Staff Spotlight
Our Staff Spotlight this newsletter is on Tera Lawson and our student worker, Dresden Eldridge!
Tera Lawson
My Role in Procurement Services
I am the Training, Development, and Outreach Coordinator for Procurement Services. I attempt to break down and help our colleagues understand how to navigate what are sometimes complex processes and requirements, as well as how changes to processes or procedures will impact them.
Having worked in an academic department for over 13 years before moving to Procurement Services, I understand the need to have information at your fingertips that is easy to access and understand. I continue to look for ways to provide resources like the Procurement and Payment Methods Webpage and the Spend Categories by Commodity Area Webpage for our colleagues.
Individuals can contact me if something that has been communicated isn’t clear on the website, in a mass email, in a presentation, or in our newsletter. I’ll work with our Procurement Services Team members and see what we can do about it!
Highlighting a Recent Project or Accomplishment
In addition to getting information out to our colleagues and developing resources, I have collaborated with several other departments and units to streamline or smooth out processes for employees in ways that benefit everyone.
One of the processes we were able to streamline was the verification of goods and services required to be in compliance with the OMB Uniform Guidance Requirement for Certification of Goods and Services. Collaborating with the Grants Finance Specialists allowed us to reduce the number of verifications that PIs are asked to provide and allowed us to complete the verification at the time the items were invoiced, which also allowed us the opportunity to assure any concerns with the items or services were resolved prior to the payment being processed. This collaboration and streamlined process was highlighted in the Winter 2023 edition of this newsletter, Spotlighting Recent Successes: Collaboration with GFS = Less Verifications Needed from PI.
Dresden Eldridge
My Role in Procurement Services
I started in Procurement Services at the end of February as a Supply Chain Intern and my internship period lasted until the end of the semester. This summer I stayed on as a student worker and will continue to work here throughout the school year. During my internship period I got to meet with almost every employee in the department to learn more about what they do and gave a final presentation to wrap-up. As a student worker I have been able to work on a variety of projects along with cyBUY transactions, insurance forms, and bid documentation.
What degree are you working towards at Iowa State?
I am working to obtain my bachelor's in supply chain management and recently added a minor in business analytics.
How do you see your work as a student employee benefiting you in the future?
My experience in Procurement Services is benefiting me both in the classroom and profession world already. I'm currently taking SCM 486: Purchasing and Supply Chain Management and the content in class is so much easier for me to apply to the real world because of what I've learned here. Recruiters are excited to hear about my time here as well. I think that my internship period here has really set me up for future success.