Northwest recognizes top student workers

University's Student Employee of the Year Sean Collins also receives state-level award

collins grounds crew

Sean Collins (far left), who works in the Information Services Department of Northwest's B.D.
Owens Library, receives the Northwest Student Employee of the Year Award from President Dean
L. Hubbard. Collins also won the Missouri Student Employee of the Year Award, which has gone
to a Northwest student in seven of the last ten years. The Outstanding Student Employee Team
Award went to the athletics grounds/landscape crew (shown with Hubbard at right), consisting of
(from left) Ryan Davis, Kyle Smith, Jim Griswold, Drew Engle and Clint Williams. Not pictured is
crew member Brett Bailey.

Northwest honored some of its most valued employees on April 17 during the University’s Student Employee Recognition Ceremony in the J.W. Jones Student Union. The annual reception for all student workers is hosted annually by the Office of Human Resources.

For the seventh time in ten years the student receiving Northwest Student Employee of the Year honors, Sean Collins of Maryville, also received the state-level award.

Collins works in the Information Services Department of Northwest’s B.D. Owens Library. He was nominated for his “many unique contributions to the library that will tremendously impact workflow and improve upon the time needed to complete tasks.”

Among other accomplishments, Collins created a database system to track workflow; designed a Web-based method of organizing feedback about the library’s annual Brick and Click conference for academic librarians; and came up with instructional aids that help librarians teach students about academic writing guidelines and electronic search strategies.

Collins has also contributed to the maintenance of the library’s 1,300-page Web site, constructed interactive PDF forms and enhanced library maps with interactive Flash applications.

According to his Student Employee of the Year recommendation, Collins “continuously proves that he pays attention to minute details as he examines each project until every goal has been met. … His projects are always thorough and creative, and the details are accurate. He has a great disposition and always willingly tackles new projects.”

In addition to Student Employee of the Year, the ceremony included awards for Outstanding Student Employee Team and student workers who have demonstrated excellence in the categories of initiative, professionalism, uniqueness of contribution, quality of work and reliability.

The other honorees were:

Outstanding Team, athletics grounds/landscape crew: Bret Bailey Oregon, Mo.; Ryan Davis, Ravenwood; Drew Engle, Blue Springs; James Griswold, Rockbridge, Illinois; Kyle Smith, Perry; Clinton Williams, Omaha, Neb.
Initiative, Hillory Stirler, Mitchellville, Iowa, University Outreach.
Professionalism, Hannah Cole, Rosendale, Talent Development Center.
Uniqueness of Contribution, Shawn Mikelson, Wathena, Kan., Center for Information Technology in Education.
Quality of Work, Melissa Pickens, Greentop, Early Childhood Center (Department of Family and Consumer Sciences).
Reliability, Jerin Adcock, Carrollton, B.D. Owens Library.

Full-time University staff members Nikki Bucy, auxiliary services specialist in the Office of Student Affairs, and Gayle Hull, membership and promotions coordinator for KXCV/KRNW, the University’s public radio station, were named co-Student Employment Supervisors of the Year.

Northwest’s Student Employment Program, which established the Student Employee of the Year Awards in 1999, is known nationally and internationally for its Student Career Pathing initiative.

Now in its fourth year, the Career Pathing program at Northwest allows student workers to move through a series of stepped job classifications provided they receive satisfactory performance reviews and attend workshops addressing such topics as quality, leadership, workplace safety, ethics, networking and teamwork.

Just as in the post-college workplace, each step up the student-worker job ladder includes a pay increase.

“As an indispensable part of the Northwest family our student employees are essential to the way this University functions,” said University President Dean L. Hubbard, who noted that replacing Northwest’s 1,100 student workers would require the addition of 250 full-time staff members.

Hubbard also said the Career Pathing program, with its stepped pay increases, makes it possible for students to earn between $7,500 and $10,000 a year to help pay for their education. This is significant, he said, since the total cost of earning an undergraduate degree at Northwest over four years, exclusive of room and board, is approximately $44,000.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone: 660.562.1704
Fax: 660.562.1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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