Northern Michigan University building and grounds attendant Glenda Ross is one of nine recipients of NMU's 2022 Excellence in Service awards. Ross has had to coordinate logistics for many room swaps and relocations throughout the year.
Prior to May 2021, her daily routine consisted primarily of cleaning and maintaining Spooner Hall and responding to work orders throughout the housing facilities. Since that time, Ross' efforts have been anything but routine. This past spring, when the decision was made to relocate the Olympic Training Site residents from Meyland Hall to Spooner Hall, she assisted in the coordination and relocating student furnishings to the second and third floor of Spooner Hall. When Spooner Hall's first floor was chosen to be the quarantine and isolation location for on-campus COVID positive students, Ross had to coordinate that as well.
Since the start of the fall semester, she has communicated daily with housing, facilities and medical staff regarding room changeovers. Once occupants were released from isolation, she was also responsible for cleaning, disinfecting and preparing the room for the next occupant.
Ross has shown great strides in the health and safety of the students residing in the residence halls and has gone out of her way to support other operations.
She also took initiative and helped the Northern Center operations with the delivery and pickup of large quantities of tables and chairs for NMU's Welcome Weekend as well as the Rec Show at the Superior Dome. Additionally, in mid-January she was integral in responding to a broken pipe that flooded the new Housing & Residence Life office. She was part of the team that helped extract, air out, move furniture and clean the office to return it to “like new” condition.
Ross never hesitates when called late at night to respond to a flooded apartment, a grease fire on a stovetop or an overflowing toilet.
This past year, Ross' efforts and enthusiasm to support change, help the Housing and Residence Life operation and other departments, respond to emergency situations and her readiness to assist at any hour to the needs of students truly exemplifies “Excellence in Service.”