More than 60 Campbell University staff members were nominated for President William M. Downs’ first rollout of the Cherished Camel award, recognizing exceptional performance and designed to “promote excellence and provide visible university-wide appreciation of employees who demonstrate daily dedication, initiative and productivity.”
All 60 were nominated by a colleague at Campbell. Crystal Dark was nominated by three.
Dark — department manager and program manager for pharmaceutical and clinical sciences for the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences — was the fifth and final recipient of the award over the last two weeks, surprised in her office in the Science Building on Wednesday by Downs, both Campbell mascots (Gaylord and Gladys) and several members of her team.
Some of the kind words from her nomination letters:
- “Crystal’s proactive mindset, superior mentorship and unwavering dedication have made her an invaluable asset to the department, college and the university.” — Dr. Charles Carter
- “Crystal participates in Hump Days by proudly wearing orange on Wednesdays and displays a lot of Campbell swag in her office. She deals with so many individuals during the course of a day, and she is very easy to approach and very responsive to emails.” — Scott Staton
- “For summer STEM camps, Crystal is a crucial part in the recruitment effort. She is always willing to lend a hand to departments outside of CPHS … and she is an integral part of onboarding master’s students in the pharmaceutical sciences program.” — Michael Gallagher
Like previous winners, Dark was emotional upon receiving the award, later admitting she felt like she had a “deer in the headlights” look.
“I am very thankful and honored to have been nominated for and to have received this award,” she said. “And I am blessed for the Campbell family that I have worked with all these years.”
