Appreciate Your Students ~ Appreciate Your Supervisor ~ Recognize the Contribution

The National Student Employment Association has declared that the second complete week in April each year be set aside to recognize the value of student employees.

We would like to encourage you to take the time to recognize students who perform outstanding work while attending college. Although you're receiving this notification during the appreciation week we hope you can take this opportunity to appreciate your student(s).

THANK YOU for being a great supervisor!!

Here are some ideas for showing appreciation, but are not limited to:

1. 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."

2. Decorate your office bulletin board with signs expressing appreciation to your student employees and listing all their names and photos.

3. Write personal thank-you notes or give certificates of appreciation.

4. Take your student employees to lunch in a dining facility on campus.

5. Purchase gift certificates from the University Bookstore or local merchants.

6. Throw a pizza party, potluck carry-in, sub-sandwich party, or do-it-yourself sundae bar in your office.

7. 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.

8. Take time to say, "Thanks for all you do!"

9. Put goody bags together for each student.

10. 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.

11. Place small prizes in balloons and have a balloon-popping party.

12. Bring in a cake, cupcakes, or cookies decorated for National Student Employment Week.

13. Award students small tokens of appreciation, such as movie tickets or gift cards.

14. Have the full-time staff members write notes to the students detailing how they assist them day-to-day and thanking them.

15. Give flowers or balloons.

16. 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.

17. 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".

18. '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.

19. If you are in a large office, take up a department-wide collection to purchase an advertisement in a Northeastern newsletter 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.

20. Wrap up small bags of jellybeans, chocolate eggs, etc. tie with a ribbon

Use your imagination. The work place would not be the same without our student workers, show them how much you appreciate them.