Employee of the Month - July 2023
Adrian Camacho,
Undergraduate Studies and Academic Advising
Executive Assistant to the AVP
Awarded Tuesday, July 18, 2023, via Zoom Virtual celebration. Adrian was joined by President Jane Close Conoley, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Karyn Scissum Gunn, Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies Kerry Johnson, and numerous Undergraduate Studies and Academic Advising (USAA) and campus colleagues.
Adrian Camacho has worked at CSULB for almost two years now after graduating from San Diego State University with his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management. At San Diego State, he previously worked as a front office assistant, Resident Advisor (RA) for multiple years, sports marketing intern, and the women’s volleyball team student manager. He has worked at El Rancho Unified School District and volunteered at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
In Adrian’s current position as the Executive Assistant to the Associate Vice President (AVP), he has been recognized for his outstanding contributions to the University. Dr. Kerry Johnson, Adrian’s supervisor and the AVP for Undergraduate Studies, shared her appreciation for Adrian, saying, “Adrian always shows initiative and has exceptional planning and event skills. He has done an outstanding job handling all of the logistics for a number of important and high-profile events just in the last month. For the Resource Fair at A Day at the Beach, he coordinated almost 100 organizations and groups who participated in the event by communicating, coordinating logistics, setting deadlines and clear expectations, and [ensuring] the event was a huge success. For our American Council on Education Women's Network Lunch and Learn event at CSULB, he handled all campus logistics, including booking and coordinating seating and tables for the venue, working with caterer, [ensuring] parking, and collaborating with events team from Cal Poly Pomona, who co-sponsored event with us. Finally, he once again organized our annual picnic for advisors and academic support, again coordinating the logistics for the picnic on the lawn, ordering food, putting together fun swag bags and raffle items, and [ensuring] that everyone had a great time and felt appreciated at the end of the year.
“Additionally, he has a wonderful attitude in our office and has been given increasingly more responsibility due to his dependability and ability to work well with others. He pitches in with a positive attitude when asked (including filling in at our reception area when we were low on staff) and he always does his work with enthusiasm and good humor. As a result, he was just given the additional responsibilities for booking and [ensuring] clean-up of the Anatol Center. He continues to manage my complex schedule, take accurate notes at important meetings, and show initiative in reaching out to partners and direct reports on my behalf when needed.
“He is an exceptional worker who is detail-oriented, and I truly feel lucky to have hired him. He loves working at CSULB and really is the Best of the Beach. He deserves to be recognized for his excellent work and commitment to our campus.”
Additionally, Colleen Ryan, the Senior Academic Affairs Facilities Specialist sang Adrian’s praises. She said, “For our inaugural Day at the Beach event this spring, every piece of planning was new, invented from ground up. Adrian began by supporting his Director, Kerry Johnson, in planning the Resource Fair. What began as a potentially small presentation of campus resources ballooned to well over 100 possible participant groups. As the magnitude of the job expanded, so did Adrian's support of the event and demonstration of his immense coordination skills, communication skills, predictive skills, and flexibility. Adrian managed the daily deluge of requests, questions and changes from groups, adding and deleting participants even as setup was commencing. He thoughtfully laid out the groups, with mindful adjacencies and logistical insight. Given that the layout of tents for the event was coordinated with specific instructions and approval of the Fire Marshal, Adrian was impeccable in his scaled drawing updates and layout dissemination.
“He must have fielded and responded to 15 significant changes the week of the event alone! I was so relieved when I learned that Adrian would be on site as lead for the area, overseeing and directing volunteers to set-up and support the event. He was certainly one of the first on site the day of the event, and one of the last to leave.
“While the event overall was a huge success, the timing for the Resource Fair was a challenge and thousands of guest families descended on Friendship Walk a full hour before the Fair was scheduled to begin. Despite the rush and pivot, Adrian remained calm and collected, assisting groups to set up as quickly as possible. Adrian provided a ton of great perspective throughout the planning and excellent dedication and execution throughout the event. He reminded me how talented my colleagues are, and demonstrated what tremendous things we are capable of when we work together. He certainly represents the very best of the Beach!”
Outside of work, Adrian enjoys baking and some of his specialties include a banana chocolate chip bread and an Oreo cake. He also enjoys viewing some form of art each weekend, whether it is going to the movies or watching a play or musical. Another one of Adrian’s hobbies is playing volleyball as he has been playing since he was eight years old. He has worked with and been coached by former Olympians. He even got to meet three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and former Long Beach State Hall of Famer Misty May Treanor.
One fun fact about Adrian is that his dad was recognized as Employee of the Month at CSULB almost 10 years ago. Adrian shared that “he even got a photo with President Conoley as well, so this is a full circle moment.”