Student employees Nick Dellasega, Lyndsi Kjonegaard & Kimberly Shultz

Student employees make the university run

Student employees play an important role at Pittsburg State University, according to Mindy Cloninger, director of Career Services.

“Many of the university offices give their students quite a lot of responsibility,” Cloninger said. “Often, they are the first contact that someone off campus has with PSU, so their poise and professionalism is very important.”

PSU is recognizing the contributions of student employees April 9-13 during National Student Employment Week.

Dr. Brad Hodson, PSU vice president for University Advancement, said that “without the more than 900 student employees at PSU, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish what we do.”

Hodson said that both the university and the student workers benefit from the relationship, citing research that shows student workers tend to do better academically than others. Additionally, Hodson said, student workers form a deeper bond with the university.

Cloninger agreed that students benefit from their on-campus jobs.

“Students learn about work ethic, customer service and interaction with the public,” Cloninger said. “These are skills that pay off when they graduate and enter the work force.”

These were the same skills that nominators cited when they nominated Nick Dellasega, a senior finance major from Pittsburg, for the 2007 Pittsburg State University Student Employee of the Year award. Dellasega, who works in Career Services, received the award on April 4.

Runners up were Lyndsi Kjonegaard, a senior management major from Chouteau, Okla.; and Kimberly Shultz, a senior marketing major from Erie, Kan. Kjonegaard works in the Department of Technology Management and Shultz works in the Office of University Marketing.

The annual Student of the Year Award is sponsored by the National Student Employment Association, the Midwest Association of Student Employment Administrators and the PSU Office of Career Services.

---Pitt State---