Ryan Stevens, University of Montana Named National Student Employee of the Year 2010

Ryan Stephens (second from left), 2010 SEOTY winner; Ryan's Supervisor, Marc LoParco; Office Manager, Valerie Marsh; Career Services Director, Mike Heuring

Ryan Stevens, from the University of Montana-Missoula, has received the Student Employee of the Year Award for 2010. Ryan, who is in his fourth year of employment with University Dining Services, was recently promoted to the newly created position of Student Project Manager. In this role, Ryan has successfully tackled many technical design projects.

Below are excerpts from Ryan's nomination letter which will give you a glimpse of why Ryan is so deserving of this award. You will soon be able to view the full letter on the NSEA web site.

Ryan's supervisor, Mr. Mark LoParco, states, "Ryan presents himself as a seasoned professional far beyond his years. His professionalism is evident in many ways, such as: maturity, level of responsibility, interactions with staff at all levels, quality of work, contributions and ideas he humbly puts forward, ability to teach with patience and sincere interest in helping."

According to Mr. LoParco, Ryan has earned the reputation of the "go to" person whenever UDS has been confronted with a complicated project involving data gathering and manipulation of complex computer applications. During his employment he has completed 16 major projects including those that have enabled UDS to increase its accuracy in tracking and reporting data and substantially reduce the man hours previously required to perform budget preparation.

Executive Sous Chef, Eric Johnson, states "Ryan Stevens is the most reliable student I have ever worked with throughout my entire tenure with UDS. It is his usual practice to arrive early, delve into his work, and remain productive throughout his shift."

Ryan has remarkably never missed a scheduled shift in the four years he has been a student employee with University Dining Services and even volunteers for additional shifts and responsibilities whenever possible - staggering statistics indeed! In fact, it is projected that by the time Ryan graduates next month, he will have worked over 4,000 hours which is an incredible amount of time for a student employee and a UDS record.

It is evident that Ryan is most deserving of this award and is destined for great accomplishments along his future career path upon graduation next month. Congratulations, Ryan and the University of Montana-Missoula!