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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville sophomore nursing major Taylor Bergschneider was surprised at work Friday, April 7 with the news that she is the 2017 Student Employee of the Year, an honor given by the Office of Student Financial Aid. The award recognizes Bergschneider, of New Berlin, for her “dependability, intelligence, strong work ethic, professionalism and energy” as a general office clerk in the SIUE Graduate School.

The National Student Employment Association (NSEA) has declared April 9-15 as National Student Employee Week.  

A quizzical looking Bergschneider stopped typing on her computer as SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook, Director of the Office of Student Financial Aid Sally Mullen, SIUE Graduate School Office Dean Jerry Weinberg and others crowded around her small desk, carrying red and white balloons, an award plaque and more.

“Congratulations on being SIUE’s 2017 Student Employee of the Year,” Pembrook said. “We have good news and bad news for you this morning. The good news is that we want to recognize you as being hard working with leadership qualities that are outstanding. The bad news is that they said you have set the bar so high, that no one will be able to live up to that. That’s a responsibility you will just have to carry with you from now on.”

Mullen presented Bergschneider with an award plaque, an SIUE mug, and for the first time, a $500 scholarship.

“I’m incredibly grateful,” said Bergschneider, “because I think that what I do is not out of the ordinary.”

However, Tammy Smart, the grants and contracts associate who nominated Bergschneider, believes differently. “When given a task, she does it with the utmost professionalism and gets it done in a timely manner,” Smart wrote in her nomination letter. “We can rely on Taylor to get the job done correctly every time without fail.

“Her distinctive skills as a cataloger, learned while working at her hometown library during high school, have proven to be instrumental in helping our office with unique tasks. For example, Taylor developed a plan to organize our grant account files, a task that our office spent years trying to accomplish. Taylor took on the job and completed it in one summer.”

Bergschneider does concede to being a hard worker and a quick learner. “I’ve always had a large amount of determination in everything that I do and that transfers over to my work life,” she said.

First runner-up for SIUE Student Employee of the Year was senior Jenna Johnston, of Whittington. Johnston works in the Kimmel Student Involvement Center. Sophomore Hailey Rossman, of Gilson, was the second runner-up. Rossman works in Disability Support Services. 

Photo:

SIUE Student of the Year Taylor Bergschneider (center) is congratulated by SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook (right), SIUE Graduate School Office Dean Jerry Weinberg (left) and staff members of the Graduate School.