Dana Walter-Shock, a senior academic program coordinator with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, recently received the Staff Excellence for Leadership & Service Award from the Johns Hopkins University Student Government Association’s (SGA) Leadership Awards.
Nominations for the award are solicited from the student body via email and social media. From there, there is a vote within the SGA to determine the winners.
“I was thrilled to receive the news, I had no idea that they had even nominated me,” Walter-Shock said. “It’s always nice to be recognized by your boss and peers, but the work that I do is for the students, and they are the reason that I look forward to work each day. They all have so much going on in their own lives, so it really touched me that they made the extra effort to nominate me. I really love our students, and it makes me feel good to know that they know I will always do whatever I can to help them.”
This is not the first award Walter-Shock has received during her time with the ECE department. She was named the 2018 Rookie of the Year during the Whiting School of Engineering’s annual Staff Recognition Awards.
Over the years, Walter-Shock has brought unrivaled dedication to her work in the ECE department. ECE students regularly receive prompt answers to queries that are sent to Walter-Shock after normal work hours, and they know they can speak to her about issues not pertaining to academics. She also makes it a goal to get on a first name basis with every ECE undergraduate student when they first join the department.
“The thing that I love about my job is that I get to see and talk to students every day. They are so much fun, but also kindhearted, polite, and good people,” Walter-Shock said. “I love organizing fun events and feeding them. It makes me feel like I get to fill in for their Mom’s when they are away from home. It keeps me feeling young, but the best part of my job is that I get to see them accomplish their goals. These students are going to change the world and make a difference. It’s exciting to be a part of their journey.”
Walter-Shock’s recognition comes as no surprise to ECE department chair Ralph Etienne-Cummings. He recently conducted exit interviews with graduating seniors, and one constant from the conversations was the students praising how caring and knowledgeable Walter-Shock is, and how instrumental she has been in making sure they have all they need to graduate.
“She is also responsible to creating the community that binds ECE students to the department, and for that I am very grateful as the department’s chair,” Etienne-Cummings said. “Dana is an extremely bright light in our department, and I wish her the warmest of congratulations.”
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- Dana Walter-Shock
