I really love it here. It has been great helping so many students. I always keep my door open. If students have questions, I want them to feel like they can come back any time and ask.
There’s nothing in this world that Jordan Jung loves more — with the possible and completely understandable exception of his wife and two young daughters — than helping people.
“Customer service is in my blood,” said Jung, who has worked at Milwaukee Area Technical College for nearly three years.
As a student success liaison in the college’s Manufacturing, Construction and Transportation Academic and Career Pathway, Jung excels at making students feel right at home. Every day he helps them figure out schedules, access emails and find classrooms.
“It’s all about taking your time, being patient and giving them a good experience,” Jung said. “You have to remember that many of them don’t know our system, so you give them as many details as you can. It’s all about making sure people know what’s going on.”
On Monday, December 15, Jung was one of 66 MATC employees who received a WE CARE Service Excellence Award for exemplary work between April 2025 and September 2025.
Jung and the other award recipients were honored at a breakfast held Monday at Cuisine Restaurant at MATC’s Downtown Milwaukee Campus. The inaugural recognition breakfast was held in May.
“You are doing the work inside the college and inside the classrooms that makes a huge difference in our students’ lives and in each others’ lives,” MATC President Anthony Cruz told the employees. “You exemplify the culture we are trying to create at MATC.”
See more photos from the the event
The standards of WE CARE, which stands for Welcoming, Engaged & Empowered, Compassionate, Accountable, Resourceful and Exceed Expectations, reflect how the college aims to interact with other employees, students and visitors.
To be honored, employees must receive at least two nominations in one quarter from peers, students or visitors. Jung received 36 nominations during the last two quarters, said Jane Beyer, the college’s director of talent strategy.
“He provides exceptional support,” read one nomination. Another called him patient, kind and intelligent.
Eleven employees received at least two nominations in both the fourth quarter of the 2024-25 academic year and the first quarter of the 2025-26 year, Beyer said. Also, nine employees received at least 10 nominations, with college advisor Erik Riley garnering a record 98 in the past two quarters, she said.
Riley’s nominations effusively praised his work, calling him an excellent problem solver, the sweetest person ever, and a life-changing asset to the organization, Beyer said.
“The way we treat one another reflects on how we treat our students,” Dr. Cruz said. “Your efforts make students want to attend here and professionals like yourselves work here.”
Jung honed his hospitality skills at perhaps the American epicenter of customer service: Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. He worked the front desk at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. He also met his wife there, moved north and worked at the Norris School District near Mukwonago before coming to MATC.
“I really love it here. It has been great helping so many students,” Jung said. “I always keep my door open. If students have questions, I want them to feel like they can come back any time and ask.”
2024-25 Q4 Nominees: Esmeralda Alvarez, Rochea Anderson, Aisha Barkow, Doni Bartley, Kimberly Blackwell, Dina Borysenko, Rita Brown, Rafael Burgos-Rivera, Anna Marie Busalacchi, Rita Chesser, Chris Chomicki, Peter Couto, Maria Cruz-Lopez, Norma Florez, Kimberly Gilmartin, Bertha Gonzalez, Mary Greuel, Sura Hameed, Devona Hardin, Paloria (Lynette) Harvey, Kyle Hayden, Jordan Jung, Donald Kasprzak, Ellen Kile, Rosy Lopez, Sara McDermott, Valerie Meyer, Merry Otero, Brenda Priebe, Calvin Retterath, Isamary Reyes, Erik Riley, Eliana Schell Campos, Penny Schwanz, Dionna Simmons, Holly Thielen, Stephanie Townsend, Quentin Trice, Maureen Vanderhoof, Tania Vehmas, Neil Verhaeghe, Nicole West.
2025-26 Q1 Nominees: Heather Andersen, Rochea Anderson, Osvaldo Anguiano, Benjamin Baerbock, Kimberly Blackwell, Noel Caballero, Rita Chesser, Bouazza El Ouahbi, Robert Elsner, Norma Florez, Bertha Gonzalez, Mary Greuel, Megan Hamilton, Bassel Hamza, Kyle Hayden, Erin Helland, Sarah Hohn, Jordan Jung, Richard Karnowski, Justin Klis, Kristin MaierMerz, Valerie Meyer, Gary Morimoto, Erik Mozolik, Timothy Murray, Allison Nicol, Joyce Payne, Naomi Pollek, Erik Riley, Bianca Standa, Neil Verhaeghe, Selena Webb-Ebo, Nicole West, Mai Yang.
About MATC: Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
