Student of the Year Award Recipients

The PennACE Joanne Day Student of the Year (SOTY) selection committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 awards:

Liberal Arts: Emma Hope, Psychology; Minors in Sociology, Multicultural Studies, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies majors at Kutztown University

Internship: Minority Serving Institutions Internship Program - National Nuclear Security Administration

Emma served as a Minority Serving Institutions Internship Program summer intern from June through August 2023. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration administers MSIIP, and interns are chosen through a highly selective process. The mission of the Office of Nuclear Export Controls, where Emma served, is to build global capacity to prevent the spread of dual-use materials, equipment, and technology that could contribute to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) by: providing training to over 35 foreign partners on an annual basis to help strengthen their national systems of export control; conducting technical reviews of U.S. export license applications for dual-use commodities; and providing training and technical support for U.S. enforcement agencies. Emma had two major assignments during the internship: 1) serve as the person managing numerous requests for information (taskers) that are assigned to our office daily; and 2) providing feedback and insights to help our office develop a new initiative called Women in Strategic Trade (WIST). For her tasker duties, Emma received taskers, added them to our tasker tracker list, assigned them to the appropriate Office Teams, compiled the Teams’ inputs, performed quality control reviews, submitted the inputs to the Office leadership (the Office Director and me) for approval, and then submitted our final approved documents to senior management. The tasker load is high volume - in the two and a half months she was with our office, Emma handled well over 200 taskers in a timely and accurate manner. She took the initiative to analyze our tasker process and suggested a change in the process – informing office staff and management at midday which taskers were still outstanding, which encouraged us to submit inputs on time. Our office has just started the development of WIST, in collaboration with the Department of State (DOS), to promote the advancement and meaningful participation of women in strategic trade controls.

Business: Cecelia Eidsvoog, Sports, Arts, and Entertainment Management majors at Point Park University

Internship: Coalition of Christian Outreach (CCO) – Events Intern

Cecelia joined the team in September of 2022 and jumped right into planning with us for our annual conference in February. The Jubilee Conference welcomes 3,000 attendees to Pittsburgh annually. She was one of four total team members, and her presence on the team was invaluable. Cecelia jumped right in and immediately showed initiative to learn about the conference, seek out opportunities to take on projects that required new learned skills, and adopt responsibilities that matched her own skills. Throughout the course of her internship, Cecelia was responsible for projects that varied in both scope and skill. She conceptualized and executed a retirement gift for our long-term president, managed inventory, and shipment of conference merch, cleared out and organized a hallway closet that was full of out-of-date materials, created and managed 60+ separate exhibitor and sponsor pages on the conference website, and other miscellaneous tasks. Amidst those ongoing tasks, Cecelia’s main responsibility was the brainstorming, planning, and execution of six “late nights” at the Jubilee Conference. These events are an integral part of the conference schedule. After the main programming of the conference has concluded for the night, there are 1,000+ energized college students looking for something to do. These late nights provide entertainment, enrichment, and opportunities for our attendees to connect with others. Cecelia managed the development of these events from start to finish. She gathered information, brainstormed ten concepts according to the specific needs of our attendees, presented them to our team, and narrowed it down to six. As she was planning these late-night events, she took the needs of our full audience into consideration. Leading up to the conference, she gathered the necessary materials to host the events and communicated A/V and room needs. She was organized through the planning process and communicated progress with the rest of our team consistently. Planning large scale events like Jubilee is daunting. There are many things that can go wrong, and it challenges all of us in unique and unexpected ways. Cecelia was invaluable to our team. When we needed something, she was available and ready to assist. She managed the merch table, helped mobilize volunteers for specific tasks, and executed all her planned late-night events with professionalism.

STEM: Bridgette Gorg, Environmental Science major at Saint Vincent College

Internship: Internship at Lake Clark National Park - Fisheries Intern

Bridgette was part of an eight-person team who worked with the natural resources division of the Park specifically on fisheries projects. The main focus of Bridgette’s work was monitoring sockeye salmon escapement in two drainages within the Park and Preserve. She also assisted with various other fish and wildlife projects including: resident fish distribution, aquatic vegetation sampling, bat monitoring, water quality work, and bear behavior observation. Bridgette completed our backcountry training module earning certificates in motorboat operation, shotgun use and carry, bear defense, and wilderness leadership skills. Bridgette was challenged throughout her 12-week internship by the dynamic nature of the work she was helping with. She was often moved between projects and work sites and asked to learn and implement new fisheries management techniques. We present a steep learning curve to all our seasonal staff, but Bridgette stood out among the group because of her ability to understand and adapt to the changing workload and her willingness to learn. Each summer in the backcountry offers unique challenges to those stationed at our remote sampling sites. This summer, Bridgette was challenged by various environmental factors including an overabundance of biting insects, one particularly curious and habituated brown bear, and above average high-water river conditions. Bridgette showed incredible adaptability and resourcefulness in her response to all these unpredictable and, at times, unsavory environmental challenges. She faced each with enthusiasm and continued to successfully complete assigned tasks.

Associates Degree: Jacob Welsko, Media Production, Cinema, Television & Media Production major at Northampton Community College (Kutztown University)

Internship: BKWeb Productions - Video Editor Intern, Social Media Intern

Jacob created video loops to be featured on the BKWeb website. Jacob also had a chance to edit some projects for a couple of clients. On top of the video production work, Jacob assisted with BKWeb's social media. He mainly worked on the official social media and the internship social media accounts. Through websites such as Canva, Jacob created visually appealing graphics for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter (X). One other task Jacob was given was the initial development of a brand-new nonprofit called A.I.M.E. He assisted by creating flyers, social media posts, and spreading the word about this new organization that BKWeb was creating. Jacob showed great initiative with each task. He asked questions to make sure that each assignment was done correctly. From a creative standpoint, Jacob had a good eye for great cuts of video and social media graphics.

Each recipient will be presented with a $250.00 check and a certificate of recognition by their respective career centers. 

A special thanks to the 2023 PennACE SOTY selection committee members: 

• Diana Brush, PennWest

• Kristen Fike, Central Penn College

• Ashley Steffy, University of Pittsburgh

• Tammy Stubert, Juniata College

• Kimberly Woodley, St. Vincent College

• Molly Phelps, Fastenal

• Amy Shimko, Frostburg University

• Heidi Schuman, Seton Hill University

• Becky Cacciotti, Saint Francis University

• Andrew Stopko, Saint Francis University (chair)
  

JoAnne Day, longtime colleague, and friend to many involved in Cooperative Education, Academic Internships and Career Services, died in March 2005 after a two-year battle with cancer.  She was the first President of PennACE in 2002 and an active career services professional.