Stephanie Sackman, an Academic Advisor for Ombudsman Educational Services, exemplifies a Servant Leader: one who consistently practices the principles of patience, humility, respectfulness, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty and commitment.
Every day, Stephanie inspires confidence and influences people by enthusiastically working toward goals that positively impact our students and employees. She provides Ombudsman teachers and staff with the tools and resources they need to help students navigate the challenges of life and provides them with the guidance to help them achieve academic success.
When we asked Stephanie about being a Servant Leader, here is what she said:
Q: What does being a Servant Heart Award recipient mean to you?
A: It is such an honor to be named a Servant Heart Award recipient! The tenets of Servant Leadership are very important to all ChanceLight employees and to think that others see those traits in me is exciting. I make a conscious effort to put my best foot forward every day and having peers who also exhibit the tenets of Servant Leadership day in and day out pushes me to do the same.
Q: What does it mean to you to be a member of an organization committed to Servant Leadership?
A: I am proud to call myself an employee of ChanceLight because of the overall commitment to Servant Leadership. It is much easier to thrive in a workplace environment where everyone is pulling in the same direction, and when that direction points towards Servant Leadership, the path is even smoother.
Q: Do you have a favorite tenet of Servant Leadership? If so, what is it and why?
A: In my eyes, kindness is the foundation for all the other tenets of Servant Leadership. When you are kind in the workplace and in life in general, it makes the other tenets possible.
Q: What do you like most about working for ChanceLight/Ombudsman?
A: The best part of working for Ombudsman is working with an amazing group of people every day. I love being in an environment that encourages individual and team growth. While I am not able to work individually with students, I know that when we all come together successfully behind the scenes, we play a part in helping students with their education. I could not imagine working with a better group.
Stephanie was named a Servant Heart Award winner based on nominations from her co-workers. Here are just a few of the kind remarks submitted by her peers.
• Stephanie is always friendly, treats everyone with respect. She comes to work each day with a high level of enthusiasm that is contagious. She is committed to our students’ success. Stephanie brings excitement and fun to our office each day and is always willing to step up and get things done!
• She is always positive and willing to assist. In addition, she serves as a brand ambassador and goes out of her way to exude all tenets of Servant Leadership.
• Stephanie exemplifies Servant Leadership to those she supervises. She provides guidance and leadership to the Academic Advisors in Arizona as well as the Academic Guidance Team in Illinois. She tracks her team’s data and encourages her team to do all that is necessary to support our centers.
• She is the first to volunteer at our office; she updates our monthly bulletin board; she brings ideas that are cost effective to encourage a great culture within our office.
More fun facts about Stephanie:
Stephanie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and her Master’s in Counseling and Student Development from Eastern Illinois University. Upon graduation in 2010, Stephanie began her career at Ombudsman Educational Services. The Academic Advisor position was created during her initial year at Ombudsman. She has played an integral role in the development of the position, including implementation of processes, responsibilities and accountabilities as the position has evolved. Today, Stephanie leads the Academic Guidance team and serves as a ChanceLight Brand Ambassador.
