“Family,” a word used often by the SCOM Program Support Technician, Gretchen Hansen, has become a motif to describe the School of Communication Studies’ atmosphere and the people of Harrison Hall. As we near the end of the semester and a very busy April, it is important to recognize the members of our family that sometimes go unnoticed by the general body for their hard work and dedication to the success of our program.
In celebration of Student Worker Appreciation Week, April 13 through April 20, the SCOM family would like to honor Kelsey Evans and Logan Caldwell for their years of service in the SCOM office and their contributions to the School of Communication Studies.
Gretchen works very closely with Kelsey and Logan. She offered an extremely pleasant account of their contributions:
“How to begin? Kelsey and Logan have been working here since their sophomore year, and are among the best student assistants that SCOM has ever had. They have learned so much about University, College, and Department procedures, and are able to almost solely help students and faculty when they are in need. They are more than student assistants, they are friends to everyone. Students visit the SCOM office all of the time looking for guidance, and there have been countless times when they have been most comfortable talking with Kelsey or Logan about their experiences in SCOM. They’ve given great examples and provided great advice. I can honestly say, those two are part of our family…a young man and a young woman who have grown into fine adults. Both are graduating in May and we will miss them dearly. So until May, if there are students out there who would like to talk to a graduating senior who knows the ins and outs of the SCOM department, come in and ask for Kelsey or Logan.”
Kelsey has worked in the SCOM office for two years now. She was introduced to the office assistant position by one of her professors as a sophomore. Kelsey’s favorite part of working in the SCOM office is the opportunity to form relationships with professors outside of the classroom and get to know them from the office before taking their class. She also loves whenever an organization or meeting has a luncheon. She said “They always share their leftovers! Yum!”
Kelsey is a graduating senior who is considering all of her options, but is currently looking into a possible career with AmeriCorps, where she will move on to offer her hard work and dedication.
Logan is a graduating public relations concentration and is interested in a career in digital/social media. “We do a lot of paperwork and general office work,” said Logan as he described his work responsibilities. However, his favorite part of his job is the people that he gets to work with. “They’re fun to be around and have become like a second family over my time at JMU. They just make my job worth coming to every day.”
Logan recalled one of his favorite memories working in the office:
“My first winter working here (as a sophomore), a former student assistant was making paper snowflakes to decorate for Christmas. She was an art major so she was cutting these intricate snowflakes that looked really good. She tried to teach me how to cut them like her so I could help, but I failed fantastically. Gretchen compared the look of my snowflakes to a Transformer. Since then, I haven’t been allowed to help with office artwork.”
From counseling and being a resource for other students and handling paperwork, building great relationships with professors in the office and yummy luncheon leftovers, to enjoying the company of great people and creating fantastically failed office artwork, your SCOM family thanks you!
Logan and Kelsey, we appreciate the time you have spent with us and we wish you all the best with your future endeavors!
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