The National Student Employment Association has declared that the second full week in April each year be set aside to recognize the value of student employees and student employment professionals. The purpose of this week is to enhance awareness of student employment and its important role in the higher education experience, to recognize students who perform outstanding work while attending college, and to thank YOU, the employer, who hires students for part-time positions. Students gain tremendous benefits from their work experiences while in school, and the skills they develop help them achieve success after college and beyond. For that, we thank you!

We hope you will join Career Services in recognizing and thanking NMU student employees for the hard work they provide on campus and in the community. Below are some examples of ways to recognize your student employees. If you have your own creative ideas you'd like to share, e-mail your thoughts to careers@nmu.edu, and we will add them to this list.

National Student Employment Week - April 8-12, 2024

 

Ideas to thank student employees: 

  • Give coupons/gift certificates for on-campus or off-campus use.
  • Prepare "care packages" with popcorn, candy, soft drinks, hot chocolate mix, etc.
  • Create fun computerized certificates - "You Rock" award, "Best Telephone Voice," etc.
  • Bring them flowers or a plant. 
  • Give them a basket of home-baked goods.
  • Give an office "life saver" a gift bag of Lifesaver candies, "Extra" gum for always going the "extra" mile, etc.
  • Have the staff sign a thank you card for each student.
  • Give each student employee a small gift.
  • Make a banner of appreciation to hang in the office.
  • Give students 'good job candy bars,' coupons, or written acknowledgments of a job well done. 
  • Pull names from a hat to win prizes.
  • Decorate a bulletin board with posters/banners expressing appreciation to your student workers and list their names.
  • Thank them on your website, social media, or in a newsletter. 
  • Display a collage of pictures of your students at work.

We hope this list gives you some ideas to start, but the sky is the limit in terms of your own creative thinking!