Sometimes we meet our best friends in the most unexpected places. Emilee Lehmann, a University of Wisconsin-Madison senior, found her best friends through a shared experience, and they have been inseparable since.
You might think Lehmann is reflecting on a class or club she joined in college. However, she is actually talking about her time as a desk services team member with UW Housing.
April 10 to 14 is Student Employee Appreciation Week, so we ought to show our appreciation by highlighting all they do for our campus community. Student employees’ work is invaluable to this school — many of their roles are integral to campus life.
Think about the people who give you your packages in the Lakeshore Package Center, set up tables for events at Union South and make your Strada pizza. Behind these tasks that make UW-Madison a well-functioning school are student employees.
“We are often the first people students or visitors come to on campus when they have a question,” Lehmann explained. “We can be a friendly face that can point them in the right direction or offer advice.”
Brooke Stabiler works for the Wisconsin Union as a Student Supervisor on the Event Set-Up team. The senior said student workers do a lot more behind the scenes than people know.
“A lot of [the Wisconsin Union’s] events would not happen without workers setting up the rooms,” Stabile said.
Her work in production is one of the first steps in ensuring an event runs smoothly. She assists and leads in setting up rooms to groups’ likings.
Because of demanding work and school obligations, student employees must exhibit strong scheduling habits to carve out time.
Stabile said she believes having a job while being a full-time student motivates her to accomplish all of her work..
“I find that having more on my plate motivates me to get my school work done,” she said.
Lehmann’s job helps her develop transferable skills she can use in other environments, she said.
“I have learned many important skills [such as] teamwork and how to work with others who are different from me, how to stay calm in an emergency type situation and time management,” Lehmann noted.
Stabile and Lehmann are just two of the hundreds of UW-Madison student employees who dedicate time to helping the university and affiliated organizations. Student employees deserve praise and recognition for helping bolster university functions, emphasizing the importance of fostering community and managing education at the same time.
