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Berenice Cortez: Binder Prize Winner

Berenice Cortez says she and her Harvey Mudd colleagues are like one big family, and she has nothing but praise for their talent and capability. But her peers decided that it was time for Cortez to receive the praise. Their recommendations resulted in her receiving the 2018 Binder Prize, which honors a member of College鈥檚 support staff who combines a record of exceptional service with a helpful and friendly attitude toward College community members.

鈥淏erenice touches every department with her dedicated service to the catering department from overseeing event setups, putting the finishing touches on floral arrangements, to serving meals.聽Berenice is patient and adept when last-minute changes are needed,鈥� one of Cortez鈥檚 nominators wrote.

Surrounded by colleagues, Cortez was told she鈥檇 won the award and was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Bill Daub, professor of chemistry and a member of the selection committee, who was joined by Miguel Ruvalcaba, dining services manager, Ramona Campoy, assistant manager, and Dana Nagengast, assistant vice president for human resources. 鈥淚t makes you feel special, that you鈥檙e recognized and appreciated,鈥� Cortez says.

For 18 years, Cortez has served and tasted many plates of food from the kitchen at Hoch-Shanahan Dining Commons. When alumni return to campus for events they often comment on the quality of the food, she says. She began as a beverage runner, then worked in catering, where she鈥檚 been ever since. Cortez is now catering lead, a job that requires organization, creativity and skill as well as the patience that she鈥檚 known for.

Cortez is a seasoned pro in the busy world of catering, dealing with all sorts of dilemmas like inclement weather, staff shortages (she鈥檒l jump in to cook if necessary) or switching venues because someone鈥攕ometimes herself, she admits鈥攑rovided the wrong location. She has even memorized many community members鈥� food and catering preferences.

Hiccups and last-minute adaptations are a common occurrence, just part of the job, she says. Cortez recalls catering a barbecue for HMC鈥檚 fourth president, Jon Strauss, to celebrate his son鈥檚 high school graduation. She did not have lighter fluid and she struggled to light the charcoal. Finally, by virtue of copious amounts of Sterno, she managed to, and then the sprinklers went on. She laughs at the memory. 鈥淚 had to try to cover the grill and move it, and someone called maintenance to get them to come turn the sprinklers off.鈥�

Her ability to remain calm and professional under circumstances like these was cited by one of the nominators. Another said, simply, 鈥淏erenice is a great asset to HMC Dining Services.鈥�

The Binder Prize was established in 1997 by a gift from engineering Professor Emeritus Sam Tanenbaum and Carol Tanenbaum, his wife, to honor Carol鈥檚 mother, Mary G. Binder, and to express their gratitude to the College鈥檚 support staff. In addition to the award of $750, Cortez received a commemorative certificate and will have her name added to the Mary G. Binder Prize plaque in the foyer of Galileo Hall.