UH celebrates National Student Employment Week - University of Houston
Skip to main content

UH celebrates National Student Employment Week

DSAES News
July 21, 2022

Student Employee of the Year awards to be announced on April 14

Two University of Houston students will be honored on Thursday with Student Employee of the Year awards, capping off a week of celebration for National Student Employment Week.

University Career Services, located in the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, is hosting a luncheon on Thursday, April 14 to award the Undergraduate and Graduate Student Employee of the Year awards. The top five undergraduate and graduate nominees, along with their nominators, will be in attendance and will also be honored for their work over the past year.

It’s just one of the ways UH is honoring the student workers on campus, said Donah Justice, a career development counselor in University Career Services.

“We are excited this year to expand the the award to both an undergraduate and graduate student,” Justice said. “That has helped increased our total nominations to 87, the highest number yet we have received for nominations.”

The National Student Employment Association (NESA), which is an organization made up of hundreds of professionals who oversee college student work programs, set April 10-16 as National Student Employment Week. During this week, colleges and universities across the country recognize the valuable contributions student workers make to their campuses. Student employment offers students career-enhancing opportunities, the ability to develop transferable skills, and preparation for the job market upon graduation.

In addition to the awards luncheon, University Career Services is also hosting a student employment workshop, “How to Market a Student Worker Position on Your Resume,” on April 13. During this workshop, students will learn how to write about the transferable skills of their campus employment position on a resume for a full-time position.

Justice said University Career Services received 62 nominations for the Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year, and 25 for the Graduate Student Employee of the Year. Judges from across campus blindly review the nominations, evaluating students on a number of factors:

  • Reliability: Nominee’s ability to get things done, timely job completion, conscientiousness;
  • Quality of Work: Duties and tasks completed by nominee exceed expectations;
  • Initiative: Nominee expresses interest in assuming added responsibilities, demonstrates a proactive approach;
  • Professionalism: Nominee maintains professionalism while interacting with others in the office, provides excellent customer service;
  • Uniqueness of Contribution: Nominee’s ability to go above and beyond standard work expectations, demonstrates leadership abilities, nominee’s impact on your department, campus, and community.

The winners are then determined based on these evaluations.

Dr. Monica Thompson, interim assistant vice president for student affairs and executive director of University Career Services, said students gain valuable experience when they accept an on-campus job.

“Campus jobs are more than just a way to help you earn a few extra dollars to help pay your expenses,” Thompson said. “Student employees have the opportunity to learn important career skills in their positions while working on campus. Through these work experiences, students develop valuable employability skills such as teamwork, communication and problem solving. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), future employers will see this as great preparation for the world of work outside of their college.”

She thanked peer career advisors, who are University Career Services student employees, for their tireless work. Without them, she said, University Career Services could not host career fairs, help students in the UCS Career Closet, or provide resume support to students. “Our student employees are valuable to us and provide wonderful insight to help us enhance the student experience,” Thompson said. “In talking with my colleagues, many of us know we could not do this work without them.”

Coogs interested in working on campus should mark their calendars for the Fall 2022 on-campus job fair set for August 5, 2022. This fair, held by University Career Services, will help students find both college work study and non-college work study positions at UH for the next academic year.