/news-archive/tag/heyam-dannawi/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Tue, 19 May 2020 13:05:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2020/05/19/kendrick-raino-commencement/ Tue, 19 May 2020 13:05:40 +0000 /news/?p=76901 ... Facilities Management employee earns business degree 17 years after starting]]> Kendrick Raino, operations center manager at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, is graduating this semester with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management. 鈥淭here is a huge sense of accomplishment, but I鈥檓 also thinking, 鈥業t鈥檚 about time,鈥欌�� Raino said. A native of Fountain Hill, Arkansas, Raino began his higher education journey at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in 2003, but left the following year due to a family emergency. 鈥淎fter I graduated high school, I went to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock for two years. Then, because of a family situation, I was forced to stop and work two jobs just to support the people around me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 got good enough to be a manager. I came to a point that if I wanted to move forward, I knew I needed to finish college. I switched careers so I could go back to school.鈥� Raino began working in Facilities Management in 2011 as an administrative specialist and was promoted to operations center manager in 2013. By 2017, he enrolled for a second time, taking four to six classes a semester to finish his degree. He is a recipient of the Facilities Management Scholarship, and his co-workers are impressed by his hard work and dedication to his education. 鈥淲orking through lunches, breaks, well into the evenings, and online, he has persevered, completing his final term as a senior this semester,鈥� said David Millay, associate vice chancellor of facilities management. 鈥淭hroughout it all, Kendrick has not broken stride, overcome life鈥檚 hurdles, and proceeds undaunted to reach his goal. Kendrick is a model employee and student, and represents a brighter future for himself, his family and friends, and indeed our society in general. I commend him more for his ideals, his fortitude, and for his hard work in seeking and attaining this important life goal.鈥� Being able to pursue his degree online has been a godsend for Raino and his busy schedule. He鈥檚 thankful to Dr. David Montague, director of online learning, for introducing him to the program, to his advisor, Heyam Dannawi, and Shannon Gwinn, director of the Center for Student and Career Services in the College of Business, for being his 鈥渁dvocate and supporter since day one.鈥� Raino thinks of his college classes as a useful learning lab that has made him more successful in his career. Many of his on-the-job accomplishments, such as streamlining billing processes and increasing departmental response time to customer service calls, have been made in part to what he鈥檚 learned in his classes. 鈥淎 lot of college classes are meant to prepare you to be in the workforce,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ince I鈥檓 already in the workforce, I鈥檝e taken what I鈥檝e learned to help me be a better employee.鈥� Though he is both working and going to school full time, Raino still volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas and the Arkansas Food Bank. Now that he鈥檚 completed his undergraduate degree, Raino has no plans to slow down his academic pursuits and has applied for the Master of Business Administration program at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in the fall. 鈥淚t鈥檚 absolutely never too late to try to strive to be a better version of yourself for yourself and the people around you,鈥� Raino said. 鈥淓very step I鈥檝e taken has made it that much more rewarding to where I鈥檓 at right now.鈥漖]>