This month’s Hero Award recipients are (from left) Amy Schechter, Marisa Omori and Mike Ellerman. (Photos by Derik Holtmann)

University of Missouri–St. Louis Chancellor Kristin Sobolik and her cabinet continue to recognize the exemplary efforts of staff and faculty members from across campus by bestowing the UMSL Hero Award on up to three individuals each month.

This month’s honorees are Amy Schechter, senior human resources partner; Marisa Omori, associate professor and PhD graduate director in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice; and Mike Ellerman, small engine mechanic and interim grounds supervisor.

Amy Schechter

When Schechter started exploring her career options a few years ago, UMSL was a logical next step. A lifelong student and educator, she had worked for St. Louis Public Schools, Special School District of St. Louis County and the Riverview Gardens School District.

She was familiar with UMSL, too, having earned her Educational Specialist in Education Administration degree after earning her bachelor’s and master’s from Webster University.

“I really enjoy human resources work, and I really wanted to move to higher education,” she said. “I know education, and I have a good idea of what higher education is structurally, so this felt like a logical next step for me. There’s a lot in HR that doesn’t matter where you do it, like the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act; all those things are the same. It’s been a great experience here. I love it.”

Schechter is still relatively new to UMSL – she’s entering her third year as a senior human resources partner – but she has quickly become a leader with her wealth of experience.

“Amy has been one of the most amazing people I have gotten to work with since I started at UMSL,” said Lauren Stumpf, who is the office support specialist for the HR department. “She makes everyone feel welcome in our suite and is quick to crack everyone up laughing at any of her jokes. She’s kind, resourceful and an outstanding leader. I enjoy learning from her and wish to attain the wealth of knowledge she has as I continue to work at UMSL.”

Schechter’s job responsibilities are vast.

“I provide resources to employees, and I provide support, coaching and recommendations to supervisors and managers,” she said. “I support some of the vice chancellors as well as the chancellor’s office. I support the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, St. Louis Public Radio. And then I also support some of the other units, too, like Marketing and Communications, Advancement and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”

She’s involved in UM System-wide efforts, too. Schechter is the ADA coordinator for UMSL, meeting with other ADA campus representatives across the state on a monthly basis. That role is especially important during the Transform UMSL time of growth, keeping employees aware of construction issues that might impact accessibility to different areas of campus.

Schechter is also the UMSL representative on the System Policy Committee, which meets for two to three hours every other week.

“There is a representative from each campus and hospital and we do a lot of the reviewing and revising of current policy and then writing new policy,” she said. “Those policies go to the Office of General Counsel, to the vice president of HR, then to President Mun Choi and then to the Board of Curators. I had a lot of experience with doing policy in K-12, so it’s kind of a natural fit.”

Even with those wide-reaching responsibilities, Schechter remains focused on the personal nature of her role, working on a one-on-one level dealing with conflict resolution, problem solving with students as issues arise and creating events to promote engagement on campus.

“She is deserving of this award due to her resilience and drive to do the right thing every time, and to teach people along the way,” Stumpf said. “Thank you, Amy, for all your hard work and showing me the UMSL way!”

Marisa Omori

Omori earned a wealth of educational experience on both coasts, but she’s found a home with the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at UMSL.

Omori earned her undergraduate degree and PhD in California – sandwiched around another graduate degree in New York – and then she spent five years as an assistant professor at the University of Miami before accepting a position as an assistant professor at UMSL in 2019. As if moving to the Midwest wasn’t enough of an adjustment, she taught for only one full semester in the classroom before the COVID-19 pandemic shifted classes online.

And all of a sudden, it’s 2024 and she’s just started her sixth year at UMSL.

“It’s been really good,” she said. “Honestly, there are times I can’t believe I’ve been here for five years. Time has gone by so fast. I had one semester here, and then everything shut down. It was so crazy. I feel like I was just getting adjusted to the campus and learning my new institution and then everything was shut down and then we worked from home for a long time.”

In addition to her research and duties in the classroom, Omori has taken on another important role in her department as the doctoral program director.

“In my role, I really try to advocate for graduate students, both individually and also at a broader level,” Omori said. “For example, one of the things we’re working on right now is trying to figure out health insurance for our graduate students. I’ll do programmatic things like making adjustments to the curriculum to better suit students’ needs, but I also do a lot of informal things like mentoring and supporting, working with students one-on-one but also doing workshops to make sure that they’re ready for getting a job and being successful in the long term.”

Omori earned her PhD in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California, Irvine in 2014. A lot of what she does involves essential bureaucratic elements – filing paperwork on time, making sure students are signed up for the right classes, answering administrative questions, etc. – but going beyond those basics is in her nature.

“One of the approaches I try to take is to be holistic, supporting students in terms of their academic careers, but also interpersonally, making sure that they’re happy and healthy,” she said. “All those things are important. One of the good things about being in a department like ours is that we’re surrounded by people who care about that, too. That’s something that isn’t at all schools or all departments, especially in academia. A lot of places just pay attention to your publication count or grant funding and things like that. One of the things that we really do well as a department is building community and caring about students as whole people.”

Others have taken notice of her efforts.

“Since taking over that responsibility about a year ago she has worked tirelessly to ensure that UMSL CCJ students are set up for success,” said Department Chair Christopher J. Sullivan, who nominated Omori for the Hero Award. “In some cases that means reaching out to a benefits expert to help students navigate health insurance needs and plans or working with the international office to help students as they enter or continue in the program.”

Mike Ellerman

The UMSL campus looks significantly different than it did when Ellerman worked his first day as a groundskeeper back in September 1985, but the pride he takes in doing his job well, entering his 40th year tasked with keeping the campus looking good, hasn’t changed at all.

“We’re the front door,” Ellerman said. “We are what people see when they come in off Florissant Road. We’re the first impression. And if it doesn’t look good coming in, they’ll wonder what the rest of the campus is going to look like. Does that scare someone away? Will they think, ‘They don’t take care of the outside, so do they take care of the inside?’”

It’s his job, as he sees it, to make sure that never happens.

Ellerman showed up to his interview for the Hero Awards story with weed remnants and grass clippings all over his clothes, unintentionally showing his dedication to his job. He had checked the time and realized he had 15 extra minutes before he needed to head to the Millennium Student Center for his conversation, which he figured was just enough time to knock out an area near his shop that needed a thorough once-over with a weed trimmer.

He checked that task off his list, then headed off to his meeting.

“He has been the one to say, ‘Yes, I can do that!’” said Megan Green Simonds, the director of New Student Programs & Campus Visit Experiences, who nominated him for the award. “Mike has trimmed trees so our golf carts can easily go around campus. In addition, he has helped provide his expertise with vehicles with the 12-passenger van and golf carts and informed us of construction issues when it can impact our tour routes. Especially in the winter, he has helped us by distributing salt to interior campus buildings and been mindful of the conditions of campus for the safety of guests. You will find Mike around campus early mornings during the week and sometimes weekends, going above and beyond helping to update campus to ensure it looks the best to our UMSL community. He truly embodies making our UMSL campus feel like home.”

Ellerman’s official job title says “small engine mechanic,” reflective of a promotion he received a few decades ago, shortly after he’d started as a groundkeeper, but it’s not fully reflective of what he does on a daily basis. With most of the mowing contracted out, there aren’t as many engines to repair, but there’s plenty of work to be done around campus, a lengthy list of “little things” that add up to making a big impression.

The number of employees in Ellerman’s group has fluctuated over the years; his wife, Becky, worked with him on the crew on two different occasions in the past. Now, though, with contractors involved with the grass cutting – that used to take most of his time, with so many green spaces on campus – it’s just Ellerman and John Bale.

“He’s my partner here,” Ellerman said. “We do all the trash cans on campus, litter pickup and the small jobs like pulling weeds in the flower beds or planting flowers.”

Keeping the campus looking good is a team effort.

“I see almost everything, but sometimes I don’t,” he said. “It’s good to have other eyes out there. I don’t mind. Put in a work order and either we’ll get to it, or we’ll get the contractor on it.”

His efforts are noticed.

“Mike goes above and beyond for our campus,” Simonds said. “He has shined when we suggest ways to enhance our facilities landscape to help remove weeds or brighten spots on campus, he is up for the challenge to help where he can.”