Students and supervisors recognized for their achievements in experiential learning programs

Career and Professional Development recently recognized 13 students and supervisors for their achievements as part of its experiential learning programs: Cooperative Education and Internship Program, Campus InternEXP (On Campus Internship Program), and iGROW@VirginiaTech.

Hosted during National Student Employee Appreciation Week in April, the awards ceremony gathered students and supervisors to celebrate their accomplishments and dedication to personal and professional development.

“Each year we look forward to celebrating and recognizing our student and supervisor accomplishments for the past academic year,” said Cody Smith, program coordinator for professional development and experiential Initiatives in Career and Professional Development. “It’s a great opportunity to get all of the programs together to celebrate and recognize their outstanding achievements.”

A selection committee consisting of Virginia Tech faculty and staff used a five-point scoring rubric to determine each recipient.

Cooperative Education and Internship Program

Student of the Year: Dante Stellar, a sophomore industrial and systems engineering major in the College of Engineering, GAF Materials

“Dante was immersed in what it is like to manage a $490,000-plus project from start to finish,” said Clay Allen, his supervisor at GAF Materials. “He performed each task with little oversight, overcame problems and issues that arrived, and completed work safely and in accordance with the engineered repair plan.”

Supervisor of the Year: Matthew Beasinger, Toyota Motors North America

“Matt welcomed me into his group and made sure to present me to the entire team at Toyota,” said Rwaka Furaha, a student who worked for him at Toyota. “He then scheduled one-on-one meetings early on to set up expectations for the job and shared the culture at Toyota. I have grown a lot in my public speaking skills due to engaging with my team at Toyota.”

Campus InternEXP

Student of the Year: Hannah Finnell, a senior fashion merchandising and design major in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Career Outfitters student project coordinator

“Her passion for this work has continued to grow and expand far past my expectations, along with her communication and professionalism,” said Kayla Branson, Finnell’s supervisor at Career and Professional Deveolpment. “She has helped us expand our diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging efforts immeasurably.”

Supervisor of the Year: Jennifer Jones, assistant director, online master’s program, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

“Jennifer helped the interns build skills in the seven professional competencies by providing tasks that incorporated the different skills throughout the semester,” said Sophia Cochis, an intern working for College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Jennifer discussed personal goals and ideas and balanced her schedule with ours to make sure the interns felt that they were contributing work and ideas to the marketing department when she was busy.”

iGROW@VirginiaTech

Student of the Year: Kevin Jenks, an urban and regional planning master's degree student in the School of Public and International Affairs, Career and Professional Development frontline student assistant

“Kevin has quickly become a leader among other student employees and a trusted source for colleagues within our office,” said Crystal Wiltsee, Jenk’s supervisor with Career and Professional Development. “One of Kevin’s greatest strengths is that with every situation presented to him, he will take the time to gather all the information available before tackling a solution.”

Supervisor of the Year: Alyssa Henderson, assistant director, Career and Professional Development

“Alyssa helps all peer career advisors develop professional skills with weekly team meetings that cover a variety of professional development topics,” said Hailey Coates and Maggie Kidd, peer career advisors with Career and Professional Development. “Alyssa's teaching and feedback have helped me learn the importance of goal setting in order to hold myself accountable to improving.”

Professional Edge awards

Along with these six awards, seven students were offered Professional Edge awards, which highlight growth and development within Career and Professional Development's seven professional competencies for career readiness. They include the following:

Communication Award: Jason Pham, a senior packaging systems and design major in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, Johnson & Johnson

“Jason's ability to communicate effectively, use appropriate language, and ask clarifying questions positively impacts his interactions with both colleagues and customers,” said Michael Simonds, Pham’s supervisor at Johnson & Johnson. “During an assignment, Jason provided a brief overview of the project objectives and the scope of his research, avoided using jargon or overly technical language, ensuring that everyone was following along.”

Teamwork and Interpersonal Award: Nandini Bhola, a sophomore computer science major in the College of Engineering, Serhant, intern backend engineer

“Nandini fosters an inclusive environment where team members feel valued and encouraged to contribute their insights and perspectives,” said Alexander Oleksenko, Bhola’s supervisor at Serhant. “Through thoughtful questioning and active listening, she promotes dialogue and collaboration, ensuring that all viewpoints are considered in decision-making processes. She establishes connections based on shared experiences and interests, fostering a sense of camaraderie and trust within the team.”

Leadership Award: Cora Clark a junior interior design major in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, Virginia Tech School of Design, operations assistant

“As operations assistant, she helped keep the School of Design moving forward and achieve the school's goals through our student tours, student leadership, and many other events and groups,” said Leigh Ziegler, Clark’s supervisor. “We had such an incredible turnout of volunteers from the interior eesign program because of Cora's motivation.”

Professionalism and Productivity Award: Blake Batchelor, a senior aerospace engineering major in the College of Engineering, NSWCDD, engineer

“Blake was presented with a challenging task which required him to understand an existing tool in order to code it in a more modern language, Python,” said Sean Jones, Batchelor’ supervisor at NSWCDD. “His task was not simply to re-code the tool, but to add several new features. Blake demonstrated an open and welcoming demeanor and was very approachable. This combination is sometimes rare in the engineering world and when we find it, it most often suggests great leadership potential.”

Creativity and Problem-solving Award: Ethan Mauger, a junior data-centric computing major in the College of Engineering, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, intern

“Ethan is a self-starter and led his own research plan,” said Todd Brick, Mauger’s supervisor at MIT. “With many technology-focused projects, there are many ways to solve a problem. Ethan used brainstorming to not exclude any option and then evaluated them according to the project goals, schedule, and feasibility. Ethan was always good at challenging the status quo, with such lead ins as 'What if we...' I especially liked his open-mindedness in tackling a problem.”

Global Perspective Award: Rana Magzoub, a senior cybersecurity management and analytics major in the Pamplin College of Business, Career and Professional Development, frontline student assistant

“Rana consistently shows respect for the viewpoints of other cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, and lifestyles and communicates effectively with all of her coworkers as well as our customers,” said Crystal Wiltsee, Magzoub’s supervisor in Career and Professional Development. “She has an exceptional ability to appreciate, value, and learn from other cultures and perspectives.

Digital Fluency Award: Parus Hundal, a junior controls, robotics and autonomy major in the College of Engineering, Career and Professional Development, peer career advisor

“Parus has a great ability to identify process inefficiencies and solve them,” said Cody Smith, Hundal’s supervisor at Career and Professional Development. “He automated a huge portion of our data analytics allowing our team to synthesize and distribute data more accurately and efficiently. With his one code, my spreadsheet time went from three hours to a click of a button.”

Experiential learning opportunities provide students with real-life, work-related tasks that enhance their classroom learning, and allow students to reflect on how these experiences will impact their future careers.