Sarah Rodgers is the February 2020 Staff Employee of the Month

February 18, 2020 Robert Lane

Vero Beach resident Sarah Rodgers is being recognized as the Indian River State College February Employee of the Month. Sarah joined the IRSC family in January of 2017 to be the Laboratory Coordinator—Biological Sciences with the responsibility of overseeing the Technical Lab Specialists (TLSs) and work with lab managers and full-time instructors to make needed changes and updates to the labs when required.

Sarah has proven herself to be an invaluable addition to the Biology Department team responsible for running 150 labs each semester on 5 campuses. Labs are a strict schedule and must run seamlessly on each campus, and Sarah plays an essential part in ensuring this happens on a daily basis. In addition to her regular responsibly of overseeing the TLSs, Sarah also has gone above and beyond her duties to help with scheduling. She has streamlined this process using an innovative software program called Sling, a sophisticated scheduling manager. Sarah also makes updates to the custom lab manuals for the course labs, and has worked hard to orient all of the new instructor on the labs in order to make sure they are prepared—all of which is critical to ensure student success.

She routinely reaches out to Advisors, Student Accessibility Services, Black Board Administrators, and to anyone who can help ensure students have everything needed to achieve success. In addition to being an excellent lab coordinator, Sarah also teachers her own sections of labs. Her students love her and appreciate her passion, wiliness to help assist, and her encouragement that leads them to do their best and achieve their goals.

Those who work with Sarah daily value most how her expertise and commitment to the College make a positive impact on the Biological Sciences Department and contribute to student success. A colleague shares, “To say Sarah is a team player does not even give her enough credit—she jumps in to help in any way the department needs.” Another adds, “Sarah always has a smile on her face and is always looking for ways in which we can improve our lab instruction and safety.” They continue stating, “Sarah is dedicated and loves to help others. She exemplifies what IRSC stands for: hard work, professionalism, dedication, collegiality, and student success.”