Recognition Ideas for Departments - NSEW
Ways to Celebrate National Student Employment Week
- Give each student employee an award. You can have an awards ceremony where each student is presented with a "Best" category, e.g. "Best Customer Service Employee."
- Decorate your office bulletin board with signs expressing appreciation to your student employees and listing all their names and photos.
- Write personal thank-you notes or give certificates of appreciation.
- Take your student employees to lunch in a dining facility on campus.
- Purchase gift certificates from the University Bookstore or local merchants.
- Throw a pizza party, potluck carry-in, sub-sandwich party, or do-it-yourself sundae bar in your office.
- Arrange for faculty or staff in your department to do some job shadowing - let them partner with a student employee for a shift or even an hour to see what kinds of duties are involved.
- Take time to say, "Thanks for all you do!"
- Put goodie bags together for each student.
- Write letters to the parents of your student employees letting them know how much you appreciate their son or daughter and highlighting the work they do in your department.
- Place small prizes in balloons and have a balloon-popping party.
- Bring in a cake, cupcakes, or cookies decorated for National Student Employment Week.
- Award students small tokens of appreciation, such as movie tickets or gift cards.
- Have the full-time staff members write notes to the students detailing how they assist them day-to-day and thanking them.
- Give flowers or balloons.
- Give the student a "Friendship Plant"; a cutting from an office plant in a small pot decorated to show your appreciation. This way the student will always have a "live" connection to their student employment experience.
- Pat on the Back - Draw an outline of your hand on a piece of paper. Photocopy enough copies for all students in your office. On each hand write a note that tells the student why they deserve a "Pat on the Back".
- 'Good Egg Award' - Buy plastic Easter eggs, fill with goodies and give out with "Good Egg Certificates". List what the students did to deserve this award.
- If you are in a large office, take up a department-wide collection to purchase an advertisement in The George-Anne Daily thanking your student employees by name. In addition to making your student employees feel appreciated, this will show other students you are a caring employer.