Having a Federal Work Study award as part of her financial aid package has helped Mina Le pay for her college education. It鈥檚 also given the senior chemical engineering major from Boston the opportunity to learn valuable 鈥渟oft鈥� skills that will serve her professionally.
鈥淚 wanted a work-study job that would let me improve my communication skills. I really wanted to step out of my comfort zone and be more interactive with people,鈥� says Le, who does just that by working 15 hours a week at the front desk of the Student Employment Office at University Crossing. Her primary duties involve answering questions about JobHawk and helping students complete the required paperwork for their own work-study jobs.聽
鈥淔iguring out the forms can get kind of frustrating for students, so you have to be patient and maintain a professional attitude,鈥� says Le, who has worked in the Student Employment Office for the past two years. Prior to that, she worked for two years in the (TURI) lab in Pinanski Hall.
Le鈥檚 patience and professionalism have not gone unnoticed. She was named the university鈥檚 Student Employee of the Year for 2017-18.
鈥淢ina鈥檚 consistency and attention to detail have made her someone we trust to help our student employment operations run smoothly and efficiently,鈥� says Job Location and Development Coordinator Lauren Michaels, who nominated Le for the award. 鈥淪he sets high standards of excellence for herself in all areas.鈥�
Le received the honor at the seventh annual awards ceremony, held by the Student Employment and Financial Aid offices as part of National Student Employment Week.
鈥淚 was surprised just to be nominated for the Student Employee of the Year award,鈥� Le says. 鈥淲hen I won, it made my entire year. It took me a minute to take it in and really believe they called my name. I never win anything, even raffles.鈥�
That鈥檚 not entirely true. Le鈥檚 intramural volleyball team twice won its division championships at the Campus Recreation Center. Le also belongs to the Urban Choreography Club, the Society of Women Engineers and the Vietnamese Student Association and was a founding member of the Student Association of Chinese Americans.
Lee, who has concentration in biological engineering and a minor in business administration, has also worked as a manufacturing process engineer co-op at both Pfizer and Polartec, and as a research assistant at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women鈥檚 hospitals.
With the help of Assoc. Prof. of Chemical Engineering Seongkyu Yoon, whom Le credits for mentoring her throughout her time in the Francis College of Engineering, she is now looking to start her career in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry.
But first she is planning to take a solo post-graduation trip to Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and Seoul.
鈥淢y parents are from Vietnam, but I鈥檝e never been to East Asia,鈥� Le says while sitting at her front desk at the Student Employment Office. She begins talking about visiting Vietnam with her parents someday before politely cutting the conversation short. A student is approaching the desk.
鈥淐an I help you?鈥� Le asks.