CWU celebrates excellence at annual Student Employee of the Year Awards

Each spring, Central Washington University’s Human Resources department honors outstanding student employees with its Student Employee of the Year award.

This year, supervisors were asked to nominate students to one of five categories — Welcoming, Inclusive, Knowledgeable, Responsive, and Proud — each representing a tenet of the Wildcat Way, a set of guidelines outlining the personality traits that exemplify CWU employees.

CWU HR Student Employment Specialist Brenda Garcia said these awards reflect the immense impact that CWU’s 1,600-plus student employees have on the university community, as well as their own careers.

“CWU is not just a place for students to learn, but to gain tangible work experience through the university that can be applied to any career path post-graduation,” she said. “Many students choose to work on-campus due to the flexible schedules, convenience, and opportunity for making new connections with other students and staff, among many other reasons. They do a lot for the university that most people are not aware of. Reading the letters of nomination from supervisors, it was obvious that they appreciate the impact the student employee has on their department. This is the time to highlight that.”

This year’s awards ceremony was held in the Wellington Events Center on April 23. Of the 32 students nominated for Student Employee of the Year, the following were recognized as the winners for 2023-24:

Most Welcoming Student Employee of the Year: Gracen Bayer, Learning Commons office assistant, nominated by Channas Stewman and Amber Darting 

Most Inclusive Student Employee of the Year: Angela Eustaquio, Science and Mathematics Education Teach STEM intern, nominated by Cori Totten

Most Knowledgeable Student Employee of the Year: Kylie Thorne, Freeman Ramak Center for Student Athletes academic tutor, nominated by Austin Lee

Most Responsive Student Employee of the Year: Rhett Kunic, Learning Commons subject-specific tutor, nominated by Madelynn Short

Most Proud Student Employee of the Year: Tyler Kim, College of Business student office assistant, nominated by Anya Melencio