Payroll Examiner Promoted, Fondly Recalls SUNY Canton Memories
Amber Riordan has established her career through two separate positions at SUNY Canton.
Riordan is a Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) employee and came to SUNY Canton as an Agency Service Representative in 2008 and worked in the college’s Student Service Center until 2011. She then left the college for another state agency for a payroll assistant position. She came back to SUNY Canton in 2015 and was recently promoted to her current position of Payroll Examiner 1.
Amber Riordan was recently promoted to payroll examiner 1 at SUNY Canton. She is pictured outside of the college’s French Hall office building where she works.
Outside of her day-to-day responsibilities, Riordan said one of her favorite moments during her career was when her daughter, Michelle Riordan, received news from the college.
“I got a call from my daughter that she had been accepted in the Legal Studies program here at SUNY Canton,” she said. “My favorite memory was attending her graduation and seeing so many of the students who I got to know through the Student Payroll office also graduate. I felt so proud of all of them."
Michelle is now continuing her education for a law degree at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
Like many SUNY Canton employees, Riordan recalled a favorite interaction with a student. “She was a first-year student who was clearly on her own,” Amber said. “She wanted to understand her aid and most importantly her loans. I was so touched by her maturity and taking on this responsibility that it made me tear up.”
Riordan said she is now looking toward retirement. “I hope to travel with my husband and spend more time with our six grandchildren,” she said. “I like to paint and draw so I am looking forward to having more time to devote to that.”
In 2018, Riordan received the SUNY Canton College Council’s Employee Recognition Award for her outstanding customer service skills. She led an initiative to train the college’s classified administrative staff on new time and attendance procedures and implemented an online timecard system for student employees.
Riordan lives in Heuvelton with her husband, Larry. She earned her associate degree from Mater Dei College.
As Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs, SUNY Canton delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, management, and healthcare fields. It is home to the Center for Criminal Justice, Intelligence and Cybersecurity. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. As SUNY's leader in online education, SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 23 online degree programs. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos 15 traditional athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level as part of the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Canton also features varsity esports and cheerleading.