Augusta University
Denise ParrishIn this series, Jagwire continues to feature people from around Augusta University and AU Health who keep JagNation running. Email the media relations team to share your story. This week we speak to Darlene Ladson, a member of Environmental Services for the university.
Where is your spot in JagNation?
I am an assistant manager with Environmental Services on the Health Sciences Campus.
How long have you been a part of JagNation?
It was four years in November 2020.
Most interesting thing about your job?
The levels of concern the management team and service technicians are willing and ready to meet to ensure customers are satisfied. A general team effort is visible and implemented in what we do daily.
Favorite thing about JagNation?
The room allotted for progression. I have had the good fortune to be groomed and tutored by leaders who push for responsibility, accountability, and leadership potential.
Family:
Keith, Sr. (deceased); Darlene; Keith, Jr. (deceased); Kierra (Anthony Sr., Anthony, Jr., Amiyah); and Kapriah (Raya)
Hobbies:
I love music in all its forms and have been blessed to have a family that participated in the art in so many ways. My son was a keyboard player and percussionist; my daughters sing; and their father was a singer, choir director, percussionist and keyboard player. I listen to about every genre, and I love how music allows creative expression to come forth and how this universal language speaks to others in a profound, and most times, personal way.
Something JagNation does not know about you?
Between the months of July 2015 and January 2016, I lost my granddaughter (7 months in utero), my son (sickle cell anemia), and my husband (colon cancer). This time in my life was traumatizing, to say the least. I came home to Augusta not knowing what was in my future. It was soon after moving back I landed a position with Augusta University. Through the grace of God, my family, and work, I was able to stay focused and walk out of a dark, sad place and live again. My journey has been upward only, and I am thankful for every day that the sun shines and introduces my family and me to new possibilities.
Augusta University values are compassion, collegiality, excellence, inclusivity, integrity and leadership. Describe how you fulfill one or more of these values.
Our department has worked through the pandemic shutdown and now the reopening of the university. It has caused our concern for one another to grow stronger. We (Environmental Services) embrace the importance of our position on the campus, and months later courageously continue to move forward with meeting the campus needs.
With the pandemic taking control of our everyday lives, we found ourselves in a place that teamwork was not just a coordinated gesture, tech to supervisor. We had to avail ourselves to work with appointed employees in various departments in a coordinated effort to keep the campus safe. Accountability, professionalism and being socially responsible as well as interactive in the campus community is key to the productive outcome we have experienced each day.
Staff
