STUDENT AFFAIRS 19 ANNUAL REPORT Sabolo receives the Community Leader Service Award Marty Sabolo, Director of Residence Life and Dining Services, was recognized at the 2022-23 Employee Performance Awards for his outstanding service to the community. Marty has very quietly and consistently contributed to the Aberdeen community and has done so for many years. Despite a very busy schedule, he has helped make Aberdeen a better place for those with housing insecurity and those who utilize Avera Health. He does not just volunteer but has taken on multiple leadership assignments that come with time and demands. Marty is currently serving his second term as a Board Member of the Aberdeen Housing Authority. He is currently serving in his third year as Board President. The board oversees a variety of housing options for low-income, elderly, and special-need clients. In addition, Marty has volunteered to serve as chair of the search committee to find and hire a new Executive Director. Marty is a founding Board Member of a new nonprofit corporation, HousingPlus. This nonprofit is a grant-funded program that assesses the needs of the low-income and homeless population and assists with funding sources to support permanent housing solutions. This program has provided more than $100,000 of assistance to the Aberdeen community. Marty is also the current Chair of the Avera Patient Advisory Board. He has been a member of the Board since spring 2017 and has also served as the Secretary and Vice-Chair. This board aids the Avera leadership team with issues that arise in providing the best care to their patients. Shilman receives the Student Service Award Christina Shillman, Staff Counselor, was recognized at the 2022-23 Employee Performance Awards for her outstanding service to students. At the very beginning of the 2022-23 academic year, Christina Shilman became the one and only mental health counselor working in Counseling Services. In a postpandemic world, many have described the state of community mental health as a crisis. Students, faculty, and staff have all come to realize that much more needs to be done to support student mental health. The Student Government Association President and Vice President had recently won an election firmly established on advancing mental health services for campus. It was and remains their No. 1 priority. Christina had only just completed her first year at Northern and was now on her own. Christina could have easily become overwhelmed with the clinical load, outreach demands, “helpful suggestions,” and increased training requests. Instead, Christina turned a difficult situation into one in which she demonstrated the calm, judiciousness, compassion, and wisdom necessary to care for students individually and collectively. Christina managed to balance an increased clinical load while supporting multiple community mental health programs and campaigns including: QPR: Question, Persuade, and Refer; Mental Health First AID, a 988 talk and text campaign, Mental Wellness Week programming, Out of the Darkness Suicide Awareness Walk and many, many more. Christina demonstrated great flexibility and tireless compassion for students. She did all this while assisting in the hiring of her new boss (the Director of Counseling Services). For her hard work, emotional intelligence, and care for students, Christina deserved this recognition. Dr. Mathew joins the team Dr. Shalini Mathew, Ph.D., joined the Counseling Services staff in the spring semester, providing counseling to Northern students. Dr. Mathew is an assistant professor, field coordinator and Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) liaison for the master’s in counseling program. She is a National Board of Certified Counselors nationally certified counselor. She is serving as a member of the CACREP team of site visitors. Dr. Mathew is pursuing South Dakota licensure and is accruing necessary hours. “We are grateful for Dr. Mathew and hope to continue this partnership next year,” said Becky Kuch, Director of Counseling and Health Services. Quick Takes, continued…
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