CSB and SJU honor Student Employees/Teams of the Year

Gretchen Enninga, Chris Gabiou and the CSB Student Campus Ministry Alternative Break Experience student coordinators 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 April 15 at the Alumni Lounge, SJU, during National Student Employee Appreciation Week April 13-19. The winners receive an engraved plaque.

Enninga, a senior psychology major at CSB from Fulda, Minn., has been a site coordinator for the Fast Forward Youth Program (FFYP) for four years. Site coordinators are responsible for coordinating all the activities that take place in preparation for and during programs at Willmar High School, Monticello High School, Apollo High School in St. Cloud and the Southside Boys and Girls Club in St. Cloud. She was nominated by her supervisor, Erin Truhler, director of the program.

“I work with at least 50 college students every semester, and I am always thrilled to witness their budding professionalism. Rarely, however, can another student compare to the polished set of talents that Gretchen brings to Fast Forward and the CSB and SJU communities,” Truhler said. “Her work consistently demonstrates the highest degree of quality and responsibility.”

Enninga also was named the Minnesota Student Employee of the Year. She receives a certificate and a $75 check from the Midwest Association of Student Employment Administrators for that honor. She was part of the FFYP student team which won the 2006 and 2007 Team of the Year awards at CSB and SJU.

Gabiou, a senior communication and Spanish double-major at SJU from Arden Hills, Minn., has been the lead student bus driver for the CSB/SJU Transportation Department and has been employed for four years. Gabiou works with other student drivers on their job performance and work responsibilities, and provides transportation for students commuting between the two campuses.

“Chris was ready, willing and able the first day of the fall semester (his first year) and has been in the driver’s seat setting the standards for other students for the past four years,” said Jim Cossairt, assistant director of the transportation department, and Mike Juntunen, director of transportation, in their nominating letter. They noted that Gabiou began his training for his commercial Class B license before enrolling at SJU.

The CSB Campus Ministry Alternative Break Experience coordinators team consists of CSB students Andrea Schiebe (first-year, communication and sociology, Nevis, Minn.); Teresa Capecchi (senior, nursing, South St. Paul, Minn.) and Kari Barber (senior, nursing, Spicer, Minn.), and SJU student Chris Morgan (first-year, peace studies and Spanish, Denver). 

As a team, they help send 150 CSB and SJU students on nine spring break trips, one May term trip and one winter break trip. They develop leadership and logistics training for student and staff co-leaders, and coordinate campus-wide fundraising events.

“There is no question as to the quality of work these students do,” said Jessica Guentzel, assistant director of CSB Campus Ministry, who nominated the team for the award. “The ABE student coordinators this year are exceptional because they have developed a ‘team spirit’ in the truest sense of the phrase.”

Exceptional student employees are nominated for the awards by their supervisors. The students complete a nomination letter. The five-person Student Employee/Team of the Year committee reviews all applications and makes the decision based on the criteria of the program – reliability, quality of work, initiative, professionalism and uniqueness of contribution.

The other CSB students nominated for the award (listed alphabetically) and the areas they work in were Kia Becht (CSB/SJU Counseling and Health Promotion), Kali Herman (Military Science), Angela Kempenich (CSB Security), Laura Makinen (CSB/SJU Financial Aid/Student Employment Office), Kayla Nelson (CSB/SJU Nursing), Katie Peterson (St. Raphael Hall), Laura Robinson (Rocori School District), Karen Schleper (CSB Athletics) and Sara Trent (CSB/SJU Archives).

The other SJU students nominated for the award (listed alphabetically) and the areas they work in were Alex Doering (CSB/SJU Media Services), Matthew Haider (St. John’s Boys’ Choir), Jake Kruger (St. Raphael Hall), Thomas Mix (CSB Athletic Media Relations), Benjamin Pohlmann (CSB/SJU Libraries) and William Roiger (CSB Security).

The other student Team of the Year nominees were from Anna Marie’s Alliance, CSB/SJU Art Department, SJU Campus Ministry, CSB/SJU Counseling and Health Promotion, SJU Dining Service, CSB/SJU Fine Arts Programming,  CSB Institutional Advancement – Annual Giving, CSB Institutional Advancement, CSB/SJU Office of Admission, CSB Residential Life, CSB/SJU Service-Learning and Upward Bound.