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Natascha Miller Wins College-Wide Award

December 5, 2014

Natascha Miller Wins College-Wide Award

Natascha with Prof. Holub and Dean Manderscheid

Natascha Miller, the Academic Program Coordinator for Germanic Languages and Literatures, has been awarded the “Above and Beyond Buckeye Prize” from the College of Arts and Sciences for November 2014. This award is given to a College staff member who does extraordinary work, something “above and beyond” their normal assignment. She is only the second recipient of this prize and was selected from an extremely competitive pool.

The Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, David Manderscheid, came to the Department on Thursday, November 4, to present Natascha with this prize and to congratulate her in person. Natascha, who did not know about the nomination, was appropriately surprised and delighted when she found out she was being honored. Faculty, students, and staff from Hagerty joined in a celebration with a chocolate cake that sported the message in purple icing: “Natascha: ‘Above and Beyond.’”

In his nominating letter, Robert Holub, Chair of GLL, noted that in the staff reorganization of Hagerty Hall Natascha had to take over many duties with which she was previously unfamiliar, and that she “mastered them with incredible efficiency and speed.” But Natascha went beyond her normal assignments in assisting with the organization of the Ohio German Studies Workshop, a new initiative in GLL that took place in October.

In preparation for this meeting of German Studies faculty from across the state, Natascha was in touch with the conference center to make certain all details regarding the site and catering were arranged. She oversaw the composition and printing of the program. She assisted with parking permits for the out-of-town guests. She served as a liaison for the financial payments. And she maintained a list of attendees and guests, making certain that everyone was informed of the details of the Workshop.

She completed all these tasks, Holub commented, “without missing a beat from her regular duties, many of which were relatively new to her. I have worked with many staff members over the years,” he continued, “on many projects large and small. Natascha is one of the very best I have encountered. When given a task, she simply finds a way to accomplish it. And she does everything with a spirit of dedication and with a smile.”

GLL has known for years that it has a real gem in Natascha. Now that she has been publicly recognized for her achievements, everyone in the College has learned how fortunate the Department is to have such a devoted and diligent employee in the office.