Student Employee of the year - 2026

Abby possesses a rare ability to motivate and inspire others through encouragement, trust-building, and genuine care. She is widely admired across the COE by faculty, staff, and students alike. Abby approaches every interaction with kindness and professionalism, always offering help with a warm smile. She is dependable, approachable, and takes the time to truly listen—a quality that has made her an invaluable source of support and reassurance for those around her. Her presence fosters a welcoming and positive work environment where others feel heard, respected, and empowered.

A natural leader, Abby consistently steps forward in workplace scenarios and embraces change with enthusiasm. She is open-minded, adaptable, and eager to consider new ideas that improve workflows and outcomes. Abby is truly a change agent within the COE, continually seeking innovative and more efficient ways to complete tasks and enhance service delivery. Her proactive mindset and solution-focused approach elevate the work of the entire team and reflect her strong leadership instincts.

Beyond her accomplishments, Abby is simply an outstanding employee, coworker and leader. She balances competence with compassion, efficiency with empathy, and leadership with humility. Her contributions extend far beyond her job description, and her influence has helped shape a culture of teamwork, excellence, and mutual respect within the COE.

While Emily is early into her professional journey, she already has the traits of a great servant leader. She finds ways to get tasks done in a light-hearted and motivational way. She is often the one taking charge on projects and events, and her attention to detail is impressive. If something is put into Emily’s hands, I have never been worried about something falling through the cracks.  One of Emily’s strongest traits is her ability to think ahead and execute her work in a thoughtful way. I have never seen someone able to pivot and adapt to unexpected changes the way she does. There is never panic, only a desire to accomplish and to execute it well.                 

Isabella is a fantasitc employee who has been an asset to the Orientation Office.  Her work has ensured the Orientation is efficient and accessible for all participants.  Isabella has worked to enhance our Spanish speaking student support systems.  The updates for such a large number of resources is astounding, and having this to provide to students, and Spanish speaking family members has made a huge difference!

Katana is the lead student for the Orientation Office's administrative assistants.  She does a fantasitc job of managing scheduleds for eight other team members, assigns weekly tasks, and works with each member on projects and program development.  It has been amazing watching her development as a leader of the last year, and the outcones that this has led to for the team.  Katana's committment to clear communication and documentation has helped ensure that her work efforts will persist in orientation even after she graduated.  Shes worked diligently to create a team culture that employees are excited to bea part of!

Lex brings a remarkable blend of leadership, curiosity, and warmth to their role. They consistently take initiative, stepping into challenges with a calm confidence and a willingness to learn. What sets Lex apart is their ability to lead without overshadowing others — they empower their peers, encourage collaboration, and create an environment where new staff feel supported from day one. One of Lex’s most impressive contributions has been their work improving our training processes. They developed new training strategies that have streamlined onboarding and helped new employees feel more prepared and confident. Additionally, Lex created clear, easy-to-read instructional materials that have quickly become essential tools for our team.

Kenna has been an integral member of Disability Services and University Testing Center for nearly two years, and in that time, she has distinguished herself as an exceptional student employee whose professionalism, reliability, and dedication far exceed expectations. Her calm and capable presence brings stability to our office, and she consistently demonstrates strong judgment and an ability to navigate complex situations with ease. Whether interacting with students, faculty, or staff, she communicates with clarity, empathy, and confidence. One of Kenna’s greatest strengths is her problem-solving ability. She thinks critically through challenges, asks thoughtful questions, and pursues solutions with persistence and creativity. When she encounters something unfamiliar, she takes initiative—researching policies, seeking resources, and collaborating with colleagues to ensure she provides accurate, helpful information. She consistently goes beyond the immediate issue, offering students and faculty broader guidance and resources that extend well beyond our office’s scope.

Maddy is a fantastic employee.  She adapts extremely quickly to different policies and practices and sereves as a mentor to team members.  Maddy is always quick to offer additioanl help and never leaves a job half done.  Maddy has taken on a lot of additional projects and responsibilities.  She is the lead contact for organizeing calendar dates and information that are vital to the onboarding and support of new students and their families.  She also has greately supporeted enhanced policies and procedures in our new recordkeeping systyem, Slate.  Maddy has estabilished herself as a great leader and mentor to other employees.  Maddy is always opent o new idea, and shares input to ensure different prespectives are considered. 

Vanessa served as a mentor for newly hired Orientation Leaders and did a fantastic job onboarding new team members.  She is always approachable, empathetic, and actively listens when working with people.  She received countless outstanding survey responses from students and families that commended her on her skills and support.  Vanessa also worked with a peer to translate all written resources to Spanish, including YouTube subtitles. Vanessa also supported the First2Go Orientation by providing real-time Spanish translations.  Vanessa is extremely coachable and always takes feedback with grace and is always looking to improve.  Vanessa's work to ensure that orientation is accessible for Spanish speaking participants has been extremely impactful.  Having something to provide to family members who may struggle with English, has been an asset to including them in their student's journey.  Vanessa also worked to facilitate Spanish Speaking Orientation appointments what are facilitated fully in Spanish.  These efforts have helped create a warm and welcoming environment in orientation that will persist even after she graduates.