Ismael Torres
UNK Employee of the Month
October 2007
The UNK Staff Senate is honored to recognize Ismael Torres, Health Education Coordinator for Counseling and Health Care as the October 2007 UNK Employee of the Month. In this capacity, Ismael has shown valuable leadership and professionalism and the excellent success and nationwide recognition of UNK’s Peer Education Program is due to the energy, skill, and commitment of the peer educators under his very able leadership. He is a catalyst, a mentor, and a knowledgeable motivator.
Ismael has a wonderful combination of positive aggressiveness, thoroughness, respectfulness, and humbleness. He actively pursues grant opportunities and never gives up. He works through detailed guidelines and writes strong proposals, and he never forgets that the work is about students. Ismael is a pleasure to work with and a great professional partner.
Ismael’s enthusiasm for his job is contagious. He is able to “light fires” in others, motivating their creativity and allowing for their personal growth. He is intelligent, inquisitive, capable, actively involved in pursuing the additional knowledge and skills to promote UNK students, faculty, and staff. Ismael spends much of his personal time on new programs, demonstrating his strong motivational skills and desires to promote UNK.
Ismael takes an even broader step through his involvement in community-wide and county-wide health initiatives. He is a highly visible and active member of the Buffalo County Community Health Partners Board. Most of these Board members are seasoned, effective veterans of bringing about positive health changes in the area. Yet, it is obviously apparent that Ismael commands a high level of respect with the other Board members, as he goes about working with them to achieve the Board’s goals. Through his participation in the Board’s committees and subcommittees, Ismael has definitely made a wide circle of difference especially around the issues of alcohol and tobacco. He has recently been invited to be a major player in the development of Two Rivers Public Health Department initiative called “Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnership”, a project between Two Rivers Public Health department and their adjacent public health regions.
One of Ismael’s colleagues said he has worked with him for several years as Ismael developed external funding for student health programs. Another colleague said Ismael has been a key in the accomplishment of numerous educational promotions, media and written materials for daily use within the Division of Student Life.
Ismael has garnered significant resources to UNK, almost $500,000 in grants, and proven himself to be an outstanding contributor to the Kearney and UNK communities. For all these reasons, and more, the UNK Staff Senate is pleased to recognize Ismael Torres as the October 2007 UNK Employee of the Month.
The Employee of the Month is sponsored by: UNK Athletics, UNK Theater, Campus Cuts, Chartwells and the Antelope Bookstore.