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| UVAFinance enjoyed its first "Get Grounded" event this October. The first field trip was to the McCormick Observatory. |
On October 5, 19 members of the UVAFinance team headed
across Grounds to visit the McCormick observatory. This “finance field trip” was conceived by UVAFinance’s
Employee Engagement Committee as a way to build connections between colleagues
and give them the opportunity to experience the places and activities at UVA
they may only have seen on paper while doing their daily work.
Called “Get Grounded,” these field trip sessions are set to
become a regular offering for UVAFinance staff.
For the past year, UVAFinance employees have taken advantage
of Lunch and Learn sessions coordinated by the Employee Engagement Committee
and Finance Outreach and Compliance. With
topics ranging from using dealing with change to using Lynda.com, Lunch and
Learns are optional, informational sessions for UVAFinance employees. According to Patty Marbury, Chair of the
Employee Engagement Committee, the “Get Grounded” series is a way to take the
Lunch and Learn concept on the road.
“In
Finance, we are involved with so many areas at UVA. We know a little bit about everything that’s
going on, but we don’t necessarily get to see things in action,” Marbury said.
Danielle Hancock, a member of the Steering Committee, used
her connections with the Astronomy department to arrange for the inaugural
trip. Prior to joining UVAFinance, Danielle was a fiscal administrator in
Astronomy. “The Observatory is a cool place to go on Grounds that’s out of the
way and not everyone knows about,” she said.
The group got a full tour of the Observatory, learned about
the weather station, viewed a 26-inch telescope used by students to learn research
with astronomy, and even had the chance to view glass slides of the stars.
Isaiah Behnke of Student Financial Services said the
Observatory visit was a great experience and something he’d wanted to do for a
while. For Behnke, getting a behind-the-scenes tour with his UVAFinance
colleagues made it even better.
Gareth Evans of Sponsored Programs, a new employee in
UVAFinance as of October 4, attended Get Grounded as a way to learn more about
his new workplace.
“The trip was fascinating,” he commented.
“The professor who led the tour was clearly very excited about
his work. Fieldtrips like these help
staff to relate how our daily work supports research programs across Grounds,
so I’m keen to see other areas and labs in the future,” he added.
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