Essential Piece of the Puzzle
In the few short months since she started with ASI, USU Facilities Services Supervisor Brenda Alcala has already blown the ASI community away. Her dedication to providing a welcoming experience for patrons and superb ability to build relationships among her staff earned her this month’s recognition for Essential Piece of the Puzzle.
“I appreciate the fact that my colleagues are recognizing the hard work that comes into a position like this,” said Alcala. “A lot of people don’t understand what goes on behind the scenes or they might not know what it takes to succeed, so I really appreciate people recognizing the hard work that comes with it!”
A Cal State Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) alumni, Brenda worked for the student union of her alma mater while earning her Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and her master’s degree in sociology. Over the 10 years she spent at CSUDH, she worked in a plethora of positions from campus dining to building management to catering to set-up crew for the university. She believes that changing roles over time was invaluable when it came to deciding what she wanted to do in the future.
“I was able to see a lot of different areas and different aspects of working in the student union, and I felt the one that I enjoyed the most was event set up,” Alcala recalls. “There’s something about making a good experience for someone hosting an event that makes me feel the most fulfilled.”
Alcala firmly believes in the power of building strong relationships in order to make a good experience both for staff and for guests. For her staff, building those relationships are crucial when operating in a facility like the USU where the hours of the building stretch past the hours of the staff.
“I believe that any successful or influential person should always lead by example so that the students can feed off your actions,” said Alcala. “Any position in higher education gives you that ability to do the same for any student.”
Brenda Alcala was awarded the Essential Piece of the Puzzle during the August ASI employee assembly. As a part of ASI’s commitment to uplifting customer service, each month all full-time staff participates and votes in this monthly employee of the month program.
