Apr13-17
As a member of the Western Association of Student Employment Administrators, USD is proud to take part in the Student Employee of the Year campaign to celebrate National Student Employment Week.
April 13-17, 2026
National Student Employment Week
This week-long celebration is dedicated to recognizing the valuable contributions that USD's student assistants make to the university and surrounding communities. Student assistants maintain jobs in many departments on and off-campus and play an important role in the daily operation of the areas in which they serve.
USD Student Employee Giveaway!
This year we celebrated our students with an exciting giveaway! Prizes were selected from USD's Torero Store and we had 132 participants. Thank you students for all that you do, and shout-out to our 5 lucky winners! We aim to keep this tradition going for future years to come!
The Student Employment Center would like to encourage supervisors to plan their own celebration in their office or department to recognize their student assistants' contributions. Some ways to celebrate include:
- Have the full-time staff members write notes, thanking students and detailing how the students assist them day-to-day
- Decorate a bulletin board for the student assistants with pictures and notes from the staff
- Gather information on the student assistants such as career goals, favorite movies, unique talents, etc., and post in the office break room to share with full-time staff
- Decorate the office space
- Hold an award ceremony and give out awards for unique categories
- Create a certificate of appreciation to hand out to the student assistants
- Award the student assistants small tokens of appreciation
- Give the student assistants a "pat on the back" by drawing an outline of a hand on a piece of paper, making copies, and writing notes to each student
- Give student assistants a framed/decorated photo of the entire office staff to take with them when they graduate
- Take the student assistants out to lunch, have a potluck or pizza party, or order in, or bring cake, cupcakes, cookies, etc.
- Put together goodie bags that have some of the student assistants' favorite treats and snacks
- Nominate a student assistant(s) for USD Student Employee of the Year
Supervisors are encouraged to consider taking time to recognize the hard work of the student assistants to let them know their contributions are appreciated.
Student Employee of the Year Process
Each spring, the USD Student Employee of the Year is selected to recognize the outstanding contributions and achievements of students who work while attending college. All nominees will be recognized during National Student Employment Week (April 13 - 17, 2026), and the overall winner will receive an award at the USD Honors Convocation in May.
The overall winner, as well as category winners, are also entered into the competition for the National Student Employee of the Year hosted by the National Student Employment Association (NSEA).
- NSEA will recognize student employees for each of the following categories: Community Service, Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership, Technology & Innovation, and Critical Thinking and Overall Student Employee of the Year
- Any undergraduate USD student employee (Federal Work-Study/College Work Opportunity and/or Non-Federal Work-Study) may be considered for submission and there are no restrictions on the length of employment
- NSEA will recognize one Graduate Student Employee of the Year
- Any graduate USD student employee (Federal Work-Study/College Work Opportunity and/or Non-Federal Work-Study) may be considered for submission and there are no restrictions on the length of employment
2025-26 USD Student Employee of the Year
Congratulations to all our winners!
Overall Winner
Shannen Limqueco
Community and Leadership Development
Category Winners
N/A
Community Service
Addison Koch
Critical Thinking
Burnham Moores Center for Real Estate
Georgina Duran
Social Impact and Belonging
Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture
N/A
Innovation and Technology
Shannen Limqueco
Leadership
Community & Leadership Development
Vanessa Harvey
Graduate Student
KSB Student Success Center
Thank you to all who have submitted nominations for the 2025-26 USD Student Employee of the Year! Ten students were nominated this year, and the letters of recommendation received on behalf of all the nominees indicated that their performance is truly exceptional and that their contributions are highly valued by their departments.
| Academic Year | Student Employee | USD Department |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Tyler Arden | The Brink SBDC |
| 2020-21 | Madelyn Bass | Office of Financial Aid |
| 2021-22 | Kanuri Roundtree * | Copley Library |
| 2022-23 | Karel Gonzalez | Community Leadership & Development |
| 2023-24 | Emma Peters | Student Activities and Involvement |
| 2024-25 | Bella Stone | CAS Marketing |
* State Winner