April 11, 2011

Marquette student named national student employee of the year

Senior from Sheboygan, Wis., showed leadership; initiative in four years

Marquette University student Travis Huhn, a senior in the College of Engineering from Sheboygan, Wis., has been named the 2011 National Student Employee of the Year Award by the National Student Employment Association for his leadership and initiative with Marquette’s Student Safety Programs.

“Travis is such an exemplary employee,” said Huhn’s supervisor, Sgt. Daniel J. Kolosovsky, manager of Marquette’s Student Safety Programs. “His maturity is beyond his years and his transparency of character and respect for his position duties and others is above reproach.”    

“I love my job, not just because of what I get to do but because of the people I do it with,” Huhn said. “It’s a great program filled with phenomenal people who all are exceptional workers, employees and friends.”

Marquette’s Student Safety Programs provide walking escorts and rides for students, faculty and staff on campus and the surrounding area. Working with the Department of Public Safety, the programs provide significant crime-prevention services for the campus community.

This is the second time in six years that a Marquette student has received the national honor, selected by the National Student Employment Association from among state and regional student employee winners that included applications from thousands of institutions. In 2005, Daniel Hamrin, now an admissions counselor at Marquette, won the award for his work in the university’s Alumni Memorial Union.

Hired as a shuttle driver his freshman year, Huhn qualified for all Student Safety Programs positions by his junior year. Huhn was promoted to Nighttime Supervisor in 2009, and in 2010 he was promoted to the positions of Student Employment Coordinator and the department’s Computer Development Assistant.

Huhn initiated several new programs, including a committee to enhance supervisor involvement and protocols to assist employees in improving job performance. In his role as computer development assistant, a long vacant position, Huhn covered a variety of duties including creating databases and developing online document sharing systems to reduce paperwork. Kolosovsky said Huhn is his “right hand man” who shares his visions and goals and will leave the programs better than he found it.                                                                                                                                                 
Photo Note: Huhn will receive his award on Wednesday, April 13, at 1 p.m. during a staff meeting at the Marquette Department of Public Safety, 749 N. 16th St.