Each year, the Professional Staff of the Year Award is presented to someone who has used Blue Turf Thinking to improve the success and wellbeing of their coworkers, unit or division, and the university through exemplary service.
Nicole Bender is the 2025 Professional Staff of the Year recipient, the Professional Staff Association announced.
Bender is a counselor and crisis care coordinator in the counseling center. Her colleagues said “she has increased counseling services’s ability to provide continuity of care for students, as they are connected to both Boise State resources as well as community services” and that her “genuine, kind and welcoming demeanor ensures that staff can manage stressful situations efficiently and with the best quality of care for students.”