CSB and SJU honor Student Employees/Team of the Year

Karen Schleper, Charles Burke and the Fine Arts Programming Front of House student team have been named Student Employees/Team of the Year at the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, and Saint John’s University, Collegeville.

The winners were announced at a reception Wednesday, April 15 at the Gorecki Dining and Conference Center, CSB, during National Student Employee Appreciation Week April 12-18. The winners receive an engraved plaque.

Burke was also named the Minnesota Student Employee of the Year. He received a certificate and $75 from the Midwest Association of Student Employment Administrators for that honor at the reception.

CSB Student Employee of the Year
Schleper, a senior biology major at CSB from St. Cloud, Minn., has worked for two years in the CSB athletic office assisting athletic director Carol Howe-Veenstra. She has been involved in many areas, including grant writing, event management and photography.

“This past year, Karen’s role was again very creative and ever changing, as we continued to use her talents in the areas we needed most,” Howe-Veenstra said in her nominating letter. “Karen has truly added a significant dimension to the work in my office and in the Blazer athletic office. I have been spoiled by her great personality, her talents and the fine spirit in which she offers them.”

The other students nominated for the CSB Student Employee of the Year award (listed alphabetically) and the areas they work in were Jessica Baxter (Student Activities and Leadership Development), Maria Conroy (Media Services), Christa Edlund (Fine Arts Programming), Katie Fistere (Libraries-Technical Services), Raquel Gudiel (Fast Forward Youth Program), Sarah Lind (CSB Campus Ministry), Megan Litz (SJU Campus Ministry), Teresa Martin (Biology/Undergraduate Research), Julia Mechler (Fast Forward Youth Program), Emily Renner (Financial Aid and Student Employment), Kristina Seslija (Fast Forward Youth Program), Kari Teigen (SJU Campus Life and Housing), Jennifer Viaene (Abbey Woodworking), Jessica Vining (Financial Aid and Student Employment) and Gaonyia “G” Vang (Admission).

SJU Student Employee of the Year
Burke, a senior management major at SJU from Princeton, Minn., is currently the student lead groundskeeper assistant at CSB. He has worked for seven semesters for the department, which is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the campus, including grounds, athletic fields, walkways, roadways and parking lots.

“I have found Charles to be an exceptional employee,” said Chris Brake, grounds department supervisor at CSB, in his nominating letter. “The dedication, the responsibility, the teamwork, the cooperation and the leadership that Charles exhibits has impacted the CSB grounds department in many ways. His coworkers, supervisors and I have all benefited from his contribution and have been inspired by his continued success.”

The other students nominated for the SJU Student Employee of the Year award (listed alphabetically) and the areas they work in were Andrew Backes (SJU Refectory), Tim Kalb (SJU Athletics-Intramurals), Ryan Minnehan (SJU Athletic Department), Garrison Pease (Libraries), Nathaniel Sand (SJU Sexton Dining), Valentin Sierra (The Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement), Matthew Vierling (Cold Spring Elementary) and Andrew Zimmerman (Fast Forward Youth Program).

CSB/SJU Student Team of the Year
The Fine Arts Programming Front of House staff consists of 32 students from CSB and SJU. Together, they helped welcome over 70,000 visitors to over 300 events on the CSB and SJU campuses, including four performances of Merce Cunningham’s “Ocean” at the bottom of a granite quarry in September 2008 in Waite Park, Minn.

“The Front of House staff of Fine Arts Programming strives to provide the best service they possibly can each time they come to work,” supervisors Mary Calantoc, Richard Crawford, Brooke Horejsi and Deb Wolford wrote in their nominating letter. “As a team of so many it can be challenging to work as a close tight-knit team, but they achieve this every day. They manage to create an experience that is hard to find anywhere else for each patron who visits our venues.”

The team members (listed alphabetically) and their duties include:
• Heather Akerson, senior, mathematics major, Cambridge, Minn.; usher/box office assistant;
• Ellen Baboila, first year, political science major, St. Paul; usher/box office assistant/ticketing coordinator;
• Nick Bina-Bennecke, first year, management and psychology majors, Maple Grove, Minn.;    usher/box office assistant;
• Caitlin Borys, sophomore, psychology major, Lino Lakes, Minn.; usher/box office assistant;
• Ben Briese, senior, liberal studies major, Rochester, Minn.; house manager/box office assistant;
• Matthew Daley, junior, English and communication major, North Mankato, Minn.; ticketing coordinator;
• Natalie Dimberg, senior, music major, Woodbury, Minn.; usher;
• Christa Edlund, senior, elementary education major, Woodbury, Minn.; house manager/box office assistant;
• Amy Engel, junior, music major, Garfield, Minn.; usher/box office assistant/ticketing coordinator;
• Mary Fahlstrom, first year, biology and Hispanic Studies majors, Minneapolis; usher/box office assistant;
• Sarah Fish, senior, elementary education major, Hopkins, Minn.; house manager/box office assistant;
• Rosanne Hansen, junior, art major, Darwin, Minn.; usher;
• Regina Hanson, first year, humanities major, Leavenworth, Kan.; usher/box office assistant;
• Jenna Heitzman, first year, management major, Grand Rapids, Minn.; usher/box office assistant;
• Ashley Hendricks, senior, social science major, Sleepy Hollow, Ill.; usher/box office assistant/ticketing coordinator;
• Ashley Irons, sophomore, peace studies major, Twin Falls, Idaho; usher/box office assistant;
• Josh Johnson, sophomore, environmental studies major, Stanchfield, Minn.; usher;
• Laura Kelly, senior, psychology major, Phoenix; usher/box office assistant;
• Stephanie Lahr, junior, social work major, Rice, Minn.; usher/box office assistant/ticketing coordinator;
• Kelsey Larson, first year, mathematics major, St. Anthony, Minn.; usher/box office assistant;
• Levi Lowell, senior, management major, Stillwater, Minn.; usher/box office assistant;
• Ben McDermott, sophomore, art major, Plymouth, Minn.; house manager/box office assistant;
• Lori Nohner, sophomore, history and Hispanic Studies majors, Mandan, N.D.; house manager/box office assistant;
• Matt Parks,  senior, economics major, Colorado Springs, Colo.; usher/box office assistant;
• Bridget Reilly, first year, biology and Hispanic Studies majors, Maple Grove, Minn.; usher/box office assistant;
• Danelle Rolle, first year, biochemistry major, New Providence, Bahamas; house manager/box office assistant;
• Matthew Semerad, first year, chemistry major, Rogers, Neb.; usher/box office assistant;
• Chakong Thao, senior, accounting major, Minneapolis; usher/box office assistant;
• Joe Trost, first year, biology major, Lino Lakes, Minn.; usher/box office assistant;
• Katy Trost, first year, nursing major, Lino Lakes, Minn.; usher;
• Megan Vetsch, senior, English major, Big Lake, Minn.; usher/box office assistant/ticketing coordinator;
• Drew Waldbillig, junior, elementary education, Farmington, Minn.; house manager/box office assistant.

The other Student Team of the Year nominations were from CSB Campus Ministry, CSB Culinary Services-Cashiers, Fast Forward Youth Program, Financial Aid/Student Employment, CSB Institutional Advancement-Annual Giving, St. Raphael Hall, Service Learning and the Writing Center.