October 2015, Stanford Prevention Research Center

“Fernando Fierros is one of the many unsung heroes that make Stanford a premier research institution, and he deserves the spotlight” wrote Cynthia Castro Sweet, a senior research scholar for the Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC), in a letter nominating Fierros for the Department of Medicine’s Employee of the Month Award.

She continued: “He does it all - syncs the schedules of our staff working in the field, edits my documents on the fly when I need his Spanish language expertise, covers various staff duties when they are on vacation, and keeps tabs on the hundreds of study participants and appointments that are the foundation of our research.  He's great with participants, he is respected and valued by his teammates, he's great with computers, and he can even get our division van back in shape when it breaks down!”

Fierros’ can-do attitude, strong work ethic, and positivity has made an impression on Sweet and countless others, and is one of the many reasons why he is October’s Employee of the Month.

“Fernando’s support with the coordination of participant clinic schedules, along with the support he gives the team on a daily basis is crucial to the effective and timely implementation of our interventions,” said German Blanco, an SPRC interventionist. “Aside from his day-to-day work, Fernando is always available to answer questions and support others. He does all of this with the same warm and welcoming personality that would make any customer service manager proud.

Research assistant Maria Ines Campero described Fierros as an “excellent team player,” and a valued member of SPRC. “He is a valued and trusted member of our group, and he is always willing to help others and he does not hesitate to put in extra effort if it will benefit the rest of the team or the study. In summary, I feel very lucky to have Fernando on my team.”

Abby King, professor (Health Research and Policy and Medicine), echoed these sentiments, adding: “He is an inspiration to all here and fully deserves this type of wonderful recognition for all that he does.”

Fierros began his Stanford career as a driver, transporting study participants to their intervention classes and clinic assessments. He later transitioned to the role of research assistant. Today, he is a research coordinator, and he spends his time organizing and scheduling study participants for SPRC, reserving rooms, and overseeing orientation sessions.

Chris Scholberg, SPRC’s director of finance and administration, further detailed his career progression: “Fernando has been with us for several years, starting with a low level position of driving study participants in our van.  After that position ended, we were able to bring him back in a research assistant role and he has embraced the work and the healthy lifestyle SPRC offers. Fernando is hard working, eager to learn and unfailingly polite and loyal.”

Fierros, who said the award was “a big surprise,” enjoys the professionalism and support that he receives from his colleagues and superiors. “I like many things about working at Stanford,” he said. “I really feel the support from everybody.”