Celebrating Student Employees: Appreciation Week Ideas and Beyond

Student employees are invaluable assets to colleges and universities, contributing significantly to the smooth functioning of various departments and the overall campus community. Recognizing their hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm is crucial for fostering a positive and motivating work environment. National Student Employment Week, typically observed during the second full week of April, provides an excellent opportunity to express gratitude and acknowledge their contributions. This article explores various ideas and strategies for celebrating student employees, not just during this designated week, but throughout the year.

The Significance of Student Appreciation

Expressing gratitude for student employees goes beyond mere courtesy; it fosters a sense of belonging, boosts morale, and enhances their overall work experience. Recognizing their contributions demonstrates that their efforts are valued and that they are an integral part of the campus community. This, in turn, can lead to increased motivation, productivity, and a stronger commitment to their roles.

Supervisors play a vital role in the student employee experience, providing training, mentorship, and development opportunities that prepare them for future careers. Acknowledging these supervisors is equally important, as their guidance and support contribute significantly to the students' professional growth.

Furthermore, celebrating student employees highlights the value of on-campus jobs. These positions offer students real-world skills, professional development, and valuable experience that can enhance their resumes and prepare them for life after college.

National Student Employment Week: A Prime Opportunity

Each year, the National Student Employment Association (NSEA) designates the second full week in April as National Student Employment Week. This provides a dedicated time to increase public awareness and recognize students who work while attending college. It is also a time to recognize supervisors that oversee the student experience by providing training and development that prepare students for their careers.

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This week presents a perfect opportunity to organize special events, activities, and initiatives aimed at showing appreciation for student employees. Colleges and universities across the country use this time to acknowledge the importance of student employees.

Low-Cost and Creative Celebration Ideas

Celebrating student employees doesn't have to break the bank. There are numerous low-cost and creative ways to show your appreciation. Here are some ideas to consider:

Treat Days/Weeks

Organize a "Treat Day" where full-time staff bring in treats or lunch for student workers. Alternatively, dedicate an entire "Treat Week," with each day featuring a different snack, such as cookies, popcorn, candy, or trail mix. Prepare "care packages" made up of crackers, cookies, trail mix, or candy.

Personalized Thank You Notes

Send a personalized thank you note or an e-card stating your appreciation. Use MS Word templates to personalize the name on each one. Simple, full-page thank you notes for students! There are 6 pre-made thank you notes and one blank option for students to design and decorate themselves. These thank you notes are a great option for students to use to write a thank you to teachers, building staff, guest speakers, fellow classmates, appreciation days, etc.

Public Recognition

Take pictures of your student employees at work and post them on social media or an office bulletin board. Create a "Thankful Paper" where employees in the office pass around a paper with the student employees' names on it and fill out what they like about the student employee, how they appreciate them, or why they are thankful to have them as part of the team. Make a banner to hang for the whole week in your office. Decorate an office bulletin board or the office door for the week in recognition of your students.

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Fun Awards and Certificates

Print certificates and create silly awards for students, such as "Best Telephone Voice," "Best Web-Surfer," or "Interior Decorator Award" for someone with the best desk decor. Employee superlatives: Buy or print blank certificates and come up with creative awards such as an “Interior Decorator Award” for someone with the best desk decor or “Office Bestie Award” for someone who’s most likely to remember everyone’s birthday.

Small Gifts and Goodie Bags

Fill small bags with trinkets, prizes, thank-you notes, and treats. Give out small gift cards (e.g., fast food, coffee) or buy them a coffee or snack at their favorite on-campus dining location. Snack Goodie Bag- Fill with small packs of crackers, cookies, candy and chips.

Healthy Options

Have a bowl of fresh fruit -apples, plums, oranges etc. Healthy Meal - Crackers and Cheese, Spaghetti with Ready Made Sauce.,Popcorn - Fill a bowl or individual mini bowls daily, inexpensive yet tasty.

Unique and Creative Ideas

Friendship Plants: Take cuttings from a plant in the office and give to each student as a live “connection” to the office.
Bright Ideas Award: Spray paint a light bulb gold, screw it into a jar of play-dough, and make a label around the jar naming who is receiving the “Bright Idea” award.
Switch Roles: For a work session, let your student employee be the boss.
Carnival Activities: Have everyone participate in carnival activities or games for competitive fun. For example, have a spinning wheel with fun activities or even challenges that your office has to do during specific times.
Secret Pal: Have a secret pal that does little things for them throughout the week.

Free and Simple Ways to Show Appreciation

Sometimes, the simplest gestures can have the biggest impact. Here are some free ways to show appreciation for student employees:

Let students pick music: Let students pick music for the work place to listen to for the day.
Verbal Appreciation: A simple "THANK YOU" for all you do will go a long way!
Start an award recognition program: Use this week as an opportunity to start an award recognition program. Look around the office or at home for a white elephant item.
Create a "Gotcha Award": Give the award a name and purpose. For example, a “Gotcha Award” for when you catch someone in the act of doing something good.

Student Appreciation Week Events: A Case Study

The RPA middle school halls were buzzing with excitement as they celebrated Student Appreciation Week . The week kicked off with “Mindful Monday,” where students enjoyed tea and cider in the MPR before school. Tuesday was “Tasty Tuesday,” featuring refreshing popsicles at lunch and heartfelt Student Shout-Outs during advisory. Wednesday brought the ever-popular “Dollar Day” at the REGGIE Store, with every item available for just a dollar. Thursday was “Thumbs Up Thursday,” where students had the opportunity to write appreciation postcards to their teachers. We wrapped up the festivities on Friday with “Flip It Friday,” where students dressed like staff and staff dressed like students, creating plenty of laughs throughout the hallways. The RPA Pride Raffle was a huge hit, with students entering their REGGIES to win school gear, alongside a campus-wide gift card hunt.

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Beyond Appreciation Week: Sustaining a Culture of Recognition

While National Student Employment Week provides a focal point for appreciation efforts, it's essential to cultivate a culture of recognition throughout the year. Here are some ways to sustain this culture:

Regular Feedback: Provide regular feedback to student employees, both positive and constructive.
Professional Development: Support their professional development by offering opportunities for training, workshops, or conferences.
Mentorship Programs: Establish mentorship programs where experienced staff members can guide and support student employees.
Student Employee of the Year Award: Implement a Student Employee of the Year Award to recognize outstanding contributions.
Encourage Skill Identification: Encourage your student employees to identify the skills they’ve learned in their on-campus job and reflect on how they apply to future careers.

Supporting Student Employees' Future Success

Celebrating student employees goes beyond recognizing their achievements; it also involves supporting them as they prepare for life after college. Here are some helpful resources for faculty and staff:

Handshake: Request a staff or faculty Handshake account to help graduating students find job opportunities from local and global employers. Use Handshake to post available hourly and work-study positions if you’re looking to hire student employees.
Recommendation Letters: Review guidelines, samples, and resources for writing recommendation letters, as student employees might ask you to serve as a reference when they begin applying to internships or jobs.

Student Appreciation Notes

"We love you!!! Student Notes: I Appreciate… Because…There are so many things you could do with these little notes! These can definitely be small acts of kindness! I give my students access to these at the beginning of the year in a designated spot in my classroom. They fill them out and put them in a bucket at the station. The teachers at our school place these on display on the outside of our doors! You could also use these for students

Student Appreciation Week Activities

Essay Contest

What do you want others to know about working at Dartmouth? How has working at Dartmouth impacted you? Essays must be written from your own experience in the first person. or essay -whatever you think best conveys your message. One winner will be chosen for each of the two categories. $150 will be awarded to each of the 2 winners.

Thank You Cards

This is a set of Teacher Appreciation Week Cards that are foldable and can be personalized and colored by your students.Do your students want to send cards to their teachers? This set of Teacher Appreciation Week Cards has 11 different cards in two different styles. It gives you a total of 22 options. There's a card for everyone in this set. These teacher appreciation note cards are perfect for: Home room teachersSpecials teachersMusic, art, P.E., and other teachersNursesSchool staffCan you thinModel an attitude of gratitude to your students! *Three unique card designs, on

Gratitude classroom activity

Celebrate Veterans Day with a special classroom activity that helps students express their gratitude. This engaging project guides students in creating heart-shaped notes using shredded paper, each with the heartfelt message, ‘Thank you, Veterans, from the bottom of my heart.’ This hands-on activity is a wonderful way for students to show appreciation and honor the service of our veterans.”

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