SUSANNA J. WESTEN
Distinguished Staff Award

DEPARTMENT: Slavic Languages and Literature

ON THE JOB: Program Coordinator; 6 years at the UW.

ACHIEVEMENTS: "Shosh" Westen serves as a key link between her department and its students, alumni and the general public. She helped found the Slavic Languages Alumni Club, maintains the department Web pages, and creates the department newsletter. She even helps the general public when they call looking for translators or tutors—including representatives of the Woodland Park Zoo, the Seattle Police Department and the Seattle Art Museum. Westen also saved the Russian language Olympiada, a statewide contest for high school students, when it looked like the event might come to an end. She even runs a Russian conversation table once a week to help beginning students.

QUOTE: "If she can be of help to anyone, she will do it, no matter the cost to herself; whether it is giving up her bed to a visiting student, scholar or faculty member; or staying up to cook and bake in order to make sure that all the holidays and birthdays are celebrated and that there is always 'food for the hungry' in our department office."—Slavic Languages and Literature Professor Kat Dziwirek