Ten students will receive the second annual Y-Work Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student Employees, Yale College Dean Marvin Chun announced on Monday.
Launched last year, the Y-Work award was created by the Yale College Dean’s Office and the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid to reward exceptional student-workers on campus, according to its website. Chun will formally honor the winners and their supervisors who nominated them in a reception later this month.
This year’s winners range from one who works in a residential college to several who work in different academic departments. The selection committee — made up of representatives from several Yale College administrative offices and resource centers — awarded Katherine Brumberg ’19, Joe Doran ’20, Maria Gargiulo ’19, Paige Hollis ’19, Lily Mirfakhraie ’19, TJ Noel-Sullivan ’20, Donovan Sabog ’19, Sarah Siegel ’19, Odette Wang ’20 and Max Yuhas ’20.
“The nominations from these students’ supervisors made clear that their contributions to the offices and departments where they work have been extraordinary,” Chun said in a Monday press release. “I look forward to celebrating these outstanding students, their superb work, and the exceptional opportunities Yale offices and departments provide our undergraduates through student employment.”
Janine Dames, director of the Office of Career Strategy and Y-Work committee member, said that future employers and professional school admissions committees want their hires to have experience working in a professional setting. She explained that on-campus jobs are a good opportunity to gain exposure in a new field, to develop skills and to build a professional network.
Sabog, who has worked at the Undergraduate Admissions Office for four years and currently serves as a senior presenter and recruitment coordinator, called his job a privilege.
“There are so many student employees that do such impactful and meaningful work … across the entire university, so receiving this award definitely means a lot,” Sabog said.
He told the News that he loves his co-workers, the new mentors he has gained and the visitors that come to his office.
“Whether it is giving information sessions to prospective families, planning Bulldog Days for admitted students or coordinating the Ambassadors program for current Yale undergrads, my job constantly reminds me of how special Yale is, how supportive this community is and how grateful I am to be a student here,” he said.
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid Jeremiah Quinlan said that Sabog, who leads information sessions for prospective applicants, has been known to speak so eloquently and emotionally about his time at Yale that he often moves listeners to tears.
While Yuhas said that his job as the head intramural secretary can often be thankless, he does not consider it a hassle. He told the News that he knew he would need to work on campus to pay his way through Yale and has enjoyed both running and participating in intramural sports.
“I am honored to win the award. I have been working at the intramural sports office since my first month and have been the student head of intramural for the past two years,” Yuhas said. “It feels great to have earned recognition from my supervisor and the University for the work I have put in.”
Quinlan told the News that he is very pleased by the nominations he has seen over the past two years since the award was instituted and that he was happy to reward students for doing such good work.
The other eight winners did not respond to requests for comment.
Fifty-nine percent of students worked on-campus jobs in the 2016–2017 school year, the last year for which data is available.
Skakel McCooey | skakel.mccooey@yale.edu