LSU CAS Supplemental Instruction Leaders Named Student Employees of the Year

LSU CAS Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leaders Kristina Plunkett from New Orleans, La. and Macy Allen of Gonzales, La. were named LSU Student Employees of the Year by LSU Financial Aid & Scholarships in the Office of Enrollment Management. LSU Student Employee of the Year is awarded annually to student workers across all disciplines. Each unit or department is encouraged to nominate excellent student workers who have made significant impact in their role and show strong work ethic. The nominees are then judged based off their reliability, quality of work, initiative, professionalism and the uniqueness of the student's contribution to the employer. 

Plunkett works as an Observation Leader for the CAS Supplemental Instruction (SI) program where she observes peer-led study sessions led by fellow SI student leaders and provides feedback on ways they can improve their sessions in order to help students achieve their academic course goals. Libby Taylor, the SI Program Coordinator, nominated Plunkett for the award. 

"The impact that Kristina has had on the SI program has been immense. By ensuring that our SI Leaders are maintaining high standards, she assists CAS's overall goal to increase student retention and to help students become life-long learners and scholars. Through her contribution, the program hosted 44,439 student visits this past year with the attendees typically earning a 0.5 letter grade higher than students that did not attend all while not having to pay anything out of pocket," Taylor said. 

Plunkett explained she greatly appreciates the SI model for learning and credits the program for fundamentally changing how she thinks about the learning process. 

"I was so honored to have ben nominated for the award, I think I would still work at CAS in some capacity even as a volunteer, because the work CAS does is incredible," Plunkett said. "I love knowing that my work makes a difference to someone." 

Allen also assists the CAS SI program as an SI Leader for History 1001 and led sessions for the past two semesters. Allen works with the course professors to supplement what is being taught in the classroom in weekly sessions. Alice Wolfe, an employee from the LSU History Department nominated Allen for the award. 

"Macy is incredibly focused, and her aptitude has allowed her to quickly grasp tasks. This is something I rely on since she is often teaching other students how to work efficiently and effectively. She leads by example and encourages other students to achieve their goals," Wolfe said. 

Allen credits the SI program for teaching her various professional lessons and strategies. 

"I think the skills I've gained at CAS will help me tremendously in the future. I've gained communication and leadership skills that I can apply to any workplace," Allen said. 

Plunkett will graduate in May 2020 with a degree in history and french with a minor in classical studies. She plans on applying to graduate schools to continue her history research in the future. Allen is also a history major and will graduate in May 2019. After graduation, she plans to move to Orlando, Florida to be a Disney intern.