2009 WIU Student Employee of the Year

The WIU Student Employee of the Year was announced on today at a luncheon in the Lincoln Room sponsored by the Vice President for Student Services. This is Western's 12th year celebrating National Student Employment Week.

The 2009 WIU Student Employee of the Year is David Sharer. David is a senior Computer Science major from Fulton, Illinois, and is employed as a Website Designer in The Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood. He uses his expertise to design, develop, maintain, & revise websites & features within those websites that allows the department to educate & communicate effectively. His responsiveness & timeliness have resulted in the Illinois Dept. of Human Services Bureau of Early Intervention relying on the Provider Connection's website to post information they need disseminated quickly for effective statewide provider consumption. He is currently re-designing Provider Connections databases which will eventually lead to more users who will be able to update their own profiles. David is the recipient of a certificate and a $750 award from the Financial Aid Office at Western.

The second place winner for the 2008 WIU Student Employee of the Year is Elizabeth Coplan. Elizabeth is a sophomore Special Education major from Macomb, Illinois, and is employed as an Administrative Office Worker in University Libraries. Elizabeth has put together graphs & charts as well as prepared PowerPoint presentations for Dean Self & her accuracy for detail always meets/exceeds expectations. She greets people with a smile & has always been willing to make a few phone calls to help obtain information someone is looking for or escort them to the department which could lend further assistance to the patron. Elizabeth is the recipient of a certificate and a $500 award from the Financial Aid Office at Western.

The third place winner for the 2008 WIU Student Employee of the Year is Justin Dikeman. Justin is a senior Agriculture major from Elmwood, Illinois, and was employed as a Faculty Assistant in the Agriculture Department. Justin has been the department's "Student Recruitment Coordinator". This position has a direct impact on the annual recruitment efforts. Justin was successful in his personal mission to increase the number of majors in the department. Pioneer Seed Co. flew their Leer Jet into Macomb airport to fly Justin & four other prospective employees from Michigan State University, Purdue University, University of Illinois, & Southern Illinois University, to Ankeny, Iowa, for interviews. After the smoke cleared, they offered Justin the top sales job out of the five sales positions they had to offer. Justin is the recipient of a $250 award from the Financial Aid Office at Western.

April 15, 2009