UNO Student Employment

Jodie Rasmussen Named Student Employee of the Year 2008

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:23:00 +0000

Jodie Rasmussen was chosen as 2008 Student Employee of the Year at the annual reception, April 7, 2008, in honor of her many contributions to her department, Campus Recreation. Jodie was selected from a pool of 15 deserving nominees for her work with UNO’s Intramurals Program. In his nomination letter, Mike Kult, Jodie’s supervisor in Campus Rec, wrote that “In the past, there have been many winners who have developed software programs, or materials that have benefited departments, but what Jodie has accomplished has directly benefited thousands of UNO students. Because of Jodie’s hard work and dedication, students at UNO were able to participate in Intramural Sport Programs this year.” She was presented with a certificate, and a monetary award underwritten by the UNO Alumni Association.

The reception kicks off National Student Employment Week which is April 13-19th. Please take this opportunity to honor the many contributions of UNO’s student employees.

Student Employee of the Year: Keynote Speaker

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:47:00 +0000

Monday, April 7th the Student Employment Office will host the Student Employee of the Year Program in the Ballrooom of the Milo Bail Student Center. The Student Employment Office is gracious to have Lee Denker, President of the UNO Alumni Association.

Denker became part of the UNO staff in July of 2006 after long-time President Jim Leslie retired. Denker was born and raised in Papillion, Neb. and was excited to return to his native area. Prior to his commitment here to UNO, he spent five years with the Boise State Alumni Association. While there, he redesigned its dues-paying membership program and established a lifetime membership endowment fund. He also completed fundraising on the association's alumni center campaign, which is a student relations program launched under his direction that earned national recognition from the Association of Student Advancement Programs.

During college, Denker took some undergraduate courses here at UNO but completed his degree in Journalism from the University of Nebraska Lincoln where his also got his master's in Communication.

Lee Denker has already made many contributions to the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the short time he has been here. His acheivements and contributions are why he has been chosen as the speaker for the Student Employee of the Year Program.

The experiences of an international student

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 01:09:00 +0000

I came to UNO last Fall on a partial scholarship from the UNO international office for a Master of Science Degree in Management Information Systems. In this article, I share some little experiences from a personal perspective as an international student at UNO, (who also has the privilege of serving in the UNO Students Employment Advisory Board) and later weigh in on the contrasts between the British system of education (which I went through in my country, Kenya) and the American system of Education.

The British colonized Kenya after the 1884-1885 Berlin Conference, held in Berlin Germany under Otto Von Bismarck, divided Africa into territories and “spheres of influence.” By the time Kenya achieved her independence in 1963, the British bequeathed to Kenya, among other things, its system of education, mode of dressing and English as the official language of communication.

But first things first. At the time of my arrival in Omaha, Nebraska, when the plane touched down at the airfield, I was treated to a humid summer evening than I had envisioned.
Earlier on, at the JFK airport in New York City, the close proximity of the airport to the Atlantic Ocean had relived memories of two books I had read while in Kenya.

The first book is titled The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities of our Time. It is a 2005 book written by Columbia University professor of macro-economics Jeffrey Sachs. The major thesis in the book is that if concerted efforts are put by all world leaders, poverty in the world’s most distressed regions can be halved by 2015 and eventually wiped out by year 2025. He also tells that over the years, all the countries that have climbed through the ladder to become economic powerhouses have had access to sea ports and oceans. Apparently, these ports and oceans have opened up the borders of these countries for trade with the rest of the world.

The other book is by the American biologist Jared Diamond aptly titled Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. Professor Diamond is resoundingly right that the economic fate of nations or nation-states over the years has been defined, inter alia, by their geographical locations.

What the knowledge from these two books and the proximity of JFK to the Atlantic Ocean opened my mind to, was that America’s sparkling economic turnaround has been defined not only by its geographical location, but also by its state of the art infrastructure.

The British System and the American System.

By and large, the British system is a very elitist one. It selects the very top, what I would call the crème de la crème to proceed to universities. It emphasizes, in my view, I stand corrected, on breadth rather than depth. While it produces top scholars, it also closes down, even crashes the window of opportunity for talented students who though cannot make it among the very top.

The American system tends to create room for everybody. But it is also elitist to some extent. It selects the very top to Ivy League institutions, the Nobel Laureate candidates if you may. But it also does create room for all to exploit their potential than would have been possible in a closed society.

The American system tests what you understand and how you can apply it in industry. Its goal seems to be to prepare a student for a position in industry or academia, but less so as an entrepreneur. It stresses on team building and hands on understanding. Replete with much homework, it truly prepares a student to have a complete and competent grasp of the subject matter. The state of the art IT infrastructure no doubt augments the students’ efforts in producing quality term papers and discussion slides.

Conclusion

I find American a very open society which gives opportunities for everyone to excel. It is also a society that follows and respects both the spirits and letters of the law.

To some Americans, the world “ends” at the end of our street. Only what is of interest to us is what we should know. It is understandable that when a country is so big and powerful, one may not need an outward focus.

I would argue that there is need to know more and learn about other cultures. After all, New York Times columnist Thomas L Friedman powerfully reminds us in his scintillating book The World Is Flat that globalization has ushered in a breathtaking era in which the economic ( and by and large, cultural) playfield is being flattened.

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Finals week stressing you out? Here are some helpful tips to get you through.

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:05:00 +0000

Well, for UNO students finals week is here. Every student gets stressed in some way during this time of year. Though everyone handles stress in different ways, here are some helpful tips that everyone can benefit from.

The key to effective studying in a short amount of time is prioritizing.

Prioritizing doesn't mean making yourself a schedule of 24 hours in a day and then placing times for when you will study for each individual test. When trying to set up a study schedule for the finals that you will be undertaking it is important to remember these 3 things.

1. Don't try and study every hour of the day. Instead, set up 2 to 3 hours at a time to study one subject and give yourself at least a half hour between each study session. During that half hour break, do something completely opposite of studying, such as watching TV, cooking, napping, or even showering. Studies have shown that if you study for up to 3 hours and shower or take a bath before you begin your next subject, you feel clean and refreshed and ready to take on a new subject, putting the material you learned in your last study session in your brains memory box.

2. Don't study instead of sleep. Some people wait to the last minute to begin studying for their tests, for them this rule does not apply. Plan ahead in your studying but don't study all day and study all night. If you body doesn't have adequate amounts of sleep then you won't be able to hold all of the knowledge you are trying to learn. You will be left with an empty brain and an exhausted body.

3. Don't study instead of eat, and don't eat junk foods because you think you don't have enough time to eat. Part of your study habits should be to break for a half hour. That is plenty of time to trek to the kitchen and find yourself something to eat that is healthy and will help in your studies. Fruits, vegetables, sports drinks with enzymes, and green tea drinks are the material that your brain needs to keep working and not get fried in your studying frenzy. Fast food will only make your studying worse along with making your body feel worse.

Avoid Procrastinating

If you procrastinate studying for final exams your stress level will have no choice but to shoot up when crunch time comes and you begin cramming. It is the end of the semester, and students as well as teachers are ready to call it a break, but you must teach yourself that you are not over until the last exam is handed in. Don't wait to finish the semester until the last minute, study ahead of time and finish the semester conifident, not worn out.

Avoid Temptation

While studying or finishing papers on your computer, don't stray to websites, facebook, or myspace. If you stay on the task you have at hand you will be much more successful as you study and finish papers. Stick to what needs to be done and it will be done that much faster.

Good luck to all UNO students as they finish their semester. Take the helpful hints and put them into your studying habits. You never know, they could end up being what makes your semester end smoothly.

December Student Employee of the Month: Stacey Grafel

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:19:00 +0000

Stacey Grafel, a student worker in the Biology Department has been chosen as December's Student Employee of the Month. She was nominated by Jennifer Mullin, the Secretary of her Department and has been chosen by the Student Employment Office's Selection Committee.

Stacey has shown professionalism in her job in many ways. She always concerned about doing her job correctly and graciously and efficiently handles all the projects she is assigned and learns quickly.

Jennifer Mullin stated that "Stacey is always polite, and communicates effectively with both students and with faculty."

Stacey is available to assist with faculty projects in addition to helping support the entire department with our general office needs. She is detailed to support the Staff Assistant with organizing and filing complex budget documents and also in organizing data for our primary department advisor. She is a capable self-starter who can jump into a task if supervisors are away from their desks when she arrives.

Stacey was chosen for the honor of Student Employee of the Month because she was shown to demonstrate the main core characteristics that are important for student workers on campus. Congratulations to Stacey Grafel for being chosen as December's Student Employee of the Month.

Handling Confrontation in the Workplace

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:01:00 +0000

Conflict in the workplace can be an uncomfortable situation for employees. It usually begins with a lack of information or misunderstandings, stressful working conditions, unresolved prior conflicts, and power structure within the organization.

Handling these conflicts can be even more uncomfortable. Though sometimes it is hard to approach someone with whom you are having the conflict, this seems to be the only true way to resolve the miscommunication and continue in a healthy work environment. Compromise and collaboration are the best ways to disolve a conflict and make the situation as a whole better.

Leaders within a business should step up when seeing conflict occur within their workplace. Effective leadership is leadership which is adaptive. Leaders that are able to adapt to varying conflict situations and manage them accordingly will be highly acclaimed by their co-workers.

When handling conflict, always stay composed and respectful in the manner that you bring up and discuss the problem. Hostility and tension are two things that you should try to avoid when talking out a conflict.

For any more helpful hints or answers on how to handle a conflict occuring in your workplace, leave a comment. Help is always there for those who seek it.

Campus safety relies on new text messaging system

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:56:00 +0000

Campus Security has introduced a new way of contacting students on important alerts pertaining to the University of Nebraska Omaha, text messaging straight to students' phones.

"Once students sign up, the alerts go right to their cell phones with quick, efficient, short text messages," said Wade Robinson, associate vice chancellor for student affairs. "It's a convenient system for everyone because it reaches people, whether on or off campus. We know students love their cell phones, so now we can reach them with important information that can help keep them safe."

This system can be especially beneficial to student workers. Students who have jobs on campus can receive these text messages letting them know if campus will be open or closed that day and whether they need to go in to work or not. They will also know of any emergencies on campus that could be dealing with the department they work in.

The system as a whole is beneficial to all UNO students. It is an easy and fast method of alert for any type of occurance at UNO, whether it be weather or emergency related.

Take the time to sign up or at least find out more information on this new form of alert. Visit the website http://www.e2campus.com/my/unomaha to sign up or find out more.

The system will only work as long as students, faculty, and staff at UNO take the time to register. It is a system that will benefit everyone in the long run.

Shauna Foster: Student Employee of the Month

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:24:00 +0000

Shauna Foster of the Goodrich Scholarship Program has been chosen as November's Student Employee of the Month. She was nominated by her supervisor, Cathy Young, who wrote of all the qualitites that Shauna posesses in her application.

She states that Shauna is as skilled as if she were a full time employee. She has the ability to handle customer relations with ease and answers many peoples questions pertaining to her department with confidence.

She is also very involved with her department. She is a Goodrich Scholar herself, and has helped the Goodrich recruiter in updating a database for scholarship applications.

"Shauna is very professional and patient with questions that are presented to her by parents on the phone who are inquiring about how to get involved in our program," Cathy Young said.

Shauna's great qualitites and work ethic have gotten her the title of Student Employee of the Month for November. To find out more about Shauna and her job on campus, check out the Student Employment podcast coming up for the week of November 9th.

Congratulations Shauna Foster on your great work and accomplishments at UNO!

How does work affect your GPA?

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:04:00 +0000

A question has been brought to my attention that I have found to be very interesting. Does having a job effect your GPA? "Of course it does," is what I believe I would hear from everyone as a reply but, I think that the real question is HOW does it effect your GPA? Now if you ask me, that is a better question.

When wondering how work and school can correlate most people immediately say that you shouldn't work while taking full time hours as a college student. This can be true for some, but for others, the 12 required hours that it takes to become a full time student is not enough to keep you content all the time. No one can study all day long, and no one is expected to, so everyone's question becomes, should you work while you attend college?

My answer to this question is "YES." You just have to find a job that will become a stability for those hours that you aren't studying. The job you should look for should be one with flexibility, only part time hours a week, and a location close to your school to make the travel time the least possible. Where can you find a job like this? The answer is simple, on campus. Student employment on campus can help students to have a stable job around 20 hours a week right next door to their classes, while offering flexibility and understanding for those weeks that are busier with homework that require hours of studying.

What most people don't know is that surveys have been done to find out how full time students with jobs end up on the GPA scale. Though it may be surpising to you, students employed around 20 hours a week have a better GPA Average of 2.75 than students who are not employed at all and hold a GPA Average of 2.69. This takes all that misrepresentational theory that college students shouldn't work and throws it out the window. College students should work, they should just hold jobs that are reasonable with hours and flexibility. Applying for these jobs on campus is easy. Here at UNO all it takes it a few minutes to sit down at a computer.

When applying for jobs at UNO you should visit the site http://careers.unomaha.edu/. Once you are there you will be able to search the available jobs and find one that will suit you. Then all you have to do is fill out the application and submit it. Working on campus is a work while experience. It can become the strong footing that you have been looking for in your time at UNO. Check out Student Employment at UNO and be ready to experience Unique New Opportunities.

"Bright Idea"

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:53:00 +0000

UNO's Chancellor John Christensen has presented a new idea to the students of the Universtiy of Nebraska Omaha known as "Bright Idea." It is an interactive way for anyone interested to let Chancellor Christensen know about any "ideas" that they might have on improving the quality of UNO for its current and prospective students. It is designed to solicit ideas from students, faculty and staff on ways UNO can improve its services, save money and be more efficient.

So participate in this "bright idea" that Chancellor Christensen has created. It is beneficial to the college and to yourself to let him know of any ideas that you have to improve life at UNO. To submit your "bright idea" go to http://brightideas.unomaha.edu/ and fill out the questionaire. The "bright ideas" that are chosen will be recognized Thursday, Nov. 15, at this year's UNO Step Up awards ceremony.

Your imput could become part of UNO forever, so tell Chancellor Christensen your "bright idea" and make UNO an even better learning institute.

Speaking out to Students with Disabilities

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:05:00 +0000

Yesterday, in an interview with Kate Clark, the Disability Services Coordinator, I learned alot of new information about the Diversity and Equal Opportunity Department that I had never known before.

They hire 8 to 10 student workers each year to work in their department doing all sorts of different tasks. The jobs that open up in her department though are very specific and are sometimes hard to fill. This is where the students come in.

When talking with Kate I asked her if she had any advice to students who were applying for a position in her department or a position in any department at UNO.

Her advice was: Proofread your application before submitting it. Make sure that there are no spelling errors and that all questions and information is stated in the application. Also, always provide references and phone numbers. Show that you have some one backing you up in saying that you would be a good candidate for the job. And lastly, have someone look over your application for you before you submit it, they may be able to find any mistakes or problems that you were not able to catch.

If you have found any positions within the Disability Services Department that you are interested in, or if you have a disability and would like information on how you can be eligable for jobs on campus, call Kate Clark at 554-2872. You can also email her at mkclark@mail.unomaha.edu. For students who are hearing impaired the TTY number is 554-3799.

The most important thing that I heard from Kate in my interview would have to be this: "Students with diabilities have alot more abilities than they do disabilities." This is important for students with diabilities to believe. Finding jobs on campus if you have a disability can beneficial to you for the rest of your life in preparing you for job experiences that you will find after collge.

Remember, if you are looking for job on campus, search for them on the Student Employment website or at http://careers.unomaha.edu/. Students with disabilities and students without disabilities are all encouraged to work on campus.

Work at UNO and experience Unique New Opportunites.

Chancellor's Convocation

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:58:00 +0000

A big event will be occuring next Wednesday, Oct. 10, on UNO's campus.

It is the Fall 2007 Convocation by UNO's Chancellor John E. Christensen. The event will be held in the Strauss Performing Arts Center Recital Hall at 10 a.m. Faculty, Staff, students, and the public are all invited to attend.

Speaking for the students at UNO, I think that it is very important to support our Chancellor as he gives the state-of-the-university address. I went last year, when Dr. Christensen was serving his term as Interim Chancellor. I found the experience to be interesting because I became aware of many changes occuring at UNO that I otherwise wouldn't have known about.

Much time and effort is put into making this event happen at UNO. After the convocation, everyone is invited to a reception in the Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom.

So come out and attend the event. It is an informational and educational experience that can leave you with a better understanding for what is occuring here on campus and the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Student Employment Overview

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:32:00 +0000

Working at UNO is a key way students finance their college education, gain valuable experience and establish professional references. There are jobs for about 900 students each semester. On-campus jobs that are popular include computer programmers, bookstore cashiers and the various job opportunities at campus recreation or food services. Hourly wages range from a minimum $5.85 to more than $10 for jobs in specialty fields.

A Busy Week at UNO!

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:22:00 +0000

UNO Students definitely have their hands full this week with all of the events happening on campus. Here's a little heads up on what to be watching for:

Until 2 o'clock today there are tables set up with oppportunities for students to get information on Studying Abroad from UNO. The destinations and majors that are involved are endless, so stop by and pick up a flyer if you are interested, and even if you have never thought about studying abroad, grab one anyway, you might be surprised at what you find.

Also, with this being Homecoming Week you have probably noticed the millions of events occuring in the Student Center Ballroom. Stop in and check them out if you have a minute to spare. They are open to anyone. Today at noon, Jim Ward, a hypnotist, will be taking volunteers to "go under." Friday night, there is a Homecoming dance in the Student Center Ballroom. The theme is a Masquerade! Come and dance the night away, but make sure you are ready to go to the big Maverick Football Game on Saturday at 1:00. Come early and hang out in the Pep Bowl where there will be lots of games and tailgating going on, getting everyone in the Homecoming Spirit. At halftime, the Homecoming King and Queen will be announced, topping off the entire week!

So get out this week and support UNO. We want to see your Maverick Mojo!

Welcome!

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:35:00 +0000

Welcome to the Student Employment Blog! We will be providing you with information on position openings that are available to you at UNO!

A blog for Student Employment

atraslavina@mail.unomaha.edu (Sara Hochstein) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:44:00 +0000

Welcome to the Student Employment Blog