他是我们所有人的榜样

这个故事是The Well对C的报道的一部分. 诺克斯·梅西杰出服务奖, 它承认“不寻常”, meritorious or superior contributions” by University employees.

这封邮件是个骗局桑德拉·福克斯想.

作为凯南中心的管家, Foxx was reviewing her work schedule for Commencement weekend when she noticed a message saying “Congratulations!”

像许多管家一样, 福克斯没有工作用的电脑, 所以她会随时随地查看邮件. The possible scam message had been sitting in her inbox for two days before she saw it and she was reluctant to open it. She asked co-workers what they thought about the email, then decided to click on it.

“It opened up with cartoon balloons floating out,” Foxx said.

这条信息敦促福克斯联系凯瑟琳·皮尔斯, assistant vice chancellor and chief of staff for 大学的发展, 并提供了电话号码. 于是福克斯打了这个电话. 皮尔斯回答说：“祝贺你!”

“祝贺什么？”?一只紧张的狐狸说.

皮尔斯告诉福克斯她得了个C. 诺克斯·梅西杰出服务奖.

“It hit me, and I didn’t know where in the world I was,” recalled Foxx. “我说，‘说真的? Wait a minute. 让我坐下.’”

Foxx soon found out that several people at the Kenan Center, which houses the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust and Funds, had nominated her for the award.

每天10000平方英尺

“The people who nominated me are so thoughtful,” said Foxx. “I am so thankful and consider it an honor just to be nominated for a Massey Award. 赢得一场比赛真的很难相信. I was shocked.”

The co-workers who nominated Foxx recognize the traits that she has brought to her job as a housekeeper for 18 years at the Kenan Center and in several residence halls where undergraduates, 研究生和有家人的学生住在这里. 她在七月底退休了.

The nominations hailed Foxx’s commitment to working on-site throughout the pandemic, 清洗约10个,000平方英尺的办公室, bathrooms, meeting rooms and lobbies on two floors of the Kenan Center every day. Some days, she had to cover the building’s entire 60,000 square feet.

“During COVID, Sandra was our essential employee,” said Jeff Post, Kenan Center manager. 她每天都在不停地打扫和消毒. 她的队友崇拜她，所有的工作人员也是如此. 她是我们所有人的榜样.”

在此之前的一年里, 除了大流行的并发症之外, Foxx’s sister Willie Mae and brother Burnice died from non-COVID-19 illnesses.

Foxx came to Carolina after being laid off from a factory. 他是匹兹堡人, 她于1980年结婚并搬到了银城, 教堂山西南32英里处. 福克斯的儿子特拉维斯出生于1982年. Her husband, Larry, died in 1997, and Travis died in 2008.

Since 2003, Foxx has made the daily 45-minute drive to and from campus.

大多数早晨，她都在4点15分醒来.m. and is soon on the back roads leading from Siler City to Chapel Hill to begin work at 6 a.m. “Most everybody else is just rolling out of bed then or snoring away when I’m working,” Foxx said.

She first checks the building’s third- and fourth-floor bathrooms, 然后回到三楼打扫办公室. She dusts every surface, including hundreds of feet of handrails and molding of all sorts. 她确保会议室都准备好了, and she is always on call to spruce up a room when meetings are scheduled quickly. Then, it’s back to thoroughly clean all bathrooms and on to the fourth floor to repeat the process.

“桑德拉超出了人们的预期,玛丽昂·斯特兰德说, executive assistant to the Kenan Institute executive director. “For example, as she cleans windows, she takes time to determine, ‘Is it a job done?或者“工作做得好吗？?’ The latter is a prevailing quality she exhibits in every facet of her responsibilities.”

When 3 p.m. 到了，她的工作日就结束了.

Before her sister died, Foxx would go from work to care for her. Now, she goes straight home to check on her brother Joseph. 周末是用来跑腿、做家务和做礼拜的.

The routine is consistent, just like the high level of Foxx’s work. 人们认可她的坚持.

随着大流行的开始, 福克斯的工作变得比以往任何时候都重要, 据格雷格·布朗说, executive director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. “尽管桑德拉属于高危人群, she never shied away from her commitment to the Kenan Institute and the faculty and staff,” Brown said.

Continuing to work on-site throughout the pandemic and being one of few people in the building on many days was hard. “那感觉很孤独，”福克斯说.

给予和接受微笑

A daily greeting from Foxx matters to the people who nominated her. “桑德拉是个讨人喜欢的人. She brightens the day, and I look forward to seeing her in the mornings,” Strandh said.

Chenelle麦金尼斯, 前瞻服务经理, said that Foxx not only performs her job at an exemplary level, but also provides exceptional support and service to staff, students, 教师和访客. “She always speaks, smiles and brings sunshine to your day,” McInnis said. “桑德拉每做一件事都全力以赴. 她善良、体贴，对很多人来说都很特别. 她超越了职责范围. 我很自豪能认识她.”

别人的微笑使福克斯快乐. “当一个人微笑着向我打招呼, I know I’ve done something right somewhere along the way,” she said. “The people coming into the building are who I’m thinking about when I clean. 我希望他们看到的一切都是体面的? I take pride in my work and I try to do it like I do in my own home.”

福克斯说，她和她的同事是一个真正的团队. “That may be why I won the award because they really know me. I always consider others and try to help others, if I can, along the way, just like they do. 我尽我所能成为团队的领导者.”