National Student Employment Week April 9 – 15, 2023
National Student Employment Week is celebrated each year across the country in order to recognize and
appreciate the invaluable service of both student employees and student employment professionals.
The National Student Employment Association (NSEA) has declared the week of April 9-15, 2023 as the week to
celebrate student employees. Setting aside a special week to draw the awareness of others, both on and off
campus, is the perfect opportunity to show your appreciation.
The purpose of this week is threefold:
1. To enhance awareness of student employment and its important role in higher education experience.
2. To recognize students who perform outstanding work while attending college.
3. To thank YOU, the employer, who hire students for part-time positions and make the student employment
program such a success.
Below are some ways your office can celebrate student workers:
• Give coupons/gift certificates for on-campus or off-campus use.
• Prepare "care packages" with popcorn, candy, soft drinks, hot chocolate mix, etc.
• Create fun computerized certificates - "You Rock" award, "Best Telephone Voice," etc.
• Bring them flowers or a plant.
• Give them a basket of home-baked goods.
• Give an office "life saver" a gift bag of Lifesaver candies, "Extra" gum for always going the "extra" mile, etc.
• Have the staff sign a thank you card for each student.
• Verbally thank students for their contribution to your department or offer students to be a mentor for them
as they continue to navigate their undergraduate/graduate experience.
• Make a banner of appreciation to hang in the office.
• Give students 'good job candy bars,' coupons, or written acknowledgments of a job well done.
• Pull names from a hat to win prizes.
• Decorate a bulletin board with posters/banners expressing appreciation to your student workers and list
their names.
• Display a collage of pictures of your students at work.
• Decorate your students' office or workspace for the week. This can include creating a banner that reads,
“We Appreciate Our Student Employees” or “Our Student Employees Rock!”
• Take pictures of your student employees, post them in your department, and list the wonderful things they
do for your department.
• Have a potluck, pizza party or sundae bar to celebrate your student employees achievements.
• Present “Good Egg Awards.” Buy plastic eggs, fill with goodies, and give out with “Good Egg Certificates”
listing what the student did to deserve the award.
• Tons of Puns – Every day, give your student a small “gift” with a fun one-liner, such as a Bag of Lays with a
sticker that says “You’re all that and a bag of Chips!” Other ideas: Milky Way bars (“You’re out of this
world!”), peanuts (“We’re nuts about you!”), and/or gum (“You always go the EXTRA mile!”)
• Treat Week – each day bring something different – cookies, popcorn, candy, etc.
• "You Rock" award - print "You Rock" on a rock and present it to someone when they go a good job.
Encourage the student to present it to another member of the staff when they observe someone doing a
good job.
• Use this week as an opportunity to start an award recognition program. Look around the office or at home
for a white elephant item. Name the item for the award (Employee of the Month/Week, Great Idea Award,
Gotcha Award - catch someone in the act of doing something good) and then make the first presentation of
it during Student Employment Week.
These are just a few ideas for how to acknowledge your amazing student employees. Have fun and be creative to
show your appreciation to thank your students for a job well done!
