Over the coming weeks, YFile will feature short profiles of the winners of the 2011 President’s Staff Recognition Awards. This year’s recipient of the 2011 President's Voice of York Award is Lauren Hall, coordinator of the Transition Year Program.
As a proud alumna of York, Lauren Hall has been coordinating York University's Transition Year Program since May 2010. With great satisfaction, her colleagues put together a winning nomination file without her knowledge, in order tocelebrate the voice of promise, respect and empowerment that Hall brings to the York community every day.
Right: Lauren Hall
Hall's manager has noted that she is an advocate for all students and all opportunities, and notes that whether in person or on the phone, her personality welcomes and engages all – and a positive relationship with York begins. Colleagues say that Hall believes passionately in the privilege of pursuing higher education and advocating for accessible education for all those that desire it. Her care and attention with students sees them through to realizing their potential and inspires them to believe in themselves.
On a daily basis, Hall interacts with a wide variety of people. The Transition Year Program sits outside the Faculty structure, rendering navigation difficult. Hall takes this in stride and engages her counterparts in other faculties and administrative departments in order to reinforce a support system. Her exceptional interpersonal skills allow for intervention and advocacy for the Transition Year Program in a dignified and respectful way. Hall systematically removes obstacles and builds processes necessary for supporting students with extraordinary needs.
Hall works hard on a daily basis to create a safe and secure place for students to speak to someone about the University, but who feel intimidated by the institution itself. She is noted for her "yes-it-is-possible" attitude and her compassionate approach to each individual case. Colleagues say that Hall is viewed as a mentor by students in the Transition Year Program. She convinces them of their own power and reinforces their dream of something better.
She regularly brings her voice outside the institution, into the community, recruiting and promoting the Transition Year Program. Her nominators note that her intelligence and professional capacity in representing the program to a wide range of audiences is incomparable. They say that she goes above and beyond the call of duty each day, exemplifying an extraordinary personal commitment to York University, and making her worthy of the 2011 President’s Voice of York Award.