Amid thunderous applause, an astounded Frank
Richardson, escort services coordinator for
Campus Safety and Security at Homewood, was named
Student Employer of the Year for the second
consecutive year, at a ceremony held April 8 in the Glass
Pavilion.
Richardson was nominated this year by five students,
four of whom joined him on stage to tell
those gathered of his "phenomenal" leadership and mentoring
qualities.
For 2009, the National Student Employment Association
added a graduate student category to
the event, allowing institutions to submit both
undergraduate and graduate student winners for
consideration on the regional and national levels.
The Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year award
went to Bryant Smith, a junior
majoring in
chemical and biomolecular engineering. Simy Buckwold,
Smith's supervisor in the School of
Medicine's Otolaryngology Research Department, said that
Smith excels in the areas of reliability,
contribution, initiative and quality of work on the job.
Under the supervision of postdoctoral fellow
Xiaofei Chang, Smith conducts research on the potential of
natural supplements to become cheap and
effective cancer treatments.
David Hung's departmental cheering section exploded
with delight when he was announced the
inaugural JHU Graduate Student Employee of the Year. Hung,
who is studying materials science and
engineering, has worked for five years for the
Digital Media
Center. In addition to providing the
center with exceptional service, Hung organized a group to
enter a contest sponsored by Google to
model campuses in 3-D. (Its entry was one of nine
international winners.)
Smith and Hung each received a $500 cash award, lunch
at a local eatery and a JHU pen and
pencil set from the President's Office.
Hung also won the Northeast Student Employment
Association competition, moving his
nomination one step closer to winning the national title.
He was awarded a plaque from the Northeast
Student Employment Association and a $250 Visa gift
card.
JHU's 18th annual ceremony was part of National
Student Employee Appreciation Week, which
aims to enhance awareness of student employment and the
important role it plays in higher education.
This year, 34 students and 11 staff were nominated. A panel
of judges reads and ranks each
nomination, and the highest score in each category wins.