CSB and SJU honor Student Employees/Team of the Year

Kasey Heichel, Austin Reischl and the College of Saint Benedict Events and Conferences 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 Thursday, April 8 at the Alumni Lounge, Quadrangle Building, SJU. The awards are held in conjunction with National Student Employee Appreciation Week April 12-16. The winners receive an engraved plaque.

CSB Student Employee of the Year

Heichel, a senior accounting major at CSB from La Crescent, Minn., has worked in the CSB and SJU Financial Aid/Student Employment Office for four years. She has spent the last six months working as the student employment Web site designer, helping revamp the entire student employment Web site.

"I knew Kasey would be the right person for this job because she has the background knowledge about how the student employment program works, is able to create clear messages and always finishes any project that she starts," wrote Angie Mareck, assistant director of Financial Aid/Student Employment at CSB and SJU and Heichel's supervisor, in her nominating letter.

The other students nominated for the CSB Student Employee of the Year award (listed alphabetically) and the areas they work in were Lindsey Cermak (Service-Learning/Social Work), Erin Granlund (Communication and Marketing Services), Rebecca Haas (Admission Office), Allison Homstad (CSB Athletic Media Relations), Laura Kinowski (CSB Events and Conferences), Nicole Magedanz (CSB Institutional Advancement), Amanda Stanoch (CSB Athletics), Amy Stifter (CSB Athletics), Christin Tomy (Fast Forward Youth Program) and Jennifer Tong (Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship).

SJU Student Employee of the Year

Reischl, a sophomore accounting major at SJU from Sartell, Minn., has worked in Information Technology (IT) Services since the fall semester, 2008. Most recently, he has been a desktop assistant for IT Services, assisting the desktop support specialists by troubleshooting software problems and offering solutions to faculty, staff and students.

"When he moved into the desktop support area, Austin dramatically changed what our group could accomplish. He fit into our group with ease, and because of the quality of his work and his level of determination, his contributions to the work that we do fell nothing short of those of a full-time employee," wrote Reischl's supervisors Stacy Kampsen, Heather Stanley, Ann Alvord, Tina Molacek and Ann Kuhl in his nominating letter.

The other students nominated for the SJU Student Employee of the Year award (listed alphabetically) and the areas they work in were Benjamin Besasie (Communication and Marketing Services), Thomas Dunlap (SJU Office of the President), David Massey (Fast Forward Youth Program), Tim Mayerhofer (Financial Aid/Student Employment), Ryan Minnehan (SJU Athletics) and Valentin Sierra (Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at SJU).

CSB/SJU Student Team of the Year

CSB Events and Conferences student team photo: Front row (L to R): Rachel Lietzke, Lexi Tullbane, Jamie Lowinske and Laura Kinowski. Back row (L to R): Emily Cook, Emily Jodl and Sam Bauchle. Not pictured: Heather Block, Katie Krois.

The CSB Events and Conferences student team consists of nine students who serve as event technicians. They handle multiple roles, including answering the phone and processing e-mails for space reservations and event details such as room setup, audio and visual services and catering. They also assist with the professional staff with various projects that need to be accomplished.

The team members (listed alphabetically) include:

•Sam Bauchle, SJU sophomore, communication major, Prior Lake, Minn.;

•Heather Block, CSB junior, nursing major, Minnetonka, Minn.;

• Emily Cook, CSB senior, nutrition major, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.;

•Emily Jodl, CSB junior, communication major, White Bear Lake, Minn.;

•Laura Kinowski, CSB senior, elementary education major, Bloomington, Minn.;

•Katie Krois, CSB senior, communication major, Duluth, Minn.;

•Rachel Lietzke, CSB senior, management major, Andover, Minn.;

•Jamie Lowinske, CSB junior, elementary education major, Fridley, Minn.;

•Lexi Tullbane, CSB first-year, elementary education/Hispanic studies majors, Andover, Minn.

"Because of these varied work responsibilities, one of the most important roles of their position is communication. The event technicians work with contacts that include students, faculty, staff, off-campus clients and administration. They have to adapt with each person they are working with since each contact has different expectations and communicates differently," wrote their supervisors Kim Poganski, Jessica Reiter and Jon Bruns in their nominating letter.

The other Student Team of the Year nominations included the CSB/SJU Biology Department, CSB/SJU Bookstores, SJU Career Services, CSB Facilities Maintenance, CSB O'Connell's, and CSB/SJU Office of Admission.