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Marlene Schneider |
After 30 years at UNMC, Marlene Schneider will be retiring this month.
Schneider, a counselor in the Faculty-Employee Assistance Program(FEAP), spent those years working with UNMC employees who were struggling with stress, depression or other life challenges. She says she’s loved working with her fellow employees.
“Over the years, I have seen so many employees,” she said. “They come into my office so down, often struggling, and I get to see their inner strength. I get to help them maximize their potential. To see them heal and find their voice has been very rewarding.”
Schneider won’t be giving up on counseling. She has a private practice outside of UNMC and she plans to continue helping people — while perhaps working on her golf game.
“I just moved into my new home on a golf course,” she said.
Jayme Nekuda, the associate director of human resources, said Schneider has been invaluable to the FEAP program during her tenure.
“Marlene has been a professional and compassionate voice and a strong support for her fellow employees,” Nekuda said. “It’s hard to overstate the impact she has had on this campus, or the number of people she has helped.”
Susan Smith, manager of the FEAP program, said Schneider’s professionalism and integrity were unmatched in the EAP community.
“Marlene is one of those employees who possess great professional skill with a hefty dose of compassion and insight when working with FEAP clients,” she said. “As colleagues for the past 30 years, we have been driven to provide the very best in EAP services to this campus and UNO as well.
“In doing so, through all the highs and lows of the kind of work we do, we have become both teammates and friends. The ‘sweet’ is that I am happy Marlene is at a place in her life that she can move on to the next phase of her journey, one that doesn’t involve alarm clocks, but does include much more swinging — of her golf clubs, that is. The ‘bitter’ is that I will miss her presence as my colleague ‘next door.'”
Schneider acknowledged that change would be difficult.
“It’s the ending of a career which I’ve thoroughly loved,” she said. “But it’s time to move on and look for new challenges.”
Her colleagues will hold a retirement reception for her from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. today in University Tower’s Private Dining Rooms A & B. Schneider’s final day will be April 15.