Post written by: Lisa Allen

There have been many studies done regarding what connects students to a college campus. There are obvious things such as involvement in campus activities and clubs, as well as making important connections with professors inside and outside of class. One connecting factor that may sometimes be overlooked is campus employment. According to the American Council on Education in an article in the 12/17/07 edition of the Wall Street Journal, approximately 75% of all college students work while they are in college. Some participate in Work Study programs on their college campuses, while others work part time jobs either on or off campus. Student employment was identified by students as important to their success in connecting to the SUNY Cortland campus in the “Person to Person Links: Creating Intentional Connections for SUNY Cortland Students” presented by Dr. Raymond Franco, Darshini Roopnarine, and Dr. Michael Kniffin in 2004.

Many offices on this campus could not function as well as they do without the help of student employees. These students are an integral part of the overall operation of the college community. Do the students who work for you know how important they are?

SUNY Cortland’s Student Employment Recognition week is Monday, April 14 – Friday, April 18, 2008. We are hoping that employers will use this opportunity to let their students know how valuable they are to their office operations. There are many ways employers can show their appreciation to their students:
 Recognize them through the Student Employment Recognition program. They will receive a certificate with your comments on it, as well as an invitation to our reception on May 14.
 Make them a “care package” to help get them through the end of the semester stress.
 Take your student worker to lunch.
 Give them a small gift.
 Have the department head or VP send them a thank you letter.
 Just tell them how much you appreciate their hard work (you might think they already know, but they may not). Everybody likes hearing appreciation for what they’ve done.

Post written by: Craig Dillaman

Ah, spring break, a time for students to relax and unwind; a chance to possibly go somewhere tropical or, at the very least, warm. This is the time of year when students are eager to experience something new and exciting. This did happen with a group of approximately 40 students this past break. You see, these students decided that instead of having the “traditional spring break” in Florida, Cancun, or another tropical destination they were going to go on an “alternative spring break” with the Habitat for Humanity Organization.

The alternative spring break experience is unique because it offers a chance for students with no prior building experience a chance to learn and appreciate what it takes to build a house. These students worked in various stages of residential construction while helping families establish a real (possibly first) home. Some tasks completed by the groups this year included framing, roofing, putting siding up on a house and some general landscaping. The Habitat organization has at least one full-time construction manager onsite teaching the students these tasks and making sure that they complete them successfully.

The SUNY Cortland Habitat for Humanity Club visited three sites in North Carolina this year. These were in the Aberdeen, Concord and Newland communities. The students left on Friday afternoon, March 7th, and traveled to Arlington, VA. On Saturday they got to go into Washington DC to do some site seeing. On Sunday morning the groups left for their respective sites and started work on Monday morning. The groups returned to Arlington the following Friday evening and arrived back in Cortland on Saturday, March 15th, 2008.

A lot can be said for the students who participated on this trip. The first is their commitment to serving others. One comment made during the trip this year was, “I never knew community service could be so much fun.” Another interesting observation was how the students wanted to spend their time in Washington DC. Of all the monuments, museums, and tourist locations in the greater DC area I found the participants going to some deep, thought- provoking places. These would be the Arlington National Cemetery and the National Holocaust Museum. To say that they learned something that day would be an understatement. One could tell that visiting these sites left a profound impression on them, one that will hopefully stay with them in the future.

All in all the respective trips were successful. New friends were made, a new beginning for a family was established, and a lot was learned and shared with each other. A challenge I gave my students when leaving the work site that last day was to reflect on what they learned that week about themselves and working with others and bring it back to campus. Some of these students may be in your classes, in a club that you belong to, or someone that lives in your hall. If you are interested in learning more about their experience strike up a conversation with them, I’m sure they would be happy to talk about their experience and let you know how you can get involved in the future.