Help Center's Dolores Heagy Wins Andy Award


    


Computing Services is pleased to announce the 2007 Andy Award for Outstanding Culture has found a worthy home in the office of Dolores Heagy. 


A member of Computing Services since 1998 and a Help Center consultant for the past six years, Dolores exhibits unrivaled exuberance for her work. The Help Center staff sites her energy and positive attitude as “contagious” as she brings life to even the most mundane tasks. Fellow consultant Matt Howell describes her "...cheerful attitude, kindness and appreciation toward student employees, and the personal connection she makes with her customers" as motivating factors for her nomination. Matt adds, “Because she is so committed to making our students feel like a valued part of the Help Center, she always does a great job with any of our student worker events”. 

Dolores exhibits a similar passion for diversity, an important aspect of the award for outstanding culture. Help Center manager Clay Fulton explains, “Carnegie Mellon sets a high value on diversity among its student population and Dolores embraces those same values. Her passion is exemplified through her work on campus.” 

In addition to her responsibilities in the Help Center, Dolores has taught the African-Caribbean dance class throughout her nine year tenure here. Participants get a hardy workout as they mimic Dolores’ moves which originate in West Africa, the Islands, and Brazil. Dolores has also instructed Cardio on the Ball and Water Aerobics as part of the campus group exercise program.

In addition to her own classes, Dolores was instrumental in enhancing the campus exercise program by recruiting Kadiatou Conte-Forte to instruct a West African dance class here. Born in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa, Kadiatou has performed for heads of state around the world.

Dolores was nominated for the Andy Award by Hayley Finley. Haley is a senior at Carnegie Mellon and a repeat student in Dolores’ class. In her nomination letter, Haley described her experience, “When I first signed up for “Dance for Non-Majors” through the Athletics and Physical Education department, I was hoping for something along the more traditional lines of jazz or ballet.  Instead, I was taken aback by this energetic older woman doing… what exactly?  With her sense of humor, steady encouragement, and infectious enthusiasm, Dolores won me over.  I’ve enrolled in her mini-course four times and now enjoy seeing other new students’ transition from hesitant participants to confidant dancers”. 


Dolores' dance background began at age nine and progressed to include afro-modern (Dunham/Horton) and jazz techniques, including a BA from Point Park College in Dance/Performing Arts Management. Her focus shifted to traditional Appalachian music and dance, which she spent twenty years performing and teaching all over the US and Canada with her dance company Coal Country Cloggers. Dolores has studied African dance and music (Guinea, Senegal and Ghana) since 1987 and in 1988-89 she apprenticed with Saxie Williams, a 78 year old hoofer from the Hill district of Pittsburgh. When Dolores isn’t leading a group of lively dancers she gets in touch with her musical side through her participation in Pittsburgh’s Samba performance ensemble, SambaPittsburgh. Samba is widely viewed as Brazil’s national musical style. 


Dolores has been an annual volunteer in the “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work” day on campus. She also participates in the Scouting College and Interest Project (SCIP) day by teaching dance to local girl scouts in their quest to earn project patches in a college setting. 


Dolores is co-vice president of communications for the Pittsburgh Service & Support Professionals (PSSP) organization. PSSP is the Pittsburgh-based chapter of the Help Desk Institute. In 2002, Dolores was a finalist for the chapter’s annual Help Desk Analyst of the Year award. 


Please join us in congratulating Dolores on her work, which her heart is truly in.







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