During National Student Employment Week, the Stony Brook University Career Center hosts the Student Employee, Intern and Community Service Awards Ceremony annually in the spring semester to celebrate and honor supervisors and students who work on campus, intern and serve their communities.  All nominated students and supervisors are recognized at this celebration.   

2026 Student Employee, Intern and Community Service Awards Nominations are open!

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE STUDENTS  [Due February 2, 2026]

• Undergraduate Student Employee Award Categories

  Undergraduate Student Employee Award Categories

   National Student Employment Adminstration (NSEA) is following a new structure for Student Employee of the Year Awards. Beginning at the institution level, supervisors have the ability to nominate outstanding student employees to be considered for the following categories (scoring rubrics available via hyperlink):

  Overall Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year Award

  Community Service

  Social Impact and Belonging

  Leadership

  Technology & Innovation

  Critical Thinking

  At an institution level a winner for each of the  categories will be recognized at Stony Brook University's Student Employee, Intern and Community Service Awards Ceremony and then submitted to NSEA to be considered at the national level.At the national level, NSEA will consider review all participating institutions' nominations and select winners of all categoeis.

  You can find more information on NSEA's new award process on the NSEA Website.

  You can nominate a student employee by submitting a nomination letter (2 page maximum) with the following requirements:

  • Briefly outline your student’s role and why you are submitting this student for recognition.
  • Please describe with specific details and examples on how this student has impacted your workplace and any accomplishments over this past year. Think about times the student went above and beyond or took initiative.
  • Provide specific examples of how the student has exhibited excellence in the designated category.

  A committee of various SBU departments on campus evaluates all nominations. Committee members are ineligible to evaluate student staff from their departments.

  View 2022 NSEA recognition for Stony Brook University's Sophia Pesano

• Graduate Student Employee of the Year

  Graduate Student Employee of the Year  Award

  Supervisors have the ability to nominate outstanding graduate student employees to be considered as Graduate Student Employee of the Year.  Student employees may be classified as work study, institutional hourly wage, and graduate assistants in order to be nominated. For more information see criteria and the rubric 

   

  Supervisors can nominate graduate student employees by submitting a nomination letter (2 page maximum) with the following requirements:
  

  Nomination letters are limited to two pages. When submitting a nomination for Graduate Student Employee of the Year, please make sure to speak to the following areas:

  Social Impact and Belonging:  Student employee demonstrates empathy, respect, and openness toward others, actively contribute to social impact and belonging efforts, and intentionally seek ways to promote different perspectives in their work, campus involvement, and community engagement.

  Impact: Student Employee suggests and helps implement an idea that has a positive, tangible impact on the department or brings positive recognition to the department.

  Professionalism, Effective Communication & Interpersonal Skills: Student Employee collaborates well with peers, manager, department leadership and unit stakeholders; Employs appropriate methods of persuasion when soliciting agreement; addresses problems constructively.

  Leadership: Student Employee is passionate about mentorship, training fellow student employees, and acts as an agent of change to support the implementation of new ideas.

• Student Intern Awards Categories
  Student Intern Awards Categories

   

  Intern of the Year Award

   

  The Intern of the Year is an award to recognize the outstanding contributions and achievements of students who complete an internship with an on campus department (including Research Foundation and SB Medicine). The internship can be for credit or graduate non-credit, paid or unpaid, in which the student participates in work related to their major or outside of their major. It is appropriately supervised on-site and by a faculty sponsor, with specific learning objectives and an opportunity for reflection and evaluation.Supervisors can nominate students by submitting a nomination letter (2 page maximum) with the following requirements:

  • Briefly outline your student’s role and why you are submitting this student for recognition.
  • Please describe with specific details and examples on how this student has impacted your workplace and any accomplishments over this past year. Think about times the student went above and beyond or took initiative.
  • Provide specific examples of how the student has exhibited any of the NACE Career Competencies in their position.   

   

  Excellence in Creativity & Innovation Award

   

  Supervisors may nominate student interns for the Excellence in Creativity & Innovation Award whom they feel warrant particular recognition for their ability to make a significant new change or impact in the workplace.

  Supervisors can nominate students by submitting a nomination letter (2 page maximum) with the following requirements:

  • Briefly outline your student’s role and why you are submitting this student for recognition.

  • Please describe with specific details and examples on the student’s ability to take the initiative on a new project, make significant and long lasting change in the department, think creatively and strategically, and persuade others to see their point of view. 

  Excellence in Teamwork Award

  Supervisors may nominate student interns for the Excellence in Teamwork Award whom they feel warrant particular recognition for their ability to maintain and create a positive team culture.Supervisors can nominate students by submitting a nomination letter (2 page maximum) with the following requirements:

  • Briefly outline your student’s role and why you are submitting this student for recognition.
  • Please describe with specific details and examples on the student’s ability to create personal connections on a team, spread joy and positivity throughout the workspace, and contribute to a culture of camaraderie.
• Community Impact Award

  Community Impact Award

  The Community Impact Award recognizes an exceptional student who has demonstrated meaningful engagement in community service and made a positive impact on both the local community and Stony Brook University.

  Faculty, professional staff, supervisors, and community partners are invited to submit a nomination letter (maximum of two pages) that addresses the following:

  • A brief overview of the student’s role and the reason for the nomination
  • Specific examples of the student’s contributions to their local community through service initiatives
  • The ways in which the student’s work has positively impacted Stony Brook University and the broader community
  • How the student demonstrates leadership, commitment to service, and inspires others to engage in community involvement

  This award celebrates students whose dedication to service creates lasting change and strengthens the connection between the university and the community.

  Learn More About our Center for Service Learning and Community Service

Students May Nominate:

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE SUPERVISORS [Due February 20, 2026]

• Supervisor of the Year

  Supervisor of the Year Award

  The Supervisor of the Year Award was established to recognize the integral part that the supervisor plays in the education of a student employee or intern. Supervisors act as mentors and provide education to their students outside of the classroom. Students may nominate supervisors whom they feel warrant particular recognition for their performance on the job.

  
  In order to be eligible for consideration, the supervisor being nominated must have supervised the work of at least one student employee for a minimum of six months part-time (or three months full-time), during the selection period, and must be employed by the institution or have a formal student employment relationship with the school. This award is for students to nominate faculty or professional staff only; students would not be eligible to nominate other students. 

  Please submit a formal nomination letter (2 page maximum) with the following requirements:

  • Briefly outline your supervisor’s role and why you are submitting them for this recognition.
  • Please describe with specific details and examples about your supervisor’s efforts to provide student employee(s) an opportunity to demonstrate responsibility and to feel like part of the staff, and encourage the use of initiative, academic background and/or skill sets of the student employee(s) they supervise.

  You might also want to think about the following questions:

  • Have they established a work environment which encourages access, direction, and/or a mentoring role?
  • Are there any opportunities provided to student employees to make meaningful contributions to the mission of the department or institution?