The Libraries selects annual Student Awards winners

Each school year, the Libraries recognizes some of its many exemplary student workers with its Student Awards. The Libraries usually holds a ceremony in the spring semester to honor its student award-winners with short speeches about their accomplishments. This semester, those speeches have been recorded and moved online as part of the Libraries’ Coronavirus Response. Links to the videos are included below.

Sarah Hassan was chosen as the Libraries’ Student Assistant of the Year for her work in several library areas, but most significantly in the Hunt Library Makerspace. Hassan will receive an engraved brick in her honor on the walkway in front of the entrance to the Hill Library, as well as a certificate of appreciation and a Visa gift card.

Hassan was jointly nominated by Interim Department Head of Access Services Ashley Morrison and University Library Technician Ian Boyd. About Hassan’s Makerspace work, Boyd wrote: “Sarah has outstanding customer service and goes above and beyond for patrons, always working with them to find the solution that works best for their needs. She is pragmatic in her day-to-day tasks, often making suggestions to improve the organization or workflow of the Makerspace. Sarah is also an outstanding teacher and has helped train nearly every student employee who is currently in the Makerspace.”

“Sarah was promoted to Student Lead at Ask Us due to her expertise and outstanding customer service skills,” Morrison added. “Her breadth of knowledge for the many devices we lend from Ask Us is impressive, and she utilizes her knowledge of other services (like the Makerspace and VR) to enhance the service she provides at Ask Us. I often learn new things from her myself.”

The first of two Above & Beyond Library Service Awards recognizes Amadu Toronka for his exemplary work in the VR Studio. Lauded for his attention to detail and customer service, Toronka also spent time at the Ask Us desk this year. 

“Amadu is simply a model Libraries student-employee,” University Library Technician Colin Keenan wrote in his nomination of Toronka. “I was lucky enough to gain Amadu as a member of the VR Studio team when I took over management of the space in Fall of 2017. Of particular note to Amadu's work in the VR Studio is his skillset working with patrons, facilitating events, and providing a great experience to anyone moving through our studio. It's easy to see Amadu excelling in any number of roles once he's graduated and left the Libraries, and I can't wait to see how he'll apply his skills in his chosen field of nuclear engineering.”

Kyle Nguyen is the winner of the second Above & Beyond Library Service Award for this year. Working in Bookstacks, Nguyen quickly rose to a lead student worker position based on his dedication and initiative, even working over spring break to help relocate reserve items from the Hill Library’s Learning Commons so that the time-sensitive Ask Us refresh project could start promptly.

“This was hard, dusty work and Kyle maintained a good attitude the entire time and kept us laughing with his dry sense of humor. We couldn't have completed this part of the project on time without Kyle's help,” wrote University Library Technician Michael Edwards in his nomination. Edwards also noted that Nguyen found videos on a more efficient way to sort books based on mathematical principles.