As an information technology (IT) support specialist, Donye Thomas often works to fix problems remotely, but he is partial to the up-close-and-personal part of his job.

“What I like most is when I get to interact with users face to face,” said Thomas, who works for the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Office of Information Services. “When you’re sitting at a desk and answering calls, it’s nice to talk to people, but to me it’s great to meet the person and get to know them, to just have a conversation. You might talk about technology; you might talk about life. That interaction really brings me happiness on the job.”

Thomas’ desktop support abilities and engaging personality were celebrated Feb. 27 during a videoconference in which University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, surprised him with news that he was being honored as the UMB Employee of the Month for February.

“I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about Donye,” Jarrell said. “Of course, I spent many years in the School of Medicine, and I know how intense it can get with IT and medicine. So I just want to thank Donye for all he’s done and the many, many people he’s helped in his role, going the extra mile to get things done.”
 
Thomas’ supervisor, Scott Hunsinger, executive director, Central IT Services Administration, UMSOM, echoed Jarrell’s comments about Thomas’ work ethic.

“I haven’t been Donye’s manager for that long, but ever since I’ve known him, he’s always gone above and beyond to get the job done and has been an integral part of our team,” Hunsinger said. “He makes the team a lot stronger. We owe a lot to Donye and his IT co-workers for all that they do to support the School of Medicine.”

Fiama Romero, senior program specialist in UMSOM’s Office of Student Research, nominated Thomas for the award, saying he exemplifies UMB’s core values of Respect and Integrity. Noting that “Donye always has a smile and a solution,” she detailed one instance when Thomas helped a faculty member who was having difficulty accessing Adobe files via hyperlinks.

“As you can imagine, IT issues stress everybody out, and folks get particularly nervous when we’re approaching an extended break and they’re preparing to work remotely,” Romero wrote in her nomination. “On this occasion, Donye was, as always, a lifesaver.

“I was truly hoping Donye would be the one to take our call, and when I saw his name pop up on the phone, I knew we were in good hands,” Romero added. “It turns out the particular computer that was having issues was an Office of Medical Education [OME] computer, so Donye could not fix the problem remotely. 

“He could have easily told us to contact OME’s IT department. Instead, Donye went above and beyond by taking just a couple of minutes to suggest a possible solution to the Adobe problem. After guiding us through a few clicks, the problem was fixed. Suffice it say, the faculty member felt so relieved, and we were both extremely grateful for the quick and effective fix.”

Thomas has been working at UMSOM since 2018. He started as a contractor and was hired as a full-time employee a year later. His team supports about 1,200 UMSOM users, including many who work in the Paca-Pratt Building, Bressler Research Building, and Medical School Teaching Facility. 

“My job is a hybrid of Tier 1 and Tier 2 support,” he said. “If you need your password reset, you call us. We’re also the team to do anything on-site, whether it’s hardware support or setting up computers and delivering it to the user. If we can’t do it remotely, I’ll be the person to go on-site. If it’s something network- or security-related, then I have to escalate the ticket. Essentially, it’s hardware and software support.”

Thomas, who is working toward earning a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity and networking from University of Maryland Global Campus, will receive a certificate, a letter of commendation, and an extra $250 in his next paycheck as rewards for being Employee of the Month. Thomas thanked his co-workers and the entire UMSOM IT staff for their support, saying he’s a humble person who doesn’t seek accolades but that it was satisfying to receive the UMB honor.

“I’ve always prided myself on providing great customer service,” he said. “And I’ve always had people tell me, ‘I’m going to email your manager and tell them what a great job you did.’ But when they told me I was Employee of the Month, I thought, ‘Wait, me?’ It does feel good to know that my work does not go unnoticed.”

— Lou Cortina