The PROPS program includes a monthly profile of an A-State staff member that works every day behind the scenes to improve Arkansas State University… because EVERY Red Wolf Counts!
Staff members are selected from a pool of candidates that is created from the PROPS nomination form.
Prathima Pattada
Prathima Pattada was nominated by Tiffany Mosley for P.R.O.P.S. recognition. Tiffany had this to say about working with Prathima: “Prathima is a stellar co-worker. Prathima has helped our office on more occasions than I can count. In a previous role when our office was lacking, Prathima always stepped up to help, no questions asked. She would assist with monitoring our budgets, ordering supplies, and completing other tasks as needed all while performing her day-to-day duties, which were quite a bit already. Now that she works in the office with me, she still assists in ways that has helped our office continue to thrive and stay on top of deadlines. We were 2 office staff members short for quite some time and with her help, it was rarely noticeable to those outside of our office. She collects and aggregates assessment data for the college's many programs along with many other tasks. She volunteers to take on additional tasks and never complains. She is a team player and the person we lean on heavily for accreditation data. She always wears a smile and is very pleasant to work with. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the PROPS recognition than Prathima. It is an honor and pleasure to know and work with her.”
P.R.O.P.S. subcommittee members Tiffany Mosely, Cathy Naylor, Karen Nelson, and Greg Umhoefer spoke with Prathima recently to learn more about her and her experience at A-State.
What is your most prized possession?
I want to say my three boys: my husband Shiva and my two sons, Pranav and Gaurav. I don’t have my close family here in the United States, so it’s just the four of us. They are my everything.
What is one thing that a caregiver showed or taught you, that has stuck with you?
From my mom – back in India when I was in high school. I studied until 7th grade in my regional language. In high school, at my 8th grade admission, my mom saw a senior who was making sure the process was going on well, and she told me that it is something I had to look forward to. You have to be outgoing, learn to do things, so you can become what you want to be. Don’t be shy, go out and learn things, it will not come to you otherwise.
Describe yourself in one sentence.
I like to be efficient, thorough, and make sure everything is taken care of before it is out of my hands.
If you could have another career, what would it be and why?
Actually, I would say a lawyer. My older sisters went into the science field, and when it came for my turn to think of a career, I always thought, ‘I want to be a lawyer.’ But, when I finished 10th grade and started college (11-12 grades) and studied business, commerce, and accounting courses, I fell in love with numbers.
If I could travel anywhere it would be....
Europe, I want to go to Switzerland. Take a short vacation in Europe on our way to visit family in India. Switzerland in particular because, Bollywood movies are filmed there and the place looks beautiful. And I would like to travel more in the United States as well.
What do you like about A-State?
The environment. I did not get a chance to work in India, so I started my career in the United States. A-State as a community is welcoming and the people are some of the greatest I have worked with. I feel included. We have a very small Indian community in Jonesboro, and feeling that togetherness was important to me at work.
What do you wish everyone knew about your job?
I have recently moved to a new position, so I will tell you about my previous job as the Assessment Coordinator. As a person who loves numbers, creating and reporting assessment data was vey important to me. Assessments are a key component of student learning, and helps us achieve the desired program outcomes. It is a continuous process and should not be stopped after a certain time. The data does have pattern and we learn a lot from it overtime.
