*Picture taken by Josh Paluh*
National Student Employee Appreciation Week is April 13-17 and offices and departments on Slippery Rock’s campus have began to recognize their student workers through social media.
The Office for Inclusive Excellence (OIE), Payroll and Student Employment and other offices celebrated their student employees with posts of their pictures and names on social media, such as Twitter.
Although student workers aren’t on campus, they are still working remotely with their superiors.
Amy Kayser, a second year graduate student in the master of public health program with a major concentration in health promotion and wellness, is a graduate assistant with the enrollment services office.
Kayser manages Slippery Rock’s social media account including Youtube, Instagram and Twitter as well as helping the office manage the SRU Students account on Twitter.
“I really love working with students and getting to hear all their stories,” Kayser said. “Part of the job is to produce the SRU success story videos that you may have seen floating around the internet. I really get to learn where students come from and how their background feeds into their success at Slippery Rock.”
Similarly to Kayser and her enjoyment of working with students, Emma Burgman, a senior public relations major, worked with housing and residence life and is currently a social media specialist at the Office for Community Engaged Learning.
Burgman said that she loved going to work and being able to talk with her boss and work with the graphic designer at the office.
Although a senior, Burgman is working remotely, mainly to train the next student who will take over her position.
Burgman started in the position when she was a sophomore and holds a place on the media and outreach team where she runs the social media accounts and keeps a favorable image of the different programs offered.
“I get to graduate with experience in the field I want to go into,” Burgman said. “My second [favorite part] would be the community of the office. Everyone is so supportive and it wasn’t like they are my coworkers, they are my friends too.”
A common theme following the community of student workers on campus is friendship, and Gabby Yannellio, a sophomore public relations major, agrees.
Yannellio works for the Payroll and Student Employment Office and helps with marketing materials, assisting students with applying for jobs and going through their paperwork.
“All of my coworkers have gotten me out of my shell,” Yannellio said.
Although these students are missing the campus community and their coworkers, they are still working remotely during the semester.
Kayser said that her job doesn’t ever stop and that social media is 24/7 and constantly has to be checking the accounts.
“..it’s stressful, especially during this pandemic,” Kayser said. “At first, a lot of people were tweeting at Slippery Rock wondering where their money is, where this is at, or what are we going to do? It’s difficult to not always have those answers as a graduate assistant.”
Also managing social media accounts is Burgman, who said that she is currently focusing on handing over the position to another student, which was in the process before classes moved online.
Burgman is also letting students know through the social media accounts that the Office for Community Engaged Learning is still there for them.
“To anybody, especially underclassmen, when it comes to employment, branch out and see what is out there,” Burgman said. “There is a lot of opportunities on campus and honestly, I didn’t think I would be graduating with the experience that I had.”
Gaining valuable experience through student employment is something that Gabby Yannellio is familiar with. Before taking her position as the Payroll and Student Employment Office, she worked a little bit with the President’s Commission for Gender Identity and Expression and Sexual Orientation (GIESO).
“You have to interact with students all day and all the people I work with are really outgoing,” Yannellio said.
From home, Yannellio creates content for the Payroll and Student Employment Office, keeping in touch with her supervisor and sending drafts back and forth.
Although the employees are missing their on campus jobs and their coworkers, all agree that searching for a job on campus is a good way to gain experience and establish a connection with the campus community.
“If you’re looking for an opportunity to really make yourself well-rounded and build your connections, friendships and professional relationships, then student employment is the way to go,” Kayser said. “I really think that some of the most fun jobs out there are on our campus.”
