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<p>The award recognizes innovative contributions to the field of student employment and professional development.</p>

IUPUI Office of Student Employment wins MASEA Award for Excellence in Innovation

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Office of Student Employment received the 2016 Midwest Association of Student Employment Administrators Award for Excellence in Innovation at the MASEA Conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The office received the award in recognition of its innovative contributions to the field of student employment and professional development at IUPUI.

The MASEA Award for Excellence in Innovation recognizes an individual or team that demonstrates a creative or innovative process or best practice that contributes to the overall excellence of the institution’s student employment program, services and/or administration, and advancement in the field of student employment.

The IUPUI Office of Student Employment works to provide a comprehensive set of programs and services to promote career-related experiences on and off campus. Students employed part time have been shown to have higher grade-point averages, improve organization and ease their financial investment while in school.

“This award only serves to re-energize a staff that sees firsthand how employment opportunities while in college can greatly shape the future professionals a campus graduates into society,” said Janna McDonald, director of the Office of Student Employment. “Campus departments can create opportunities through student employment in which students can apply their classroom knowledge in work settings. Students in turn can use the work setting experiences to drive and engage in classroom conversations about the topic at hand.

“This meaningful and academically related experience offers students a connection to career-minded individuals in their areas of interest and experience in a professional setting that can go a long way in preparing them for their first full-time position post-graduation,” she said.

Among the Office of Student Employment’s programs that helped earn the MASEA award are development workshops by employers on topics ranging from work-life balance and professionalism in the office to how to transition to new positions as one’s career advances. In addition, the office’s job fairs and programs during National Student Employment Week that focus on student employee appreciation, job-search strategies including resume development and interview tactics, and the Federal Work-Study Program were cited for their success. Those initiatives earned accolades for the office at the 2015 National Student Employment Association Conference in San Francisco as well.

The Office of Student Employment also provides programming to supervisors of IUPUI student employees. In addition to assistance with their own professional development, supervisors participate in coaching and consulting services to promote student employment and career exploration at IUPUI.

About the Office of Student Employment

The Office of Student Employment supports the Division of Undergraduate Education by empowering students to pursue and succeed in meaningful, academically relevant college work experiences that enhance both academic and professional growth.