Department of Human Resources
Office of Student Employment

UMD "Student Employee of the Year" 2008

UMD Student Employee of the Year

BreAnna Ward
Late Night Kirby Manager

Nominated by Christina Geissler

Dear Barbara and the Student Employee of the Year Selection Committee,

It is with great pleasure that I would like to officially nominate BreAnna Ward to be the Student Employee of the Year at the University of Minnesota Duluth for 2007-08. Bre is a senior at UMD and is an individual who embodies the ideal characteristics of an exceptional student employee. Bre goes beyond the standard mold of a student employee, making her the most deserving of this recognition.

To begin, Bre took a typical student employment position and turned it into one of the most leadership filled, student-centered, doing-it-for-the-good-of-the-community jobs there is on campus. Bre spearheads the Late Night Kirby Program at UMD. The goal of Late Night is to put on three (3) events every single week of the school year, starting at 9:00PM (peak social hours), that are solely in place to get students involved in events on campus that are alcohol-free. Bre has always been passionate about alcohol-free programming, attending Late Night events as a freshman, working as a Late Night attendant her sophomore year, earning manager as a junior, and continuing to be the manager her senior year.

Bre has extremely high initiative when it comes to working for Late Night Kirby. She supervises three UMD student employees to help her plan and implement the rigorous event schedule. She fills the role of an HR expert in hiring her crew, a manager in leading her crew and helping them to grow, a booking agent, and a public relations guru to the student body. She has made the Late Night program grow by leaps and bounds since she became manager. Last year she put on 92 events; this year there are 113 slated. Bre works very hard to find and select musical acts that appeal to a wide variety of students and interactive events that students want to participate in. This not only speaks about her initiative, but to the quality of her work as well. Student body surveys are completed each year for Late Night and Bre takes the feedback seriously, changing PR strategies to reflect where students say they are or are not hearing about events and trying out new activities student recommend. This year Bre has woven in craft nights and more interactive games each month, as a response to last year’s data, and they are now some of the most highly attended events! Bre has also changed the whole look of the Rafters for Late Night events during her tenure as manager. She designed new carpet schemes (which assist in the acoustics of the room) and new fabric & lighting décor on the ceiling. She has figured out how to do it in such a way that it can be set up & taken down with ease each night and yet, looks incredibly professional.

Bre Ward is a model of professionalism and reliability. Bre is a student that “gets it” – she understands the higher purpose of Late Night Kirby’s mission as a non-alcoholic alternative for students. She always gets her work done on time, never needs to be checked up on, interacts with many other departments and student organizations on campus to establish co-sponsorships, and is extremely organized. She is honest and trustworthy, demonstrated one way by fiscal responsibility, as her Late Night budget totals $50,000 of Student Service Fee money. Bre is a young woman with excellent character and a matching personality. She is positive, optimistic, and upbeat. Bad days make her work harder and I rarely hear her complain about anything. She has the most dedicated work ethic of all the student employees I have seen, settling for nothing less than quality. She provides positive examples of how to be a leader to those around her and constantly solicits feedback & advice to improve her performance. One of the most memorable demonstrations of true professionalism and sincere care for students is last year, a student was injured at a large Late Night event and left without staff noticing. When other student attendees alerted the staff to the injury, Bre sleuthed and tracked the injured student down in their dorm room, getting the student’s RA involved before she left, to make sure medical attention was received and that the student was OK. She is not prideful. She accomplishes as much as she does because she believes in what she is doing; there is no “look-at-me!” attitude. And she understands balance. She takes time to relax and have fun, aside from work and school. She understands the importance of having all three in order to be a well-adjusted individual; something most high-achievers know, but don’t necessarily do.

Bre’s student employee contribution is unique and special. Bre has been known to say if just 10 students attend an event one night, she has held a successful event because it allowed those 10 students to do something other than drinking. As manager, Bre has reached over 23,925 students across 148 events since September 2006. That’s 23,000+ students she stopped going out drinking for at least one night, through her events. That’s potentially 23,000+ accidents and/or incidents she helped prevent happening on-campus or in the Duluth community because she and her student employees work for Late Night Kirby. It is an amazing impact unlike anything else at UMD.

In summary, BreAnna Ward is an exceptional student to consider for UMD’s Student Employee of the Year. She is devoted to her school, is passionate about her beliefs, and is of the most excellent character. She is a person who is going through her college career humbly, not seeking overt recognition for the amazing acts she accomplishes every week through her job. She is an effective leader, able to facilitate growth and learning to her supervisees, and able to multitask, plan, implement, and troubleshoot without flaw. Her bright personality tops off a wonderfully balanced young woman who brings optimism and positive change wherever she goes.

It is been my pleasure to write this letter on behalf of Bre.