Oakton’s Hawkinson Recognized for Staff Excellence

(Aug. 31, 2018) Mount Prospect resident Jeff Hawkinson, senior media services technician at Oakton Community College, is the recipient of Oakton’s 2018 Staff Excellence Award, epitomizing the idea of “going above and beyond” actual job responsibilities and using creativity and compassion to serve students and the community.

Hawkinson was recognized at the college’s Aug. 13 fall semester kickoff, “Voices: Ignite Understanding, Drive Progress,” after being selected by the Oakton Staff Excellence Committee for the honor. In addition to a plaque, the award comes with a $1,500 monetary stipend sponsored by the Oakton Community College Educational Foundation.

Nominations come from administration, faculty and staff from the college, along with past award winners.

Hawkinson is described as a “stellar team member, willing to step up and step in to keep the department humming in serving the needs of the college.”

In his role, Hawkinson is responsible for all the audio and visual needs of the college including ensuring media services for instructors work properly and performing troubleshooting when necessary. In addition, he handles the needs of clients who come in for lectures, seminars and special events.

“Receiving this award is really cool,” Hawkinson says. “Being singled out and recognized for accomplishments is an awesome feeling. I just go about doing my job to the best of my ability. I care deeply about the people I work with at the college. Sometimes it’s doing the small things that can make a big difference.”

Hawkinson began working at Oakton in 1994. He received his bachelor’s degree in broadcast communications from Columbia College Chicago.