As part of Student Employee Appreciation Week which continues through Sunday (April 19), WVU proudly announces Joshua Applegate as the Student Employee of the Year and Kourtney Kotvas as the Graduate Student Employee of the Year. Both students are from the Morgantown Campus.
Applegate, a research assistant in pharmaceutical sciences, was recognized for his reliability, leadership and enthusiasm in the research lab, as well as his commitment to mentoring others and exceeding expectations while balancing pharmacy school. He also won in the leadership category.
Kotvas, a graduate research assistant for the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering Department and NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, was honored for her professionalism, leadership and dedication to supporting students through mentoring, research and program development.
Laney Rodeheaver, who works in the biology program, was selected as the Potomac State College Student Employee of the Year, while Molly Massie, who works in Student Life, was selected as the WVU Tech Student Employee of the Year.
Abigale Mullings, a student worker in the School of Nursing on the Morgantown Campus, was the graduate finalist. Mullings was also recognized for her outstanding work in building community partnerships and advancing public health initiatives.
Jolene Deane, who also works in the School of Nursing on the Morgantown Campus, is the recipient of the Community Service Award, and Makenzi Cutright, who works for Data Driven WV, is the recipient of the Technology and Innovation Award.and was then also the runner up for MASEA for that category. She was not the runner up in community service. She was the runner up in Social Impact and Belonging.
Additionally, Lillian Grey, who works in the epidemiology program on the Morgantown Campus, is the recipient of the Social Impact and Belonging Award and was selected as a runner-up in the Midwestern Association of Student Employment Administrators community service category.
This year, 51 nominations were submitted from across the WVU System, reflecting the meaningful impact student employees have throughout the University.
As part of Student Employee Appreciation Week, supervisors are encouraged to recognize their student employees through thank you notes, shoutouts, team celebrations or small tokens of appreciation.