Getu Woldemariam, a senior operations manager, celebrated 35 years at Georgetown.
Getu Woldemariam started his Georgetown career in a parking lot booth in 1988.
He remembers greeting dignitaries, parents, students, faculty members, and even basketball legends like Patrick Ewing when they arrived at the university.
“It gave me an opportunity to get to know people and my network just kept growing and growing within a short period of time,” he said.
Thirty-five years later, Woldemariam is a senior operations manager, overseeing Georgetown’s fleet of transportation services.
On May 2, he was honored alongside 96 other staff members and and Academic Administrative Professionals (AAPs) for their years of service at the HR Service Awards. The awards ceremony recognizes staff members who are marking 20+ milestone years of service or more at Georgetown (20, 25, 30, 35, and so on).
“You’ve supported and inspired our students, and you’ve served as a model for leadership and service for your colleagues,” Georgetown President John J. DeGioia said during the awards ceremony. “It’s my privilege to celebrate you and to thank you for all you have done and continue to do.”
This was the first year that the HR Service Awards honored staff in a unified manner alongside AAPs with the Vicennial Medal for their milestone years of service.
“Here at Georgetown, we are blessed and privileged to work in an environment where people really do make a difference,” said Tony Kinslow, vice president and chief human resources officer. “We are excited and proud to recognize you all today with this ceremony.”
Staff on Main Campus members celebrate 25 years of service.Staff members celebrate 20 years of service at the Law Center.Tony Kinslow, vice president and chief human resources officer, introduces the ceremony.Staff members celebrate 20 years of service at the Georgetown University Medical Center.
A 45-Year Legacy
Alfred Johnson (C’81), a program services manager, celebrated 45 years at Georgetown.
This year, Georgetown honored three employees who have worked for 45 years at the university: Jean Daly, associate dean of Student Financial Services, and Alfred Johnson (C’81), a program services manager, and Charles Leonhardt, senior director of online initiatives and innovation, who both work in University Information Services.
Johnson began working for the university in 1978 while taking classes part-time. He didn’t look back.
In the years following, he’s held five other positions, now working as the program services manager in University Information Systems. Johnson said he was drawn to making students’ lives easier through technology — challenges he experienced as a student and wanted to fix.
Students — and Georgetown’s community — are what has kept him here for 45 years.
“Just being around young people just kind of enforces that this place is alive,” he said. “I never got bored. … Even today, when I woke up this morning and was driving to campus, I was like, we have a lot of new and exciting things that I’ll be doing today.”
As Johnson nears retirement, he said he’s going to miss certain things about the Hilltop, like the cherry trees blooming in the spring and the leaves falling on Copley and Healy Lawn in the fall.
“I’ve basically worked here my entire work life because I’ve really just enjoyed the campus and the people I work with.”
Georgetown’s Service to Its Staff
Staff members cheer on the Hoyas at a staff appreciation basketball game in February.
The HR Service Awards is one of many events, initiatives and programs Georgetown has offered in the past year. Recently, Bring Your Child to Work Day, the annual staff appreciation picnic and a staff appreciation basketball game event celebrated the Hoya family and built community. Every winter, HR hosts the annual Eileen Fenrich Sponsor a Family Program, which offers members of the university community an opportunity to offer assistance to Georgetown families in need during the holiday season.
“Georgetown creates a strong sense of connection to, and engagement in, the broader work of the university community through our engagement as colleagues,” Kinslow said. “We strive to build community and colleagueship with the broader Hoya family, guided by our Catholic and Jesuit values and our commitment to the common good.”
Staff members at the annual staff appreciation picnic in September 2023.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Georgetown has added 324 full-time staff and AAP positions, bringing the total staff population to over 4,000. Of these new positions, nearly 100 were academic and student services positions. There have also been 1,250 internal promotions of staff and AAP employees.
On Sept. 5, HR will celebrate a special ceremony to honor staff members who have previously marked their 20-year service anniversary so they may receive their Vicennial Medal.
