This month’s Hero Award Winners are Keeta Holmes, assistant vice provost for academic innovation and executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning; Shanta Kyles, a student service coordinator in the School of Social Work; and Mark Briguglio, an environmental health professional in UMSL Facilities Management.

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 Keeta Holmes, assistant vice provost for academic innovation and executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning; Shata Kyles, a student service coordinator in the School of Social Work; and Mark Briguglio, an environmental health professional in UMSL Facilities Management.

Keeta Holmes
Keeta Holmes found her love for teaching through foreign language.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian and Eastern European languages at the University of Kentucky and then entered a master’s program focused on teaching languages at Bryn Mawr College before earning her doctorate in curriculum and instruction from UMSL.

“It’s [at Bryn Mawr] that I developed a combination of the love of teaching the ways that you use language to communicate with others,” Holmes said. “Also, it was at a time when the internet was just coming out, so I specialized in the use of technology to teach languages, which is especially tricky with a less commonly taught language like Russian.”

Holmes developed web-based learning modules for her students and researched how technology could fuel language development. That work positioned her to investigate how technology could also support learning outside of languages and eventually led to a role as the founding director of Centre College’s Center for Teaching and Learning. Her husband’s job then took the pair to St. Louis, and by chance, there was an open position at UMSL’s Center for Teaching and Learning.

Since 2010, Holmes has partnered with faculty in various roles and now serves as assistant vice provost for academic innovation and executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. UMSL has been a trailblazer in online education due to the CTL’s forward-thinking work. As far back as 2012, Holmes developed an “Online in 9” program aimed at guiding faculty members how to build online courses. Holmes views programs such as “Online in 9” as on ramps for faculty members to connect with the center, where the dedicated staff helps them reach their goals.

“We are not a training center,” Holmes said. “We are a relationship-oriented, strengths-based center that is trying to shine a light on the amazing talents our faculty have, so that students can best connect with those talents and be more successful in their classes.”

Those relationships and the CTL’s cutting-edge work were crucial during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Holmes sprung to action immediately, convening an ambassador group of 50 faculty members who’d gone through the “Online in 9” training to aid others with digital instruction. Additionally, Holmes communicated early and often with stakeholders across campus.

“I was in it with them,” she said. “We were figuring out challenges together, whether it was a quick redesign of a class for somebody who’d never taught online, or whether it was how to infuse learning strategies that kept students engaged when they were worried about their own lives and health.”

In her Hero Award nomination, Academic Affairs Senior Project Coordinator Betsy Sampson lauded Holmes’ leadership during that time.

“Under her leadership, the CTL’s team of instructional designers assisted the faculty with the transition to online learning in a short period of time. To quote a faculty colleague, ‘Without this team, I cannot imagine how our campus could have moved to fully online instruction during the COVID crisis.’ She created the Keep Learning site, a resource for students that includes internet access, a guide for submitting assignments in Canvas and online learning strategies.”

Holmes is happy to receive the recognition, but it wouldn’t be possible without her team in the CTL and the all the bridges she’s built across campus.

“I’m deeply moved that I was nominated and that someone recognizes the often-invisible work that goes into teaching and learning support for our faculty,” she said. “I’ve been here for 16 years, and I have developed amazing relationships, both with the people that we serve, but also the ways that I collaborate. I’m just delighted that someone took the time to nominate me, but I also see it as nominating my whole team.”

Shanta Kyles
Shanta Kyles was born and raised in St. Louis, but in her mind, she grew up at UMSL. In the late 80s, Kyles first began working part time for the university through SLATE, a youth summer employment program. When it ended, she decided to find a way to keep working at UMSL.

“When I was in high school, during junior year, we had this co-op program where you could work and go to school,” she said. “So, I would take maybe four classes, go to school for half the day, and then go to work.”

After graduating, Kyles began working full-time in an administrative position in the Dean’s Office of the College of Arts and Sciences, where she stayed for about 10 years. A colleague informed her a position in the School of Social Work was opening and encouraged her to apply.

The move to the School of Social Work allowed Kyles to come into her own and find purpose in giving back to UMSL’s students. Initially, Kyles began her tenure in an administrative position, but she took on so many extra duties that then-Dean Lois Pierce had her reclassified as an academic advisor. She’s now a student service coordinator, but the job remains the same.

Kyles does her best to keep students motivated, help manage what they’re going through and offer a sympathetic ear.

“I try to do unto others as I would have them do unto me,” she said. “I just try to give them the support that I would want someone to give me if I was in that same situation. Also, making them try to feel comfortable, where they can be transparent and show vulnerability.”

It’s the best part of the job.

“I really love working with the students, being supportive wherever I can just brings me joy,” Kyles said. “When I help someone out, when there’s a situation I was able to resolve that makes me feel good.”

Kyles describes herself as a “behind the scenes type of girl,” but School of Social Work Dean Sharon Johnson is happy to bring her into the spotlight.

“Shanta consistently provides support to students as they navigate through their time here at UMSL,” Johnson wrote in her nomination. “As a long-time employee, there are many examples of how Shanta has supported the academic, social and emotional state of students over the years. This includes accompanying students to support offices on campus when they are hesitant, nervous or just unsure of what support is available and how to access it. Shanta can be depended on to make personal contact with students who are in crisis or those who confide in her about their life challenges. A recent example of Shanta’s heroic efforts involved a student who withdrew from the university after mistakenly thinking there was an easier path forward to a desired degree at another institution. Rather than simply emailing the student, Shanta spoke with the student personally, researched the other institution’s program option and provided the student with the correct information needed to make an informed decision. Shanta then connected the student with an advisor who helped them re-enroll at UMSL for the fall semester. She is a true UMSL Hero.”

Mark Briguglio
Mark Briguglio likes to joke – he does that a lot – that it took him 50 years to finish college, but he couldn’t be happier that he graduated and now works at UMSL.

Briguglio has always had an interest in music and has been singing since his childhood. He doggedly pursued that interest in his youth, which even led to him singing the national anthem at the governor’s inaugural ball in Oklahoma as a 15-year-old. In 1972, his operatic tenor voice earned him a scholarship to study at the St. Louis Institute of Music, at the time housed at Maryville University.

However, after a year, Briguglio left school to enlist in the United State Marine Corps and went on to serve in California at President Richard Nixon’s San Clemente residence. After his military service, he returned to St. Louis and worked in asbestos abatement for many years. But going back to school never left his mind.

In 2018, Briguglio finally fulfilled his dream. At UMSL, Briguglio sang with the University Singers, the university’s concert choir. He also let his curiosity take hold, studying music, psychology and creative writing while working toward a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies.

The experience was transformative, and Briguglio credits music faculty members such as Associate Professor Jim Henry, Professor Joanna Mendoza and Associate Professor Zachary Cairns for their welcoming spirit and guidance as he returned to the classroom.

Just after Briguglio graduated in December 2021, a position in Facilities Management opened. The details of the job happened to align perfectly with the work he had been doing before returning to school. Briguglio insists that he’s just lucky like that.

“The job that I do is things I’ve done all my life – just fell in my lap,” he said. “For me, it was a no brainer. I live four miles away, and to come here and work was just more than I could have asked for. I just love my job.”

Briguglio’s favorite part of the job is coming to campus every morning and being part of something bigger than himself.

“I do my very best to come in with a smile and song,” he said.

People on campus such as Lee Hasegawa, the director of international admissions and global enrollment resources at UMSL Global, notice and appreciate the pride Briguglio takes in his work.

“Mark Briguglio is quite literally, a life saver,” Hasegawa wrote in nominating Briguglio. “SSB has struggled with indoor air quality and mold issues for years. It seemed like an endless cycle of submitting work orders and mold recurrence. Then Mark came in like a breath of fresh air. He immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation and started advocating for action. Mark was actively testing our office, did thorough inspections and took action on everything he could. With Mark, you always get a quick answer and never feel blown off. We all feel safer having him around.”

Briguglio is grateful to receive the Hero Award.

“It just feels wonderful because everybody is so smart and so doing so much, and when I can be recognized as a construction worker by trade, recognized by people in academics it really, really means a lot to me,” he said.