Farewell Facilities Services

Trafton B.

May 2, 2011 - 7:05 AM

Last week I closed yet another chapter in my life by saying farewell to Facilities Services, where I worked as a research assistant since the beginning of my junior year. Looking back on my blog entries, I don't think I mentioned Facilities very often. Frankly it's not the sort of place where anything wild happens on a weekly basis, but now that I've officially resigned from my position I'm coming to realize how much Facilities has played a role in my college career.

On a day-to-day basis my job more or less was to keep everything updated. My supervisor, Teri, and I maintained all the information and data for energy and utilities for each building on the main UO campus as well as satellite campuses and buildings, e.g., the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB) in Coos Bay and the White Stag Building in Portland. Then from time to time I would be able to work on a fun project like developing a Green Features webpage the Lillis Business Complex or working with a grad student in the Office of Sustainability to complete a Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) assess for campus.

My two supervisors, Teri and Jeff, took me out to lunch last Wednesday, and that's when I really started realizing how much I'd miss working at Facilities Services. Well, I guess I should clarify that. I might not miss the work itself that much, but I'm certainly going to miss the people I worked with. Words cannot express how much appreciation I have for everyone for at Facilities Services for all their hard work and their continued support over the past two years. I can safely say that my college experience just wouldn't have been the same without them.

Thursday afternoon I had a brief training session with my replacement, Diana, and showed her around the work site. I probably overwhelmed her with the amount of information I threw her way, but I'm also sure that she'll do an awesome job. Regardless, I simply appreciated being able to pass off the proverbial torch to my successor. It helped me get the closure that I needed to end my Facilities career on the right terms.

Friday morning I met Teri on campus before heading over to the office. We debriefed the orientation with Diana and then shared a few final words of gratitude. I headed to work right after that, but I was only able to work for another half hour. The memorial service and processional for Eugene Police Officer Chris Kilcullen shut down Franklin Boulevard to any and all traffic starting at 11:45 AM. It was either leave before 11:30 AM or after 2:00 PM, so ironically I wasn't able to get much more done on my final day.

Anyways, I'll end this post by giving one last shout out to everyone at Facilities Services. Thank you to my supervisors, Teri and Jeff, for helping me over the past two years. Thank you to my fellow student interns, Melissa, Melissa (that's not a typo, there were two of them), Carson, and Alex, for letting me bug you when I needed a break from work. And thank you to all the other staff members that I got to know so well over the years. You have all been an absolute pleasure to work with, and I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors. I'm sure I'll be back to see you all soon enough.