MIAD Values Recognition Award: Laura Baranyk-Morales

Laura Baranyk-Morales

The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design has announced the first recipient of the MIAD Values Recognition Award. Laura Baranyk-Morales, Assistant Office Manager in the Admissions Center, was recognized as embodying all of MIAD’s values, particularly Kindness and Community.

The newly-established MIAD Values Recognition Award celebrates faculty and staff who consistently model MIAD’s values: Courage, Integrity, Kindness, Community, Innovation and Inclusion. After employees nominate a colleague for the award, a committee made up of faculty and staff convenes to vote on the month’s recipient. Awardees receive a $250 prize.

One nominator said of Baranyk-Morales, “The sense of community that drew me to MIAD and keeps me here is something woven into Laura’s personality and professionalism. She has clearly found meaning in her work, and by doing so has contributed to the meaning that I find in mine.” Highlighted especially as embodying values of kindness and community, Baranyk-Morales works to make the Admissions Center a welcoming space. “Laura is like a mom away from home for many of the student workers. Her warmth and attentiveness makes the office a space people want to be in,” said another nominator.

Baranyk-Morales celebrates her 21st anniversary working at the college in April 2023. She credits her colleagues and the welcoming environment they create as the reason for her decades-long career at MIAD. “The humanness of people, how they treat you … that’s been a major difference,” she says. Building her career around human-centered service, Baranyk-Morales also works in music ministry and is a licensed massage therapist. “I love everything that I do. The service that I give to people and what I get in return is very fulfilling,” she says.

Learn more about MIAD’s Values Recognition Award or nominate a colleague at miad.edu/vra.