Texas Border Business
By Amanda Sotelo
McALLEN, Texas – Norine Bardo joined the South Texas College team in 2020, amid a global pandemic, when everyday life was uncertain. Over the years, the one thing that remained steadfast was her dedication and commitment to the college, earning her the inaugural 2026 Staff of the Year Award for Pecan campus.
Over the last six years, Bardo, a client service analyst III for the STC Information Technology (IT) Service Desk, has earned the trust of her colleagues, earning the nomination for this year’s award that highlights excellence, innovation and professional achievement.
“This was a great surprise; it’s a huge honor,” said Bardo. “While I’m bad at being in public, especially when attention is on me, I’m proud of this award because it gives a department that is generally behind the scenes, a moment in the spotlight. I’m glad that I can represent our department.”
A shy dog lover, video game player and avid reader, she serves STC as a team lead managing technical solutions; data collection and reporting; team coaching and training; and leading campuswide phone upgrades and software transitions.
Bardo’s supervisor, Service Delivery Manager Alejandra Morales, said Bardo exemplifies what it means to be an exceptional employee and colleague.
“I am proud to see her contributions recognized through this well-deserved honor. Norine’s Employee of the Year award reflects her dedication, professionalism and meaningful contributions to our college,” she said. “She combines technical excellence with outstanding interpersonal skills, builds trust, fosters collaboration and consistently goes above and beyond to support others. What distinguishes Norine is not only the quality of her work, but also the positive impact she makes on the people around her.”
Bardo, who has more than 30 years of experience in the IT sector, has most recently co-led the IT artificial intelligence (AI) team to implement new AI tools and security reviews for the college, serves on STC’s Staff Advisory Council and chairs the first Distinguished Leadership Academy mentorship program through the Teaching and Learning Center.
“I try to participate around campus as much as I can,” said Bardo. “I like to help our faculty and staff. I work with such skilled people in my department, campuswide, and they’re the reason why I got this recognition.”
The Michigan transplant moved to the Rio Grande Valley on recommendation from her grandparents who lived in the Valley for more than three decades, and now, calling the Valley and STC home, she is not only honored to have her work recognized, but she has goals that will continue moving the college forward.
“We will continue to push AI, how to use it responsibly and ethically, I want to implement a repository of used cases and create a tangible way of calculating our return of investment on these programs,” she said. “At STC, we must keep up with all the innovative tools at our fingertips, and we must remain ahead of the game.”
