ASCC celebrates
Administrative Professionals Week
by James Kneubuhl
ASCC Press Officer
The hardworking
administrative assistants and secretaries at the American Samoa
Community College (ASCC) enjoyed three days of training and recognition
last week in celebration of Administrative Professionals Week.
Across the nation,
offices in the public and private sectors participated in this
event held during the last full week of April, with Wednesday
of that week designated as Administrative Professionals Day.
While this year
marks the first time ASCC has joined in Administrative Professionals
Week festivities, ASCC Human Resources Director Komiti Panama-Emmsley
said that based on the success of this year's program, she hopes
to make it a yearly event.
Besides providing
ASCC administrative assistants and secretaries with much-deserved
recognition for their efforts, Panama-Emmsley emphasized their
"professional" competencies by organizing a workshop
on customer service, acculturation, stress management and work
ethics.
"As soon
as you walk into an office, or someone there answers the telephone,
you can always tell whether or not the organization has a good
grasp of customer service," said Panama-Emmsley. "Secretaries
represent the front-line of any organization, so they provide
the first impression customers get of their whole operation.
We all know that in our dealings with any office, things go more
smoothly when the people are treated with professionalism and
courtesy, but many secretaries simply haven't received any training
at this critical area, although they may be highly skilled in
other areas."
With this in
mind, the workshop put together by Mrs. Panama-Emmsley included
a number of ASCC administrators giving brief presentations on
various aspects of the ASCC mission and vision, professionalism,
and customer service, including President Dr. Seth Galea'i, Chief
Financial Officer CGFM, Ph.D. Falema'o Pili, and Small Business
Development Center Director Herbert Thweatt.
Two especially
thought provoking presentations came from Sylvia Tauiliili of
the Nursing Department, who talked about Stress Management, and
Leusoga "Bill" Emmsley, Dean of the Institute of Trades
& Technology, who shared his insights on Acculturation in
the Workplace.
"Our unique
cultural situation definitely influences our attitudes towards
customer service," reflected Panama-Emmsley, "sometimes
in a good way, sometimes not.
Leusoga stressed
that we should understand both Samoan values as well as western
values when dealing professionally with people."
The ASCC activities
culminated with a special luncheon this past Friday at the Equator
for the College's Administrative Professionals as well as the
Deans and Directors they work under. The staff members received
certificates of recognition for having completed the week's training
sessions, and listened to a presentation by special guest speaker
Letofa Man Taialofa Naseri, Director of Human Resources and Administration
at the National University of Samoa (NUS), who spoke passionately
about the responsibilities of the administrative professional.
"Administrative
professionals hold the values that everyone in their organization
should emulate," reflected Naseri.
Several of the
ASCC administrative professionals on hand commented on how much
they had gained from the three-day event. Joann Vaka of the Business
Office described the training as "profound" and said,
"They should make this sort of thing available to all of
the staff and faculty".
Jason Hollister
of GEAR-UP commented, "The presentation on acculturation
really opened my eyes as to how we can find a bridge between
the values of the two main cultures here in our islands."
Across the United
States, offices recognize and celebrate the work of secretaries,
administrative assistants, and other office professionals for
their growing and diverse contributions to the workplace during
Administrative Professionals Week.
The International
Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) and a consortium
of office product manufacturers originally organized the event
as "National Secretaries Week" in 1952. U.S. Secretary
of Commerce Charles Sawyer proclaimed the first National Secretaries
Week, held June 1-7, 1952, with Wednesday, June 4 designated
as the first National Secretaries Day.
In 1955, the
National Secretaries Association changed the date of National
Secretaries Week to the last full week of April, with Wednesday
of that week designated National Secretaries Day. The name changed
again to Professional Secretaries Week in 1981, when the National
Secretaries Association became Professional Secretaries International
(PSI).
In 1998, PSI
changed its name to the International Association of Administrative
Professionals (IAAP), to further reflect the expanding role of
office staff. In 2000, the IAAP announced that the name would
change from "Professional Secretaries Day" to "Administrative
Professionals Day", in order to keep in step with the changing
job titles and expanding responsibilities of today's administrative
workforce.
© Osini Faleatasi Inc. dba Samoa News reserves
all rights.
|