staff stories

It’s not really a surprise that Pam Jackson ended up working in a police department.

Her dad, now retired, was a state trooper. Her husband, recently promoted to commander, is a police officer with the Jenks Police Department.

“I guess you could say I come from a police family,” she said. “I kind of gravitated toward it.”

As the first member of her Mexican family born in the U.S., Dr. Claudia Maldonado-Otto knows what it is to be considered outside the norm.

As a high-school dropout who started college at age 30 and now has bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Kathy Williams has an edge when it comes to recruiting students to OSU-Tulsa.

“I can relate to nontraditional students because I was one,” she said. “I know how important education is. It’s something nobody can ever take from you.”

Melanie McClain, who leads OSU-Tulsa's community outreach efforts, was selected to join the second cohort of the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice Inclusive Leadership training class.

The four-month program provides professionals the opportunity to develop the necessary skills and tools to become more inclusive leaders.

Michelle Boyd drives 1½ hours from Checotah to Tulsa every morning for what she considers an honor – to work at OSU-Tulsa.

“It’s worth the drive,” she said. “I love the people here. It’s a fun place to work.”

Boyd is the latest recipient of the Orange Pride Award for Employee Excellence. The award recognizes employees who have demonstrated outstanding customer service skills and who go above and beyond their normal job duties.

Academic Counselor Priscilla Boegh has worked as a college adviser at several universities during her career. But OSU-Tulsa is her favorite – and it’s all because of the students.

With a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s in counseling, Ron Knight has just the combination of experience and education needed to successfully provide guidance to engineering students.

Jeremiah Watkins is known around OSU-Tulsa for fitness and wellness, but he first pursued a different direction.

R.D. Bell may be familiar to thousands of students, faculty and staff who have passed through the doors of what is now the OSU-Tulsa Library during the last 27 years.

He is the recipient of the Orange Pride Award, a quarterly honor that recognizes outstanding OSU-Tulsa employees.