Danielle Primavera crosses the stage as she receives her 20-year pin and congratulations from Provost Hal Stern as Dean Jon Gould, right, applauds and campus administrators, including Chancellor Howard Gillman, look on. Photo by Han Parker
School staffers celebrate years of service
Computing Services Development Team Lead Dominic Fiorello has worked on the UC Irvine campus with Information & Computer Science (ICS) and the School of Social Sciences since 2000, and with the recent merger of some staff positions from that school and the School of Social Ecology, we join in recognizing him as our most-tenured member of this year’s Staff Service Awards class.
Fiorello recently reflected on his 25-year career on campus.
“In ICS, I helped with server maintenance, backups, and lab installations, mostly with SunOS/Solaris and a little bit of Linux,” he says. “In Social Sciences, I started on the research support team as a Linux and Mac administrator and all-around problem solver. In 2018, I moved over to application support. I currently create and maintain internal applications for both schools. We've got an amazing team, and we support a lot of friendly people. It's a great place to work!”
Asked for a fun fact about himself, Fiorello answered, “I enjoy role playing games, mostly fantasy settings, but I've played a few modern day and far future settings as well. I have submitted articles to print and web Role-Playing Game magazines and even left UCI for a year to work at a role-playing game company. I enjoy creating a character and watching them grow as the story unfolds. Unfortunately, I’m often the forever Game Master, but that has its own perks; I really enjoy creating a world and a host of Non-Player Characters for the players to interact with. The best part about role playing games is not knowing how the story will unfold!”
On June 16, long-term staffers like Fiorello were celebrated at the annual Service Awards ceremony in the Bren Events Center, where those with three, five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years of service to UC Irvine, UCI Health, the University of California and qualifying California institutions were honored.
There to applaud award recipients was Chancellor Howard Gillman, who remarked about the buzz in the air.
“The energy is fantastic. The joy is palpable. And that’s because it’s a gathering of a community,” Gillman said.
“We probably don’t say this enough … no, we don’t say this enough, but you are important to us and this university and, frankly, we don’t know what we would do without you, without your expertise, without your advice,” the chancellor told the honorees. “Many times, you’re not seen, you’re not always heard, but your efforts are everywhere.”
Gillman concluded his remarks by saying, “As your chancellor, I personally want to thank you for everything that you do on behalf of this campus and our communities.”
Also on hand at the ceremony was Dean Jon B. Gould.
What follows is the complete list of this year’s School of Social Ecology Staff Service Awards honorees:
25 years:
- Dominic Fiorello, development team lead for computing services
20 years:
- Natalie Cook, director of academic personnel and human resources
- Mimi Ko Cruz, director of communications
- Danielle Primavera, director of undergraduate affairs
15 years:
- Mary Rose Cruz, graduate finance analyst
- David Halgren, Ph.D. graduate coordinator
- Sarah Miltimore, assistant director of Master of Legal & Forensic Psychology program and Center for Psychology & Law
- Amira Yousef, assistant director of Master of Public Administration
10 years:
- Andrew Pfeifroth, system administrator for computing services
5 years:
- Lisa Florentes-Mullens, senior personnel analyst
- Luis Monzon, system administrator/research
3 years:
- Montserrat Aguilera, Ph.D. graduate coordinator
- Alex Briante, therapist in the Department of Psychology
- Jessica Garcia, clinic administrator coordinator
- Jessica Jados, senior contract & grant analyst in the Business Office
- Naomi Tabak, clinic director of the Psychological Services Center
- Tawana Washington, senior instructional designer
— Matt Coker