During a routine visit to my doctor a few weeks ago, there was the usual conversation about family members and which of her son was attending which college, etc., when she mentioned that her older son graduated from Western in spring quarter 2010. I heard about the long day and even longer speeches (Ceremony THREE did have a speaker talking at length) and then to top it off, her son’s name was NOWHERE to be found in the 16 commencement programs she planned to distribute to relatives! (At this point, I could have crawled under the examining table).

For some unknown reason, her son’s name was not in our commencement program download that we send to University Communications, and we still have not been able to determine a logical explanation for this omission.

Meanwhile, I called Craig Wood in the Print Plant and explained the situation and the parent’s chagrin. I then asked him if it was even feasible to recreate a program from spring quarter 2010. He checked his files to see if he still had the saved file, and he had indeed deleted it after one year. He then checked with Chris Baker from University Communications to see if he still had our original download from spring quarter 2010. Chris did still have that particular file, and he inserted our missing student’s name and degree information under the appropriate college along with the rest of his classmates.

Craig said he would try to reprint copies for me on their digital printer but was concerned that they may look a little different from the original which was printed on the Heidelberg press. With the concerted effort of Chris, along with Craig and Danielle Whitworth in the Print Plant, program covers were cut, the Spring Quarter 2010 contents reprinted, and then bound together.

Several days later a box arrived in my office with 20 copies of the 2010 Spring Commencement Program including the name of my doctor’s son! The finished programs were consistent with the usual high caliber workmanship we always expect and receive from this group. Their attention to detail always reflects their high inner work standards and sense of pride in their finished product. The differences from the original program were transparent to anyone but our printer’s expert eye.

With several departments working together as one, we were able to bring back the joy of that day over a year ago to this family. The willingness of these employees to go above and beyond the extra mile without any hesitation is a sample of the stellar quality of workmanship the staff of WWU exemplifies daily—a priceless commodity.

More importantly, this is another example that our quiet, behind the scenes employees are truly unsung heroes whose dedication can impart a timeless, positive impact on our community.

Kudos to and Chris, Craig, and Danielle, unsung heroes personified!

With Sincere Appreciation,

-Dixie Doran
WWU Commencement Coordinator