NEW STUDENT & FAMILY PROGRAMS

February 20, 2017

Dear NODA Region V awards selection committee,

On behalf of the office of New Student & Family Programs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha
(UNO), it is my privilege to nominate Kelsy Neil for the NODA Region V Regional Undergraduate
Student Leadership award.

I first met Kelsy in July of 2014 and from the moment I met her, I knew she was special. She is incredibly
professional, disciplined, and has a zest for continually learning. She always provides a critical eye to our
office processes and serves as an exemplary role model for her peers. In addition to these great
qualities, she is also fluent in American Sign Language, which she utilizes to help deaf and hard of
hearing students and guests feel at home on campus. She is an overall great representative of UNO.

Kelsy started working for New Student & Family programs in spring 2014, as an Ambassador, assisting
with summer orientation and special events. After serving as an Ambassador for a summer, Kelsy
applied to be a Coordinator. Coordinators hold a higher leadership position in our office, focusing on a
specific area, in addition to completing their regular Ambassador tasks of assisting with Campus Visits
and Orientation. While Kelsy was not selected as a Coordinator her first year, she did not let it deter her
from reapplying the next year. We selected Kelsy as our Recruitment & Selection Coordinator in August
2015. This role included facilitating recruitment sessions for the Division of Student Affairs, sitting in on
Ambassador interviews, and making recommendations to the professional staff for our new hires. In
mid-fall semester 2015, the Training Coordinator vacated their role and Kelsy happily picked up the
added responsibilities. Her additional responsibilities, as Training Coordinator, included collaborating
with professional staff to organize and run monthly trainings of Ambassadors, taking meeting notes for
those who are unable to attend training, assisting with tour training of new staff members, and taking
the lead on the facilitation of our orientation supply distribution process during summer orientation.
While it is uncommon for us rehire Coordinators after they have fulfilled their year-long commitment, we
happily rehired Kelsy as the Training Coordinator in August 2016, which is the role still holds.

Recently, a new Recruitment Advisor position was created in our office to assist with recruitment
sessions for prospective students attending Campus Visits. This is a position that was only offered to
four of our 55 Ambassadors and the individuals selected meet with prospective students and their
guests to provide them with information on a number of majors, including pre-health. Without
hesitation, we selected Kelsy to fill one of the four spots.

Her passion, dedication, and professionalism, combined with her wealth of experience make her the
ideal candidate for the NODA Regional Undergraduate Student Leadership award. I sincerely thank you
for considering her for this great honor. Should you have further questions about Kelsys qualifications,
please let me know.

Best,

Shannon Gilligan Wehr

Associate Director, New Student & Family Programs

The Welcome Center | 6001 Dodge Street | Omaha, NE 68182-0577

(402) 554-2677 (orientation) | (402) 554-6281 (campus visits) | www.unomaha.edu