Each year, the National Student Employment Association designates the second week of April for Universities and colleges across the country to recognize the substantial contributions of students who work on campus. For the 2017-2018 academic school year, over 1,200 student employees have been hired. This year, the Office of Business Affairs, the Student Government Association, and the Campus Activities Bard collaborated with the Office of Human Resources in sponsoring the Student Employment Appreciation Week activities. Friday, April 13, 2018, the OHR hosted the 2018 Student Employee of the Year Awards Luncheon for the award recipients.
“The Student Employment Program offers so much more than dollars earned,” said Patricia Hinojosa, benefits specialist in the Office for Human Resources, “Our students are receiving career-enhancing opportunities and experiences.” One of the goals of the Student Employment Office is to prepare students for the workforce and give them the tools to leave the University and build a successful career. She also said the benefits of the program are not one-sided because the University benefits from the program as well. “It allows us a mechanism to hire student employees to provide additional support and assistance for our departments,” said Hinojosa.
Congratulations to the 2018 Student Employees of the Year: Tyla Bryant and Abayomi Adekanmbi. Bryant is a junior Kinesiology major who was nominated by her supervisor Radhika Ayyar, and Adekanmbi is a graduate student majoring in Computer Information Systems who was nominated by his supervisor, Ray Ram. In the future, Bryant plans to continue her education in Physical Therapy at Texas State University. Her goal is to work with special needs students. Adekanmbi sees himself creating his own robotics company within the next five years.
Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, Dr. Corey Bradford, and Dr. James Palmer, interim provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, served as guest speakers for the luncheon. They reflected on their college years and their experiences being employed as a student. Although Dr. Palmer never served as a student-employee, he did gain experiences that shaped his perspective. “At every single moment you’re learning critical thinking skills and how to interact with others,” said Palmer, “You learn from people’s actions, and we hope you get that experience here.” Bradford did serve as a student employee during his college years and congratulated the award winners on their accomplishment, “To receive a student employee award is something to hang on the wall,” said Bradford, “If you’re doing well now it will bleed into your professional life.”