Three University of Iowa student employees and three student supervisors in units within the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development (OVPR&ED) were recently nominated for the UI Student Supervisor and Student Employee of the Year.

Student employment is a vital part of campus life and supports the research, teaching and service mission of the university. Student of the year nominee Tristan Geiser, a senior finance major from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said three years working in OVPR&ED have given him invaluable experience as he begins his own career.

“Working in OVPR&ED has sparked an interest in a career in higher education,” Geiser said. “This job has allowed me to understand how a university operates, as well as develop a wide-reaching network at the University of Iowa. Although I am beginning a career in the financial services industry, my long-term career goal is to return to the field of higher education.”

Other student nominees from OVPR&ED include Van Petty in the Office of Animal Resources, and Kelsey O’Connor in the Pentacrest Museums.

Student employee supervisors are university employees who assign and monitor the work of student workers, often mentoring them and connecting classroom learning with real world experiences. In the Office of the State Archaeologist, archivist and student employee supervisor of the year nominee Teresa Rucker works closely with students to develop good archival skills that can then translate to their own research in the future careers. Like many jobs, the work requires creative problem solving and the development of efficient processes.

“My goals for them are to encourage them to think big, come up with new things, improve old processes and to find a way to deal with great repetition and tedium while remaining productive,” said Rucker.

Also nominated for student employee supervisor of the year within OVPR&ED are Paul Below, Division of Sponsored Programs, and Ashley McDonald, Computer Aided Design (CAD) Research Engineering (formerly with the Public Policy Center).

The Office of Animal Resources, Office of the State Archaeologist, Pentacrest Museums, the Public Policy Center and Division of Sponsored Programs are part of the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, which provides resources and support to researchers and scholars at the University of Iowa and to businesses across Iowa with the goal of forging new frontiers of discovery and innovation and promoting a culture of creativity that benefits the campus, the state, and the world. More at http://research.uiowa.edu, and on Twitter: @DaretoDiscover.