Compassion 'Sparks' a Fire: SLU Staffers Recognize Their Colleagues
07/19/2017
As the staff and faculty of Saint Louis University seek to ignite a passion for professional life at SLU, the compassion their colleagues show from day to day – to students, patients, parents and to fellow staff members – often proves to be the match that lights a “SLU Spark.”
Shawn McCaw, of Student Financial Services, received his Spark after helping a student work through a difficult situation even while flood waters kept him from making it to campus this Spring. Katrina “Kitty” Butler is a newcomer to the Center for Advanced Dental Education (CADE)’s Pediatric Dentistry Clinic and received her Spark for going the extra mile to entertain waiting siblings and to calm parents using the clinic’s services.
The compassion Butler and McCaw showed as they lived SLU’s mission in their work lives moved fellow Jamie Motley, Ph.D., and Dan Kilfoy to send the accolades.
“I do think that sometimes people who go about their jobs with humility and focus on serving others don’t get recognized and it’s important that we as a campus community take time to notice and to uplift them by publicly acknowledging the good they do,” Motley said.
Kilfoy, Butler, Motley and McCaw took time to share their Spark stories.
A SLU Newcomer Goes the Extra Mile
While Kilfoy is a SLU veteran, starting with the University in 1999, Butler came to CADE about four months ago as clinical supervisor for the center’s new Pediatric Dentistry program. Right away, Kilfoy said, he knew Butler brought something special to the clinic and its patients.
“Kitty has done an outstanding job,” he said. “She goes above and beyond what we normally see.” Kilfoy, the center’s information technology manager, recalled Butler’s patience with patients and parents and the added effort she places in making sure an appointment goes smoothly for everyone involved, especially siblings who may be bored as they wait for a sister or brother’s appointment finish up. “I see Kitty out there trying to entertain those kids. Both as a parent and as an employee, I understand how difficult it is to try to get care for just one of your children in those circumstances.”
“Kitty seems to take it upon herself to go the extra mile,” Kilfoy continued. “That gives your other employees something to look up to and to strive toward. Monetary rewards and prizes are great but sometimes having that pat on the back, that public recognition is important too.”
“Really, the credit’s not due to me,” she said, citing collaboration and help from the entire clinic and CADE community, from administrative assistants to supervisors to dental assistants. “It’s not just me.”
Butler said he tries to approach her work, particularly interactions with clinic patients and families with special needs or circumstances, with the goal of making their interactions with SLU easy and positive.
“What I try to include in my daily work is to incorporate a lot of compassion into my work with our patients and our parents,” she explained. “I believe our SLU mission is first give our students the best education they can receive and also to serve patients, particularly our patients with special needs. We are here to help them and their lives easier. We’re here for the betterment of the community.”A "Gentle Hand" Helps Guide a Student
Earlier this year, Motley opened an e-mail with the subject line “The Shawn McCaw Experience.” Motley, an academic advisor with TRIO-Student Support Services, had sent one of her advisees to McCaw, the assistant director of student financial services, to sort out a problem. The student, a first-generation college student, was going through some difficulties that had impacted her academic life. She was concerned that the rough patch might jeopardize the college dreams she’d worked so hard to achieve, particularly a merit scholarship. Motley immediately put her in touch with McCaw.
“I didn’t give it a second thought,” Motley recalled. “She really needed a gentle hand to guide her through the process. I wanted to refer her to someone who would advocate for her.”
Although McCaw was stuck at home due to flooding in his neighborhood, he worked from his kitchen island to help the student come through the financial aid process smoothly. The student’s follow-up e-mail to Motley began with the word, “Wow!”
“I thought that spoke to his character,” Motley said of McCaw’s commitment to working with the student, even in the face of weather-related challenges. “That meant everything to me. And everything to her. However he handled the situation, it made her feel special and well-served. I definitely think Shawn demonstrates compassion. That’s not always what many of our students think about when it comes to financial aid, where it’s dollars and cents and ‘Here are your options.”
For his part, McCaw, who has worked at SLU for the past nine years, the Spark is a bonus that comes on top of the joy of seeing students graduate.
“It gave me a smile,” he said of the Spark. “It was definitely a nice gesture. It’s one of those things – it’s nice to get recognized. Working in an academic environment, a lot of the recognition is just seeing students graduate. But a peer-to-peer recognition program is a bonus.”
McCaw said he tries to live SLU’s mission not only in his daily work but also in how he supports others in his department – one where difficult conversations are sometimes the order of the day.
“So, the way I live Cura, he said, is to have a positive attitude and to relay that positive attitude to my coworkers day to day.”
McCaw and Butler’s compassion in their daily professional choices, Motley and Kilfoy said, are exactly the reasons that programs and gestures like SLU Sparks impact the University for the better.
“It enables us to take time out, to recognize one another,” Motley said. “For me in particular, it prompts me to think about the impact that my colleagues have on me and my ability to serve students. It’s just taking that time out to say ‘thank you.’
Butler agreed.
“It just promotes a positive vibe and we all need that.”
The SLU Spark program recognizes the unnoticed acts that make Saint Louis University a place that sets the world on fire by creating and sustaining a positive and collegial professional environment. SLU Sparks honor faculty and staff members who make a positive impact on the University every day.
Throughout the month of July, the Cura program is sending out a special call to all members of the SLU community to recognize their colleagues' contributions by submitting a SLU Spark.
A full listing of sparks is available on the SLU Life Blog. All members of the University community are encouraged to send a spark and to learn more about this recognition program.
The Cura program is a response to the SLU community's stated desire to build and sustain a positive workplace culture. All SLU employees have a responsibility to foster a culture of understanding, respect and appreciation for the people with whom they work and interact, as well as, a duty to inspire a collaborative and collegial working, learning and social environment.