Shauna Foster: Student Employee of the Month

Shauna Foster of the Goodrich Scholarship Program has been chosen as November's Student Employee of the Month. She was nominated by her supervisor, Cathy Young, who wrote of all the qualitites that Shauna posesses in her application.

She states that Shauna is as skilled as if she were a full time employee. She has the ability to handle customer relations with ease and answers many peoples questions pertaining to her department with confidence.

She is also very involved with her department. She is a Goodrich Scholar herself, and has helped the Goodrich recruiter in updating a database for scholarship applications.

"Shauna is very professional and patient with questions that are presented to her by parents on the phone who are inquiring about how to get involved in our program," Cathy Young said.

Shauna's great qualitites and work ethic have gotten her the title of Student Employee of the Month for November. To find out more about Shauna and her job on campus, check out the Student Employment podcast coming up for the week of November 9th.

Congratulations Shauna Foster on your great work and accomplishments at UNO!

How does work affect your GPA?

A question has been brought to my attention that I have found to be very interesting. Does having a job effect your GPA? "Of course it does," is what I believe I would hear from everyone as a reply but, I think that the real question is HOW does it effect your GPA? Now if you ask me, that is a better question.

When wondering how work and school can correlate most people immediately say that you shouldn't work while taking full time hours as a college student. This can be true for some, but for others, the 12 required hours that it takes to become a full time student is not enough to keep you content all the time. No one can study all day long, and no one is expected to, so everyone's question becomes, should you work while you attend college?

My answer to this question is "YES." You just have to find a job that will become a stability for those hours that you aren't studying. The job you should look for should be one with flexibility, only part time hours a week, and a location close to your school to make the travel time the least possible. Where can you find a job like this? The answer is simple, on campus. Student employment on campus can help students to have a stable job around 20 hours a week right next door to their classes, while offering flexibility and understanding for those weeks that are busier with homework that require hours of studying.

What most people don't know is that surveys have been done to find out how full time students with jobs end up on the GPA scale. Though it may be surpising to you, students employed around 20 hours a week have a better GPA Average of 2.75 than students who are not employed at all and hold a GPA Average of 2.69. This takes all that misrepresentational theory that college students shouldn't work and throws it out the window. College students should work, they should just hold jobs that are reasonable with hours and flexibility. Applying for these jobs on campus is easy. Here at UNO all it takes it a few minutes to sit down at a computer.

When applying for jobs at UNO you should visit the site http://careers.unomaha.edu/. Once you are there you will be able to search the available jobs and find one that will suit you. Then all you have to do is fill out the application and submit it. Working on campus is a work while experience. It can become the strong footing that you have been looking for in your time at UNO. Check out Student Employment at UNO and be ready to experience Unique New Opportunities.

"Bright Idea"

UNO's Chancellor John Christensen has presented a new idea to the students of the Universtiy of Nebraska Omaha known as "Bright Idea." It is an interactive way for anyone interested to let Chancellor Christensen know about any "ideas" that they might have on improving the quality of UNO for its current and prospective students. It is designed to solicit ideas from students, faculty and staff on ways UNO can improve its services, save money and be more efficient.

So participate in this "bright idea" that Chancellor Christensen has created. It is beneficial to the college and to yourself to let him know of any ideas that you have to improve life at UNO. To submit your "bright idea" go to http://brightideas.unomaha.edu/ and fill out the questionaire. The "bright ideas" that are chosen will be recognized Thursday, Nov. 15, at this year's UNO Step Up awards ceremony.

Your imput could become part of UNO forever, so tell Chancellor Christensen your "bright idea" and make UNO an even better learning institute.

Speaking out to Students with Disabilities

Yesterday, in an interview with Kate Clark, the Disability Services Coordinator, I learned alot of new information about the Diversity and Equal Opportunity Department that I had never known before.

They hire 8 to 10 student workers each year to work in their department doing all sorts of different tasks. The jobs that open up in her department though are very specific and are sometimes hard to fill. This is where the students come in.

When talking with Kate I asked her if she had any advice to students who were applying for a position in her department or a position in any department at UNO.


Her advice was: Proofread your application before submitting it. Make sure that there are no spelling errors and that all questions and information is stated in the application. Also, always provide references and phone numbers. Show that you have some one backing you up in saying that you would be a good candidate for the job. And lastly, have someone look over your application for you before you submit it, they may be able to find any mistakes or problems that you were not able to catch.


If you have found any positions within the Disability Services Department that you are interested in, or if you have a disability and would like information on how you can be eligable for jobs on campus, call Kate Clark at 554-2872. You can also email her at mkclark@mail.unomaha.edu. For students who are hearing impaired the TTY number is 554-3799.

The most important thing that I heard from Kate in my interview would have to be this: "Students with diabilities have alot more abilities than they do disabilities." This is important for students with diabilities to believe. Finding jobs on campus if you have a disability can beneficial to you for the rest of your life in preparing you for job experiences that you will find after collge.

Remember, if you are looking for job on campus, search for them on the Student Employment website or at http://careers.unomaha.edu/. Students with disabilities and students without disabilities are all encouraged to work on campus.

Work at UNO and experience Unique New Opportunites.

Chancellor's Convocation

A big event will be occuring next Wednesday, Oct. 10, on UNO's campus.

It is the Fall 2007 Convocation by UNO's Chancellor John E. Christensen. The event will be held in the Strauss Performing Arts Center Recital Hall at 10 a.m. Faculty, Staff, students, and the public are all invited to attend.

Speaking for the students at UNO, I think that it is very important to support our Chancellor as he gives the state-of-the-university address. I went last year, when Dr. Christensen was serving his term as Interim Chancellor. I found the experience to be interesting because I became aware of many changes occuring at UNO that I otherwise wouldn't have known about.

Much time and effort is put into making this event happen at UNO. After the convocation, everyone is invited to a reception in the Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom.

So come out and attend the event. It is an informational and educational experience that can leave you with a better understanding for what is occuring here on campus and the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Student Employment Overview

Working at UNO is a key way students finance their college education, gain valuable experience and establish professional references. There are jobs for about 900 students each semester. On-campus jobs that are popular include computer programmers, bookstore cashiers and the various job opportunities at campus recreation or food services. Hourly wages range from a minimum $5.85 to more than $10 for jobs in specialty fields.