Residence Life Coordinator Catherine Gonzalez was named Most Valuable Panther for April 2025.
In announcing the award, the Office of Human Resources said:
“Catherine Gonzalez came to Florida Tech in 2012 as the Residential Property Manager for Panther Bay and now serves as residence life coordinator. In 12 years of service, Gonzalez has exemplified outstanding customer service to both on-campus residents and co-workers. She decorates offices and common areas for every season and holiday. She also lends an ear to students who need to discuss a problem, regularly assisting them with projects and programs.
Gonzalez has strong project management experience and brings that skillset to every residence life initiative and project she takes on. She holds herself to the highest standards and brings out the same in her colleagues and students. Since taking the residence life coordinator role, Gonzalez has led several sustainability initiatives for residence life—she works to find departmental solutions to replace single-use products that aren’t sustainable. She has also helped resident directors identify facilities needs within the residence halls, improving the residents’ experience.
Gonzalez is student-focused. She took the lead in helping students implement Global Bites – a program designed to promote food, cultural history and decorations from different countries – during Panther Week. The entire Quad was decorated for this event, with over 350 students in attendance. In addition to the extra time she spent prepping for the event, she went above and beyond and cooked for her own display at Global Bites.
Gonzalez cares about her co-workers. She recently took the lead in hosting a baby shower for a colleague, where she cooked, made decorations and set up games. All this and more makes Catherine Gonzalez our Most Valuable Panther.”
Nominations are requested for the Most Valuable Panther program, which recognizes employees who embody the university’s standards for innovation as demonstrated by their excellence and quality service. Please include specific and concrete details; give an example. How exactly does the nominee benefit the organizational unit, department or university?
Providing specific examples, numbers, facts and/or anecdotes about the candidate’s contributions will help clearly paint the picture of why the individual deserves to be recognized. Submit nominations by May 20.
