PUEBLO – Pueblo Community College recognized four outstanding representatives as its 2025 employees of the year.
They were formally recognized at PCC’s Spring Kickoff and employee recognition breakfast Jan. 15 and will be included in a statewide ceremony this spring with other employees of the Colorado Community College System.
Each year, winners are selected in four categories – faculty, part-time instructor, classified and administrative/professional/technical. The 2025 honorees are Max Mabrey (part-time instructor), Raymond Marquez (classified), Ann Oreskovich (faculty), and Jill Young (APT). All four work at PCC’s Pueblo campus.
"This year's group demonstrates what is great about PCC – a high level of service and care for every individual,” said PCC President Chato Hazelbaker. “These colleagues are also just a lot of fun to work with."
Max Mabrey spent more than 40 years serving the public with his emergency medical service skills in just about every imaginable environment and job capacity. He received numerous awards and other recognition for his work.
His retirement was certainly well earned, yet he commutes from his home two hours from campus to share his knowledge with PCC's EMS students. He has done this since 2023.
A native of Indiana, Mabrey served in the U.S. Navy in the early 1970s before becoming an EMT. He started a second career as a dental technician and for more than 20 years owned his own dental lab while continuing to volunteer and teach in the emergency services field.
Mabrey also worked as an EMS educator and a flight paramedic with Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs. He retired from the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District in 2017 after 14 years as a firefighter and paramedic.
He was honored with a medal of merit from the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Rescue Authority for saving the life of a young child. He also received the Halos for Heroes award from the Penrose-St. Francis Health Foundation after a student made a $50,000 donation to the foundation in recognition of Mabrey’s impact.
His motto is, “To become an outstanding instructor, one must be a lifelong student.” He has embraced the evolution of the EMS curriculum and enthusiastically implements new ideas into the classroom. Mabrey's love of teaching is always evident to his students and colleagues.
Saying he was “honored and humbled” by the award, he thanked his supervisors and colleagues for their guidance and for providing him an opportunity to grow as an instructor.
Mabrey and his wife of 54 years, Susan, have two sons and two grandchildren. They enjoy riding their motorcycle, spending time outdoors and attending their grandchildren’s events.
Ray Marquez joined PCC as an electrician in 2017 and has been a facilities manager (Labor, Trades and Crafts Operations I) since 2022.
A native of Denver, he has more than 25 years of experience as a journeyman electrician.
His colleagues note Marquez’s professionalism, leadership, and commitment to students as several of his exceptional qualities.
One of his team members noted, “Ray's sincerity, dedication, and positive presence leave a lasting impression on everyone he encounters. He is a true example of professionalism, compassion, and commitment to PCC.”
Through PCC’s partnership with the Federations for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) program, Marquez has mentored students as they gain real-world experience working with the PCC facilities team. He also served as a representative on the president’s cabinet.
He consistently makes time for the many people he interacts with on campus. Through his daily contact with dozens of people, Marquez is known for his smile, thoughtfulness, and sincere interest in his colleagues.
He is passionate about music and enjoys reading while away from work.
“Let's keep showing up for each other,” Marquez said. “Understand the impact you truly have on people. What we do is a big thing.”
Ann Oreskovich has been a key member of PCC’s art faculty since 2010 and since 2015, she also has served as assistant chair of the Fine Arts, Humanities, and Media Communications department.
Her professionalism, enthusiasm and commitment to excellence are consistently noted by students and colleagues. Her reliability is demonstrated by the fact that in 15 years of teaching, she has missed only one class due to illness. She calls the San Juan building, where her department is located, her “home away from home.”
In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Oreskovich produces two major campus art exhibits each semester and coordinates an annual internship program in collaboration with the Colorado State Fair. Under her guidance, PCC students play a significant role in staging the fair’s fine arts exhibition.
Outside of her commitments to the classroom, she serves as the Arts and Sciences lead for the Assessment Committee and has been a member of the IDEA Committee and its previous incarnation since 2014. She was instrumental in developing PCC’s new land acknowledgement statement.
“One of the things I’ve learned at PCC is there are ways to contribute even if you’re not the loudest voice in the room,” she said.
Born and raised in Pueblo, Oreskovich received her bachelor’s degree in art from Grinnell College, master’s degree in art from Eastern Illinois University and her MFA in visual art from Washington University in St. Louis.
She expresses her own creativity through painting and illustrating and says her family, pets and reading are her great passions.
Jill Young has been the sales manager for PCC conference and event services since 2016, and she is called “official chaos coordinator” for good reasons.
Young leads a small team that handles events of every size and scope on PCC’s Pueblo campus. From individual class events to statewide conferences, she coordinates each facet to ensure a successful outcome. She is known for her support of her staff, dedication to her job, dependability, and willingness to help whenever and wherever she is needed.
“I’ve worked at a lot of places, and PCC is the most vibrant, warm community I’ve ever been a part of,” Young said.
The Minnesota native earned a degree in preschool and elementary education from the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University in 1987 and worked as a preschool, kindergarten, and learning disability teacher in her home state.
Young is an active member of the PCC Staff Council and Panther Action Committee and previously served on numerous other college committees. She has been recognized for her community work by the local YWCA and by the Pueblo Latino Chamber of Commerce, which named her outstanding ambassador in 2019.
She maintains her chaos coordinator title at home, where she wrangles seven rescue dogs and four cats. She also spends plenty of time with her family and enjoys thrifting and collecting vintage toys.
