February 15, 2010
RSS recognizes Amber Preston, Jacob Clough
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Amber Kekai Preston and Jacob W. Clough are the most recent winners of the Leadership Team Employee of the Month honors from Recreational Sports and Services at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Preston, of Atlanta, Ga., won the RSS award for November while Clough, of Carbondale, won the December award. Supervisors praise both for voluntarily going above and beyond the call of duty, taking on extra tasks without complaint and trying to expand their knowledge in the field whenever possible.
Preston is a senior recreation major. The daughter of Buzz and Audrey Preston, this is her fourth year working at RSS where she’s a student supervisor. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school in her home state and obtain a master’s degree in sports administration. Her goal is employment as an athletic director or campus recreational center director at a major Division 1 university.
“During her work here at the Student Recreation Center, Amber Preston has gained the respect of her co-workers through her lead-by-example philosophy. Amber uses the knowledge that she gains in her recreation major to help guide her while working as a building supervisor at the Student Recreation Center. Amber continues to further her understanding of the recreation field by traveling to state conferences and then bringing back the information to help others around her. We are lucky to have her on our staff,” said Dustin Soderman, facilities graduate assistant.
Clough is a graduate student in kinesiology. The son of Terri Douglass and Rich Clough, he earned his undergraduate degree in business administration. Jacob is a fitness graduate assistant at RSS, working there about 18 months. He anticipates graduating with his master’s degree in May and then plans to work in the fitness industry for a couple of years before opening his own fitness center.
“Jake is a solid, dependable graduate assistant. He continues to take every opportunity for professional student development and sets the bar high for all our employees. He will definitely be missed as he graduates in May,” said Lynne Thompson-Cundiff, assistant director of fitness for RSS.
Recreational Sports and Services gives the Leadership Team award monthly to a member of the team, which includes full-time staff, graduate assistants and student employees. Full-time staff members select the winner from among the team nominations. The award recognizes extraordinary leadership and teamwork skills.
