We are so super proud of Rafael Almanzar for being one of the twenty-five staff that were recognized during the President's Meritorious Service Award ceremony that was held on April 23, 2018. This is a very prestigious award given by our university, sponsored by the Office of the President, and funded by the Association of Former Students. Rafael has been a Senior Academic Advisor in our department for 4 years.
Rafael is a skillful advisor who recognizes and values the individual strengths and weaknesses of students, a proficiency that allows him to provide advisees with guidance that is tailored to their needs. His job duties are to provide academic advising and counseling to 125 graduate students and their faculty advisors. In addition, Rafael organizes recruiting weekends, runs graduate student orientation week, and assists international students with requisite documentation.
Largely because of Rafael's systems and diligence, within a year and a half the number of student overdue for holding annual committee meetings, filing degree plan, or taking their preliminary exams dropped from 45% to 3%. This was done in a cheerful, friendly fashion, with buy-in from students and faculty.
Rafael is a multi talented staff member who serves selflessly to support the broad pursuits of all Texas A&M University students, faculty, and administrators. Rafael is committed to Texas A&M University and its core values.
Thank you Rafael for your selfless service to our department, students and faculty! We appreciate you!