Marisa Sears has been with University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 30 years, and during her time, she’s come to value the relationships she’s built at the university and at Adams School of Dentistry. It turns out the ASOD community values her too; she was a recent recipient of a H.E.A.R.T. award. The H.E.A.R.T (“Helping Everyone Achieve Results Together”) award, recognizes staff whose contributions to the ASOD community have been substantial and who embody the shared values of service and teamwork.
“I was coming back from vacation, and I looked at my phone and got a text that said ‘you won.’ I thought ‘won what?’ I had forgotten about it,” she laughs. “But I was pleasantly surprised. That’s a nice thing to come back to. I don’t know who nominated me, but it was sweet that they did.”
Sears is an accounting technician in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and first came to ASOD in 2002. She previously worked in development and had some interest in working in accounting, so she took a few classes. She eventually found her current position working with researchers and the research labs, something she enjoys.
“I really enjoy the customer service aspect. I give the labs someone they can count on.
marisa sears
If they can’t figure out a problem, we work it out, and I just enjoy it.”
Sears’ coworkers often come to her to learn how to use BuyCarolina and how to reconcile P-card charges, but her favorite part of her job is doing deposits for the central sterilization lab. She likes that her coworkers know and trust her.
“These folks know me, and they know they can count on me,” she said. “If I can’t help, I will try to find someone who can. I want to be someone they can come to.”
Sears also has good relationships with the faculty members she works with, and she’s known for her love of cross-stitch and sewing, to the point that people often bring her back souvenirs from trips related to her hobbies. She’s also known for her handmade Christmas and holiday ornaments. She starts working on them months before the holiday season, and this year, she said, she’s making little sweaters with personalized decorations for her friends and coworkers.
When she’s not busy with craftwork, you can often find Sears working part-time at the Lenovo Center, where she gets to see concerts and hockey games for free. She was recently able to see P!nk, a bucket list show for her, and she has enjoyed the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Little Big Town, Sugarland and Pentatonix.