What is SEOTY?
Each spring, NSEA coordinates a selection process and chooses the National Student Employee of the Year (SEOTY) to recognize the outstanding contributions and achievements of students who work while attending college. On this page, you will find:
SEOTY 2024
NSEA will hold a Student Employee of the Year process for both undergraduate and graduate students in 2024. The undergraduate process will celebrate a Student Employee of the Year for each category (see below) and the Overall Student Employee of the Year. The graduate process will celebrate one Graduate Student Employee of the Year.
2024 SEOTY Committee:
Char Burke, University of Texas Austin
Chrystal Grant, College of Charleston
Mary Young, Southern New Hampshire University
Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year
Qualifications
- Nominating institutions must be current members of NSEA
- Students must currently be enrolled at the nominating institution
- Students must be in an undergraduate program
- New for 2024: Institutions may submit a different student for each category
Process
- NSEA member runs the Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year process at their institutions
- NSEA member submits their SEOTY (s) for one of the categories listed below
- SEOTY task force members will lead a committee of volunteers to choose a winner in each category
- NSEA Board Members will choose the overall SEOTY from the five winners of each category
- Each winner will receive $300, with the overall SEOTY receiving an additional $300
- Each runner-up in the five (5) categories will receive $100
Cateories
- Community Service
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Leadership
- Technology & Innovation
- Critical Thinking
- Overall Student Employee of the Year
Graduate Student Employee of the Year
Qualifications
- Nominating institutions must be current members of NSEA
- Students must currently be enrolled at the nominating institution
- Students must be in a graduate program; teaching assistants are not eligible for this award
Process
- NSEA member runs the graduate Student Employee of the Year process at their institutions
- NSEA member submits their SEOTY nomination
- SEOTY task force members will lead a committee of volunteers to choose the Graduate Student Employee of the Year using the criteria rubric.
- The Graduate Student Employee of the Year will receive $300
Criteria
Nomination letters are limited to two pages. When submitting a nomination for Graduate Student Employee of the Year, please make sure to speak to the following areas:
Diversity & Inclusion: Student Employee acknowledges the support and contributions of others in achieving results; demonstrates empathy and compassion for others; is flexible, open, and receptive to new information, ideas and approaches; shows respect and value for the unique contributions of each associate.
Impact: Student Employee suggests and helps implement an idea that has a positive, tangible impact on the department or brings positive recognition to the department.
Professionalism, Effective Communication & Interpersonal Skills: Student Employee collaborates well with peers, manager, department leadership and unit stakeholders; Employs appropriate methods of persuasion when soliciting agreement; addresses problems constructively.
Leadership: Student Employee is passionate about mentorship, training fellow student employees, and acts as an agent of change to support the implementation of new ideas
Please see the SEOTY FAQ for More Information
2024 Timeline
- February 5, 2024 (Monday): Accepting nominations through online form (to NSEA)
- March 4, 2024 (Monday): Nominations due to NSEA
- March 7, 2024 (Thursday): The SEOTY Committee disseminates nominations to sub-group
- March 14, 2024 (Thursday): Scoring rubric due back to SEOTY Committee
- March 15, 2024 (Friday): The SEOTY Committee meets for any tie breakers & determines the winner.
- March 26, 2024 (Tuesday): Notify winning institutions
- April 12, 2024 (Friday): Announce Winners (on social media)
Suggestions
- Call for nominations - publicize the competition widely, put it in your campus newspaper, send flyers to all departments, and announce it on your campus homepage and any departmental listserv.
- Selection committee - be certain it's more than just faculty and administrators. Include clerical staff and one or two students (undergrad or grad). The committee should total an odd number to avoid ties when voting (five, seven, or nine members are recommended).
- Promote the nomination process -by posting pictures of nominees around campus as they are received, put articles in the campus paper, on the homepage, and listserv.
- Selection criteria - have some mechanism to consider all students equally and not give too much consideration to complex job descriptions or longevity of service.
- Award presentation - Be creative in holding virtual celebrations in 2021. Invite your campus president and additional senior leadership to speak with students, play videos of supervisors speaking about their nominees, and create a picture collage of all nominees. Have the state government issue a proclamation.
- List of Proclamation Info by States - information on how to contact your state governor concerning a Student Employee of the Year Proclamation
- Proclamation Letter Example
- Prizes - arrange for cash scholarship, tuition waiver, or bookstore certificate for the winner. Have trophies, plaques, or certificates for all nominees.
- Hold your recognition event during National Student Employment Week.