In the fall of 1988, Guilford College’s Registrar’s Office was in need of an office assistant. As luck would have it, Tammy Martin was looking for a job. That’s the truncated start to a long love story between Tammy and Guilford.

Thirty five years later, both are still going strong -- together, almost inseparable even. On Monday, Tammy and 37 other employees were honored for their dedication and service to Guilford at the College’s annual Service Awards luncheon. Employees were honored for five-year service milestones.

In her typical, humble fashion, Tammy, now Guilford’s Assistant Registrar, tried her best to play down the day and the attention that comes with it. In her typical love for Guilford, she did her best to lift up the College on her big day. “I’m just so thankful to be here for as long as I have been,” she says. “Guilford is such a special place to me. I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.”

Actually that’s not entirely true. When she first showed up at Guilford she wasn’t sure how long she’d stay. Tammy and her husband live in Thomasville, which made for a lengthy commute. But she loves the people she works with, especially, she says, the students and faculty she interacts with on a daily business.

In 1989, Guilford was still several years away from students registering for classes online. That meant Tammy’s days were filled with students coming and going from the basement of New Garden Hall with handwritten paperwork signed by their advisors.

“I guess I miss that part of the job if I’m being honest,” she says. “It was nice seeing the students and following them through their time at Guilford.”

These days Tammy still enjoys the occasional student who needs help in person, but most of the registration process takes place online. That’s where she’s found a second passion.

Almost all students recently completed online registration for the spring semester. The ones who experience a technical glitch turn to Tammy to work things out. “I enjoy digging into trying to figure out what’s going on, what the problem is,” she says. “Sometimes I have to send it higher up (to Information Technology) to work out, but I enjoy the challenges of problem solving.”

Hang around a College long enough and you’re bound to experience a lot of change, even lead some of that change. Tammy’s career has spanned five College presidents, wave after wave of new technology, one nasty pandemic and heaven knows how many first-year and transferring students with their schedules.

At the ceremony, Provost Maria Rosales said Tammy has been through a lot of good times and bad times at the College. “She has helped this College keep going through some really, really difficult times,” Maria says, “but no matter what Tammy is committed to the well-being of everybody here and for that I’m very grateful.

If 35 years with one employer sounds impressive, Tammy, who is 57, has news for you. She’s hoping to be here another 10 years before she retires. “Why not?” she says. “I enjoy everything about my job and the people at Guilford. I’m not counting down the days, I look forward to every day.”

Other Service Award winners recognized at the luncheon include:

5 years of service: Aleks Babic ’07, Taleisha Bowen ’05, Katy Collier, Stephanie Davis, Shelly Ewing, Tracie Fellers, Shay Harger, Christian Matheis, Tia Miles, Janelle Morris, Allen Rogers and Selena Wolf Berkley.

10 years of service: Suzanne Bartels, Reacie Daniels, Brian Evans, Rachel Riskind, Karen Spira, Jeff Stulack, Meredeth Summers, Bronwyn Taylor and Robin Weavil.

15 years of service: Diya Abdo, Zhihong Chen, John Mathews and Julie Winterich.

20 years of service: Debbie Craven, Wendy Looker, Michele Malotky, Eva McGuire, Tom Palombo, Anna Pennell, Chad Phillips and Brian Wenger.

25 years of service: Ken Gilmore, Tracy Hall, Karen Tinsley.

30 years of service: Dave Limburg.