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Linda Price receives 2018 Staff Excellence Award

21 November 2018

Linda PriceLinda price serves as the prep room technician for the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) Department.  Originally from Lewistown Pennsylvania, she has lived in the Alexandria Pennsylvania area for 41years making the 52-mile round trip to Penn State each day for the past 27 years.

Price began her career at Penn State on January 7th, 1992 working for the Operation of the Physical Plant (OPP) in janitorial services.  Over time she began to long for a position that would provide her with something more and after 13 and ½ years she left her janitorial position behind and began a new chapter working in the stockroom in Whitmore Laboratory as a stockroom/lab attendant.  She would stay in the Chemistry Department for an additional 6 and ½ years before making another, and her final, move to the BMB Department where she has remained.

 

Price’s role as Prep Room Technician is to prepare reagents and laboratory supplies for each of the teaching laboratories in Frear and ensure that these supplies are available to the students and instructors when requested.  A fact that many don’t know is that this results in Price preparing more than 29,000 plates and over 63,000 test tubes each semester.  Once the lab and instructor are finished with the supplies Price prepares for the class she then sanitizes and discards the plates according to university hazardous waste procedures and cleans the test tubes for use in a later lab.  The astounding thing about this is that Price winds up handling more than 58,000 plates and over 126,000 test tubes each semester.

 

Linda Price“People don’t really realize the amount of activity that happens in this room,” said Price.  I guess it’s a good thing that she enjoys being busy throughout the day.  The Prep Room supplies 6 courses each Fall semester and 7 courses each Spring semester with the lab supplies needed to effectively conduct the course.

It’s Price’s work ethic and integrity that allow her to do what she does.  Dr. Gregory Broussard, an Assistant Teaching Professor within the department, said “Linda has a very high devotion to the teaching mission of our department and makes it her top priority to make sure the labs have what they need to teach the students.  This means that she puts the department first and herself second in almost every instance of her work.”  Price said “I work for some awesome faculty.  The bottom line is that I can about what I am doing and don’t stop until it’s right and it’s done.”

 

Well Linda, I think many in the department would also say that they work with some pretty awesome people, in you, and that you are a shining example of the hard work and dedication that makes the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department what it is.  Thank you for all of your hard work and the tireless energy you put into supporting the teaching mission of this department and university. Congratulations on a much deserved award!

David Blehi
Communications Coordinator, BMB Department
814-863-2538