building two and I will always have time to sit and we can talk about it. We can choose the fat. Whatever you want to share, I am there for it. [00:26:58] Speaker A: Nice. Nice. [00:26:58] Speaker E: Vanessa, you matter everyone. Every role, everyone matters. And together I think we can make a big impact. [00:27:06] Speaker A: Nice. Very impressive, Peter. [00:27:07] Speaker D: Yeah. I just want, you know, all support staff to know that they're truly the backbone of this campus. This campus can't run without support staff. So it's just making sure that everybody knows how important, you know, that that role that they play, that they may not think it's the biggest role in the world, but it does matter, and, you know, it's just really and truly the backbone of this campus. [00:27:24] Speaker A: Good. Well said. All right, Triple P, what do you got? [00:27:26] Speaker C: Last? My message is, read your emails. Okay, Please. At support staff Council, we send out emails inviting you to different professional developments, even a day, just to possibly get away from the office and relax and just chill. Read the emails, people. Communication, communication, communication. That's what support staff council is about. That's what MDC is about. If we all communicate and we communicate well, everything will be smooth sailing. [00:27:58] Speaker A: Okay, well, this has been a great conversation. As we end our podcast, we like to turn the microphone around and let you ask me a question. And so we'll do that now. You don't have to, but if you'd like, I'll answer. I'll try to answer anything you want to know. [00:28:12] Speaker B: All right, so I do have a question for you. Now that you've been here for a little bit, a little while, and you've kind of gotten your feet more than wet in Kendall, what do you think about the Kendall campus? What are your feelings? What are your impressions of us all? [00:28:25] Speaker A: You know, today is a great example. Just the friendliness. People coming up to me, giving me ideas. We had a lady walk up that's been here just a short period of time that had an event she wants to do a podcast on. And to me, that's the thing that I think people are very approachable to me, which is important to me. I'm not some big guy that sits in an office. I'm a big guy, but I'm a tall guy. [00:28:46] Speaker C: I'm a tall guy, and I think you sit in your office, and I [00:28:48] Speaker A: do sit in my office, but I'm approachable. And that's the thing that. That I've. I think everybody. I see students when I walk that say hi, and. And that, to me is. Is what it's all about, that we're. We're more than just people. [00:28:59] Speaker B: We're a team, for sure. [00:29:01] Speaker A: All right, Vanessa, you got a tough question for me? No questions. That's good. That's the best question I've had. [00:29:07] Speaker D: Peter, I have a question. [00:29:08] Speaker A: Okay. [00:29:09] Speaker D: When's that next barbecue? Because we want some burgers. [00:29:11] Speaker C: No, no, I don't want. [00:29:12] Speaker D: We want some burgers. [00:29:13] Speaker C: When is the next barbecue with steaks? [00:29:15] Speaker A: Oh. [00:29:16] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:29:17] Speaker D: I don't know if that works with the budget, but that's exactly what we can get. [00:29:20] Speaker C: The churrasco steak. You know, the steak. Steak. [00:29:23] Speaker A: Well, if we're gonna do that, I'd make fajitas. That's really. [00:29:26] Speaker C: You do love your fajitas. [00:29:27] Speaker A: I do, I do. We probably will do one for the start of basketball season for the men and women. And we may do one to celebrate our national championship with volleyball, too, at some point. We really haven't done as many this semester just because of the way things are, but it's on the list. I get that question from students. I get that question from chairs when I walk to campus. When's the next cookout? [00:29:49] Speaker C: People, they line up. They line up. [00:29:51] Speaker A: And Peter, I must give you kudos for being part of my team. You're one of our team members. [00:29:56] Speaker D: Thank you. [00:29:56] Speaker A: Your team is critical in setting up our barbecue, Richard, and the whole team. [00:30:02] Speaker C: Let me tell you something. We have the different layouts for Fred Shaw. We have the layout for the gym. We have the layout for the baseball field. Softball feel we're ready. We have your barbecue layouts ready. [00:30:14] Speaker A: And when I came last June, that was. People ask, are you going to bring barbecue? And absolutely, I am. And now. Now I just get to show up. You guys have it figured out. So we'll definitely do it in the spring. You know, it's a little better weather, and we'll figure something out. [00:30:28] Speaker B: Perfect. Yeah. [00:30:29] Speaker A: All right, precious, end us with your question. [00:30:31] Speaker C: What would you say Kendall's superpower is? [00:30:35] Speaker A: You know, I think. I think the biggest superpower I've seen is the students we produce. You know, as I've been here and I've said this before, but as I go to different meetings, especially in the Kendall area, when people find out where I work, they come up to me and say, hey, I went to Kendall. Hey, I went to South Campus. You know, those are the ones, you know, that were here a long time. We even met someone recently who met his wife in front of Starbucks, in front of Chick Fil A. Oh, wow. And that was 30 something years ago. And now he's a. He's a practicing physician. And so to me, that's the superpower is all of our campus have an impact, but Kendall especially, you know, people that graduate from here now are big dogs in the Kendall area. And I see it everywhere I go. I was at the basketball game Sunday afternoon. Two people came up to me and said, hey, we went here at the national Volleyball Championship. One of the player who was the player of the. She'll end up being the player in the year of the whole nation. Her mom played here and won a national championship. And I don't think we realized the impact this campus has had for however many years. We've been here since the 60s. And to me, it's not. To me, the superpower is the name Kendall Campus, because people know us. People look at junior colleges, what we used to be called, and community colleges as 13th grade, but I do not believe they look at Kendall that way because Kendall has so many honors students, presidential scholars. They look at us as that's the real deal. And it's the real deal on all of our campuses. But I think we kind of have that attitude that people know if I go to Kendall, then I can go to FIU or Florida State or wherever they want to go. So. Great question. All right, I want to thank the four of you, first of all, for being here today, but also for what you do for the campus. You all, and you said it precious. You all are in critical roles, but you help make this campus what it is. So thank you. Thank you for coming on the podcast. Thank you for the jobs you do. And I hope that if I can do anything to help make your jobs easier, that's what I'm here for. So I'd like to thank our head writer, Christina Saenz, Paul Klein, our executive producer, and Alex Bello, our producer. Thank you for joining us today, and goodbye for now. Bye. [00:32:44] Speaker B: Take care. Happy holidays. [00:32:54] Speaker C: Sam.