GENEVIEVE PFISTER, Staff Writer—
In the midst of ongoing discussions surrounding student employment, Denison welcomed new Student Employment Coordinator Nicole Saunier to its staff this year. Saunier began working in higher education in graduate school at Youngstown State’s Office of Admissions, where she met campus tour guides and discovered her passion for working with student employees. She then went on to fill positions as a student employee supervisor, most recently overseeing 150 student employees in Undergraduate Admissions at The Ohio State University, before coming to Denison.
Saunier says for her, making a “positive experience for student employees on campus” is her primary responsibility, and that there are several priorities that go along with that, shaped by conversations she has had with Denison student employees and community members.
First, Saunier aims to provide guidance, support, and resources to students, in part through creating a new orientation process for recently hired student employees to brief them on necessary skills for their job, including how to complete a timesheet, how to self-advocate in the workplace, and how to find support. She also wants students to have access to more formal training and resources on topics that she sees as being “commonly misunderstood,” including federal work study and other questions students have asked her.
Saunier also placed particular emphasis on student supervisors. “I also think that a lot of my job is going to be working with student supervisors, because student supervisors are the ones that work directly with all of the student employees on campus,” she said, citing relationships with supervisors as an important way to support a positive experience for students. Thus, another one of her priorities is to create dedicated resources, including how-to guides, on topics such as hiring and onboarding students, completing paperwork, and other topics she feels are unclear to supervisors, to help guide them through these processes.
Additionally, Saunier would like to create what she calls a “community support mechanism for communicating and sharing best practices, having supervisors come together and share their ideas, and also provide them with the guidance they need to be a strong supervisor.” She also hopes to encourage supervisors to carefully consider the work they assign student workers in order to maximize the potential for students to have meaningful experiences and gain knowledge, experiences, and skills they can apply to internships or future careers.
Saunier also discussed “creating a recruitment and hiring process that’s transparent and equitable for students, and making sure that it’s clear and easy to understand for supervisors.” In particular, Saunier noted that students have come to her with concerns about available positions not being publicly displayed on Denison platforms for all students to see, and expressed her desire to make all jobs public and available for all students.
Lastly, Saunier said another important priority is ensuring students feel recognized for their work. Student employees, she said, are crucial to Denison’s mission and operation, and she wants to do everything she can to ensure they feel appreciated. Saunier ended by saying that she is very open to talking with students, and is constantly incorporating student feedback into her work. She encourages students to contact her at [email protected].