CSB and SJU students earn Student Employee/Team of the Year honors

Becca DeBlieck, Trevine Saunders and the student security officers of the Saint John's University Life Safety team have been named Student Employees/Team of the Year at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University.

The winners, who receive an engraved plaque, were announced at a reception April 15 at the Gorecki Center, CSB. The awards were presented during National Student Employee Week April 13-19.

CSB Student Employee of the Year

DeBlieck, a sophomore global business leadership major from Bloomington, Minn., is in her second year working for the SJU Campus Life office. She became the student manager this academic year, managing a student staff of 6-7 student employees in collaboration with Tory Oelfke, assistant director of housing at SJU.

"Becca has a level of professionalism in the office that cannot be taught," said Oelfke in his nominating form. "She has the skills and confidence to manage any issue that walks in the office or calls on the phone. She has the presence of mind to gather all the information before proceeding with a constituent's situation. She is able to keep them calm and understand how to best guide them in resolution of their situation."

A total of 20 students were nominated for the CSB Student Employee of the Year award. The nominees (listed alphabetically) and the areas in which they work were Emile Casebolt (Archives), Amy Eiden (Catholic Charities), Erin Geier (CSB Athletics), Kayti Helm (CSB Athletics), Emily Hodorff (CSB Athletics), Andee Holdener (Experiential Learning and Community Engagement), Samantha Imholte (CSB Athletics), Jane Keohen (CSB Athletics), Elizabeth King (Collegeville Institute), Lisa Kranz (CSB Campus Recreation), Stephanie Loecken (CSB Campus Ministry), Annie Luke (CSB/SJU Chemistry Department), Mia McVicker (Center for Global Education), Emma Proudfit (Alcuin Library), Abby Riegelman (Alcuin Library), Hannah Salto (English Department), Amanda Tate (CSB Athletics), Lindsay Tholen (McGlynn's/O'Connell's) and Mackinzie Wilson (CSB Athletics).

SJU Student Employee of the Year

Saunders, a senior accounting major from Nassau, Bahamas, has worked in the Career Services office for three years. In August 2013, he was named the co-coordinator of the Career Assistant team. He hires, trains, mentors and supervises 11 students on the team; ensures the smooth running of the Career Resource Center; and leads the development and execution of over 100 career programs.

"With Trevine, I quickly learned that I don't need to ask him to move a project, program or task forward. I don't need to check on how a project is going. I don't need to wonder if things are happening at a high level," said Heidi Harlander, director of Career Services and Saunders' supervisor. "With Trevine, I learned that he excels at taking the initiative; he's extremely conscientious, detail-orientated resourceful and organized. Most times before I even think to ask about something, Trevine has taken care of it and checked with me to see if there are additional things to do."

A total of six students were nominated for the SJU Student Employee of the Year award. The nominees (listed alphabetically) and the areas in which they work were Calvin Herold (Communication and Marketing Services), Shane Jensen (CSB Athletics), Kyle Kraemer (SJU Information Desk), Sean Pickthorn (Collegeville Institute) and David Stemper (Student Employment/Financial Aid).

CSB/SJU Student Employee Team of the Year

The nine-person student security officer team is responsible for following set procedures for a number of situations, including threatening weather, fire alarms, medical and psychological emergencies, bomb threats, plumbing and electrical emergencies and responding to 911 calls.

The team members include:

Abby Cavazos (CSB junior, psychology major, Minneapolis)
Alex Crea (SJU first-year, biology/chemistry majors, Stillwater, Minn.)
Marit Fraune (CSB senior, nursing major, Apple Valley, Minn.)
Stacey Guzman (CSB first-year, psychology, Maywood, Calif.)
Maria Kiminski (CSB first-year, elementary education major, Farmington, Minn.)
Sara Kircher (CSB junior, psychology major, St. Paul, Minn.)
Kaela Kopp (CSB junior, applied physics, St. Cloud, Minn.)
C.J. Pettinger (CSB first-year, biochemistry, Fargo, N.D.)
Abby Rinowski (CSB first-year, psychology/sociology, Bloomington, Minn.)

John Cofell, who supervises the students, noted in the team's nominating letter that the student employees "answer the call for help at all hours of the day, whether they are on duty or not." One example of that occurred in January, when the SJU Paint Shop was destroyed by fire.

"The academic semester was not yet underway, but student officers answered the call for assistance and responded from their dorms, the CSB campus and from the St. Cloud area. They worked in below zero weather conditions to secure the area, redirect traffic and assist community members."

A total of five student teams were nominated for the award, including teams from the Center for Global Education, Communication and Marketing Services, CSB Residential Life - Aurora RA's and SJU Intramurals.

Ryan Klinkner '04, athletic media relations director at SJU and a former student employee at SJU, spoke about his experiences as a student employee at the banquet.

There are almost 2,500 student employees working at CSB and SJU, as of April 1. They work in 230 departments and offices for 300 supervisors, and have worked 420,000 hours during the current academic year.