University honors student employees

  Tuesday, April 12, 2016 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

Courtney Rusch, a senior communication major from Overland Park, Kan., is the 2016 Pittsburg State University student employee of the year. Rusch received the honor on Monday, April 11, in ceremonies conducted by PSU’s Office of Career Services.

Rusch is employed on campus as a sports broadcasting production assistant. It’s a high-pressure position that demands responsibility, a cool head and an above-average work ethic, according to Troy Comeau, who directs PSU’s Broadcasting Program in the Department of Communication and nominated Rusch for the honor.

In his nomination, Comeau wrote that Rusch has helped PSU’s sports broadcasting program distinguish itself.

“Under her leadership, our sports broadcasting program has earned state and regional awards and had a clip featured on ESPN’s top 10 plays of the day,” Comeau wrote.

He added that Rusch’s job requires her to work late evenings and weekends and that throughout, she is “always respectful and courteous to the faculty, staff and students who work around her.”

Rusch said she was honored to win the award. 

"Winning the award felt awesome," she said. "Knowing that all the broadcasts I have done with the great crew I had this year all paid off and were recognized meant a lot. I'm honored to receive the student employee of the year award." 

Mindy Cloninger, director of the Office of Career Services, said Comeau’s praise of Rusch sounds familiar, because she hears similar comments about other student employees across the Pitt State campus.

“Student employees play a vital role in the operation of the university,” Cloninger said. “I am often amazed and very proud of the way our students shoulder responsibility and dedicate themselves to the tasks put before them. Through their work on campus, these students are both demonstrating their value for potential employers and also sharpening the personal and professional skills that will make them invaluable to the companies, businesses and organizations they will eventually work for.”

Also honored at Monday’s ceremony were: First Runner Up Evan Burns, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., who works in Intercollegiate Athletics (Men’s Basketball); and two who tied for Second Runner Up, Kayla McCully, a senior from Baxter Springs, Kan., who works in Development; and Alan Thurman, a senior from Basehor, Kan., who works in the College of Arts and Sciences.