By Jackie Martin
When we heard that Uriella had passed away unexpectedly, we were shocked and saddened. Uriella was one of the nicest and most patient people. She always came to work with a smile and rarely got upset or flustered. Uriella was the Manager of Student Employment and her job involved working not only with a large number of students, but also campus staff and faculty responsible for hiring and supervising these students. With such a large population, there was no shortage of items to track, questions to field, and tasks to ensure students were able to be employed and paid at the Institute. However, even with so many people to interact with, she still managed to build relationships with many of them. She took time to answer their questions and assist as much as she could, often putting aside other pressing tasks to do so.
Within the team she worked directly with each day, Uriella’s calm presence in the midst of a busy day was reassuring. Her care and concern for others was encouraging. Along with her work relationships, it was also evident that her family was a priority for her. She would speak often of her husband and her children and things they had recently done or places they had gone over a weekend or vacation.
Uriella is missed by those of us that were lucky enough to have known her. “Only a moment you stayed, but what an imprint your footprints have left on our hearts” – Dorothy Ferguson
