Congratulations to all student employees who were nominated for the SEOTY awards!
Student Employee of the Year Awards
2025 Awardees
Emmy Mercer
Community Service
For the last four years, Emmy has been contributing her talents to a local community group, Thriving Connections (TC), part of the South-Central Community Action Program. Emmy has demonstrated her care for others through this work, by going above and beyond to serve the families of Thriving Connections as they work to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. She has demonstrated exceptional compassion and determination, linking her major and career goals by providing financial planning consultations to each of the TC families – helping families move from reacting to planning ahead. As an Advocate for Community Engagement (ACE) she also mentors a freshman ACE to take over next year. The results of her efforts will be felt far into the future, both with SCCAP and with the families of TC.
Riley Stanley
Leadership
Riley is a fourth-year Business Management major in the Kelley School of Business. She has spent the last two years devoting her time to working as a Project Management Intern for the Creative Arts for Vets (CAV) team, which supports Veterans' social and overall wellbeing. Riley is an exceptional leader who is able to inspire her peers both as a role model and a champion for them. Riley’s nominator highlights her drive, initiative, and her commitment to service. She models behavior that supports an inclusive and uplifting environment, which is well aligned with her co-major, Leading Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Organizations (LDEI), also in the Kelley School.
Rowan Hesting
Technology and Innovation
Rowan has been an integral team member for an on-campus lab studying coral organisms. Rowan demonstrates passion for her work by solving complex technological problems, supporting ongoing research, and developing new protocols. Rowan’s nominator praises her discipline, motivation, and organization skills as an indispensable member of their team. With Rowan’s experience in the coral lab and her keen interest in environmental science, she hopes to study marine science in graduate school.
Jake McBride
Critical Thinking
Jake’s student-facing work has been hugely impactful to his department. His supervisor of 3 years notes his exceptional multitasking skills and how he approaches every student interaction with care and sound judgement. Jake is quick to volunteer to step in when workloads are heavy and has proven himself to be a thoughtful leader and mentor. This year’s work even included a presentation to an on-campus conference for advisors, building Jake’s professional skills while he serves his peers through his work!
2025 Nominees
Nyah Allen
Huseyin Amac
Jace Benavides
Noah Bernot
Jackson Biesen
Kaitlin Bowens
Jacquelyn Butler
Brianna Christensen
Michael Claycamp
Willow Daniels-Weissman
Rachel Dunbar
Anne Erdosy
Eijon Ford
Hillary Haine
Kaylor Jasiak
Harsh Patel
Violet Peotter
Raquel Marquez
Sara Perkins Marshall
Kade Moon
Jami Porter
Anna Sarpong
Brayden Tanner
How to nominate
Applications are closed for 2025. Please consider nominating a student employee next year!
The IU Bloomington campus Student Employee of the Year Awards recognize outstanding student employees in five categories:
For this category, make sure to address the following criteria:
- How the student employee makes a distinctive contribution to the community with their work
- How the student employee's work makes an impact on the university and/or the university community—and how that impact will be felt even after the job is complete
- How the student employee works to inspire others to serve the university or community
For each criteria, the nominee will be assigned a score of:
- Excellent (3 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student exceeded the criteria listed - Good (2 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student met the criteria listed - Fair (1 pt), if the nominator provided specific details about
the nominee’s job contributions but did not clearly relate it to the criteria listed
For this category, make sure to address the following criteria:
- How the student employee demonstrates empathy and compassion for others in their work
- How the student employee understands the importance and ongoing commitment to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) efforts in their work, campus, and/or community
- How the student employee looks for, or works for diversity in projects, discussions and problem solving at work
For each criteria, the nominee will be assigned a score of:
- Excellent (3 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student exceeded the criteria listed - Good (2 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student met the criteria listed - Fair (1 pt), if the nominator provided specific details about
the nominee’s job contributions but did not clearly relate it to the criteria listed
For this category, make sure to address the following criteria:
- How the student employee motivates and inspires others through encouragement and by building trust
- How the student employee strives to take the lead in workplace scenarios and is open to change and new ideas
- How the student employee is passionate in mentoring and training fellow student employees
For each criteria, the nominee will be assigned a score of:
- Excellent (3 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student exceeded the criteria listed - Good (2 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student met the criteria listed - Fair (1 pt), if the nominator provided specific details about
the nominee’s job contributions but did not clearly relate it to the criteria listed
For this category, make sure to address the following criteria:
- How the student employee uses technology to improve efficiency and productivity of their work and/or the work of the department
- How the student employee manages technology to integrate information to support relevant, effective, and timely decision making
- How the student employee develops useful ideas that are new, better, or unique
For each criteria, the nominee will be assigned a score of:
- Excellent (3 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student exceeded the criteria listed - Good (2 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student met the criteria listed - Fair (1 pt), if the nominator provided specific details about
the nominee’s job contributions but did not clearly relate it to the criteria listed
For this category, make sure to address the following criteria:
- How the student employee multitasks well in a fast-paced environment
- How the student employee makes decisions and solves problems using sound, inclusive reasoning and judgment
- How the student employee gathers and analyzes information from a diverse set of sources and individuals to fully understand a problem
For each criteria, the nominee will be assigned a score of:
- Excellent (3 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student exceeded the criteria listed - Good (2 pts), if the nominator provided specific details and
examples about how the student met the criteria listed - Fair (1 pt), if the nominator provided specific details about
the nominee’s job contributions but did not clearly relate it to the criteria listed
Please click on each category to review the rubric before submitting a nomination. Choose the one that best fits your student employee.
Your nomination should be in letter format (maximum 2 pages) and include:
- A brief description of why you are submitting this student for recognition
- An outline of your student employee's accomplishments as they pertain to the criteria for the category that you are submitting this student for
- A closing or summary statement
Thank you for taking the time to recognize our student employees! The winners will be featured during National Student Employee Appreciation week, April 14-18.
The nomination deadline is Wednesday, March 26, 2025.