Recently two Gordon College staff members, Anita Coco and Leo Cleary received the 2008 Provost’s Award in honor of their outstanding service and contributions to the campus. Cleary is a carpenter and locksmith for Physical Plant, but is perhaps most famous on campus for his biodiesel project. Coco is the Technical Support Specialist and Production Manager in the Center for Educational Technologies.
Leo Cleary: Environmental Guru
Eleven years ago, Leo Cleary joined the Gordon staff after working as a self-employed carpenter. Since then, he has added many other jobs to his duties on campus. He was hired as a carpenter and about two years later took over the locksmithing duties. Cleary later began working for the Art Department after his regular work hours by helping with gallery installations, managing the chemical inventory and assisting students with the technical aspects of their art projects. Out of managing the chemical inventory emerged the idea for the biodiesel project.
This most recent project has been the source of his latest passion. Cleary and others have created a Biodiesel Car, which runs on the vegetable oil waste from Lane. Cleary states, “The purpose of the car is to promote the use of sustainable fuel technology. We have also collaborated with the chemistry and biology departments, who have been integrating the biodiesel research project into their lab programs.”
With all of their progress, Cleary wants Gordon to be an example to inspire the surrounding area. He believes that Gordon would serve its community well by being an educational resources on sustainability for the larger community.
Cleary also had some words of wisdom for students who care about the environment and want to help sustain it: “It is the little individual changes in lifestyle that initiate the transforming consciousness that makes lasting change possible. If we all take little steps towards living more sustainably (shorter showers, walking, biking instead of driving, buying local, gardening, etc.), then the community as a whole will also gravitate toward sustainability on larger issues.”
Anita Coco: Mac Doctor
As Provost Dr. Mark Sargent expressed in his convocation presentation, “Someone get Anita!” is not an uncommon phrase around Gordon. Whether it’s that projector that just won’t start at the beginning of class or the student who didn’t realize how much time it takes to get video clips from the camera to a DVD, Anita Coco is there to help.
Coco attributes her years at Gordon to the Lord’s provision. While living in Virginia Beach, Coco, who holds a seminary degree in youth ministry, began searching for a new job after discovering her passion for working with computers. For Coco learning the language of a computer is problem-solving and she is a detective. Having found a posting for a technology specialist on an online Christian referral program, Coco interviewed for a position at Gordon. When she later filled the position she was known as the “Mac doctor” as she had the daunting responsibility of keeping the then 85% Mac-dominated campus running.
These days, Coco still enjoys solving any Mac-related problem, but her passion is for the community. She delights in teaching students how to make movies and spends countless hours helping students to learn the process. Additionally, Coco loves how the Gordon community challenges her faith. For instance, in the fall Coco was having lunch with a student who recounted what she had learned in that morning’s chapel presentation about the New-Abolitionist Movement. Coco then picked up a copy of David Batstone’s book Not for Sale, and since then she too has found a passion for the work to free slaves worldwide. She and a group from her church recently began collaborating with a group in Boston. Coco expressed that had she not been at Gordon, the conversation that resulted in her new passion might never have taken place. Interested in learning more? Thriving on student interaction, Coco welcomes any students who drop by her office on the second floor of Jenks.
