I am a new hire who completed NEO last month.

MaryCate was such an extraordinary coordinator who made my first week of work and NEO a welcoming experience. The impact she made on me is still felt a month later and I know it will be with me during my entire career. MaryCate exemplified the I CARE principles to the highest of standards.

-Integrity: MaryCate ran a structured NEO experience that had all of us new hires actively engaged. There were a variety of different occupations in our class from all departments. Her excellent organization allowed for the maximum amount of trust and confidence in her ability to efficiently integrate all of us. MarcyCate always stayed after orientation was over to answer any questions.

-Commitment: During NEO, it was taught to always be a welcoming leader to all Veterans. During each day of NEO, MaryCate was able to first hand show how to direct veterans where to go (with a smile, of course), and during our hospital tour, she was a leader who provided such a welcoming energy that could be felt by all. She was committed to serving veterans and fellow employees through her constant professional delivery.

-Advocacy: During NEO orientation, I had a medical appointment at the Syracuse VA Medical Center during one of the presentations. Even though I had scheduled this appointment months ago, I wanted to reschedule it. Since I trusted MaryCate, I decided to inform her because I was becoming indecisive. After informing MaryCate, she immediately recommended that I not reschedule my appointment, quoting that "The Nurse in her" wanted me to go to my appointment. Since I did not have access to my Outlook yet, MaryCate went out of her way to message my Supervisor directly and additionally provide an alternative (Direct Teams link for the next presentation since the brief is done solely online on Teams). I recently completed that online team presentation and successfully fulfilled that NEO requirement with no issues. MaryCate advocated for me even though I was not even a nurse; she had no issues contacting my supervisor for me and made me feel very taken care of.

-Respect: MaryCate showed equal and extraordinary respect to all new staff - both non-nursing and nursing. Even though our NEO class had a majority of new nurses, she ensured us non-nursing staff had no issues in our requirements throughout the week.

-Excellence: MaryCate knew I would be working at the Watertown CBOC. Therefore, she went ahead and got a request for me to sign out a laptop and charger from IT before the last day of NEO. Even my Supervisor was surprised because it was intended for me to get the laptop after the last day of NEO. This was a top-level initiative. To top it off, this wasn't the end for MaryCate since she had the rest of the week to finish the new nursing hires since their NEO is longer.

Closing remarks: As a veteran who recently transitioned out of the military, this was my first job after the Army. I was very anxious and nervous before my first day of NEO. I was afraid of feeling unwelcome for some reason. MaryCate's execution of my NEO class allowed me to be myself, comfortable, and feel welcome. I am truly impressed by the whole inprocessing process. A month later, I am still thankful for my great NEO experience because I was able to focus on training for my job right away. MaryCate went above and beyond the expectations of a NEO coordinator and Clinical Nurse Educator. To this day, I already know she is still providing the same energy for current and future NEO classes with a welcoming smile, positive energy, and incredible professionalism.