2019-2020 SEOTY Recognition 

Each year colleges and universities across the country recognize the importance of the student work experience during National Student Employment Week (NSEW) that takes place the second week of April each year. Student employment offers students career-enhancing opportunities, the ability to develop skills relevant in any career, and better preparation for the job market upon graduation. Student employees perform invaluable services with enthusiasm, dedication, and initiative on campus and throughout the community. Indeed, most schools and surrounding businesses depend on the contributions of this reliable workforce for the efficient operation of the campus and community. This year's nominations for WASEA Student Employee of the Year were unprecedented and decisions were not easily made. Congratulations to the below students for their incredible work and contributions!

2019-2020 WASEA Student Employee of the Year:

Summer Herlevi (Brigham Young University) 

"Summer Herlevi has worked as a student in University Communications at Brigham Young University for three years and has made an indelible impact that will last well beyond her upcoming graduation. 

As a student employee who exclusively works on the social media strategy and execution for BYU's large, institutional accounts, Summer runs our #MyViewFromBYU Instagram takeover series. This series is our No. 1 most effective communication mechanism right now. This authentic, vulnerable, peer-to-peer communication is accomplishing so much for us in fulfilling our goals as a department and as a university. This takeover campaign is 100% run by Summer at this point. I started it four years ago, and now she, a student employee, handles the finding, training, implementing and evaluation completely on her own, reporting to me the essential things I need to know. The most important part of this project that Summer handles is meeting face-to-face with each takeover participant. She trains them on our guidelines and best practices, catering the training to be unique and applicable for different participants, who come in with vastly different degrees of communication and social media proficiency.

With Summer's help, BYU has been named a Top 10 university in the country for social media engagement. We are one of only two
universities to be in the Top 10 each of the past three years. This past year, we were No. 6, our highest ranking ever. This is a very big deal in the world of higher ed communications. Engagement is everything and is what Facebook, Twitter and Instagram's algorithms cater to. The only way followers engage with social media content is if the quality is consistently high. Summer helps us achieve that"

Congratulations!

2019-2020 State Winners:

  • Arizona: Pima Community College (Soolmaz Momen)
  • California: Pepperdine University (Gabriel Garcia)
  • Colorado: University of Colorado, Boulder (Trevor Weschler)
  • Hawaii: University of Hawaii, Manoa (Lindsey Bull)
  • Montana: University of Montana (Ashley Hilliard)
  • Nevada: Truckee Meadows Community College (Denise Merino)
  • Oregon: Portland State University (Veronica Roderick)
  • Washington: Washington State University (Noah Sanchez) 

Once again, congratulations to all of the nominees, State Winners, and our Regional Student Employee of the Year!