By Betty Yirga
Elm Staff Writer
The 10th annual Washington College Student Employee of the Year celebration was held on April 9, at 3 p.m.
The first nominee for the Student Employee of the Year Award senior and Geographic Information Systems Senior Apprentice Jazmin Gascot, who was nominated by Geographic Information Systems Senior Project Manager Glen Sine.
According to Sine, Gascot is an extremely valuable asset for the GIS Program, which according to their page on the WC website, “provides WC students with experiential learning opportunities and professional working experience to complement their Liberal Arts education.”
“[Gascot’s] whole purpose to be here is to learn GIS, learn analytics, and basically pick our brains to learn whatever else we could teach her. That and the dedication and the drive that she showed, led to her nomination,” Sine said.
According to Sine, Gascot has accepted the mission of WC to discover a life of purpose and passion through her academic, employment, and extracurricular activities throughout her time on campus. She achieved this mission through her academic coursework and leadership activities with the Student Government Association and National Society of Leadership and Success.
“Over the course of [Gascot’s] time here…she’s been a part of every single analysis product that we’ve put out the past two years,” Sine said.
“I often will go to [Gascot] for some of her opinions on some of my analysis to see if she can find my fault. And that’s one of the things that we want all of our students to be able to play that role in,” he said.
The second nominee was senior Destiny Harris, a Career Center ambassador who was nominated by Center for Career Development Assistant Director and Career Coach Georgina Bliss.
According to Bliss, the Career Center has benefited through Harris’ on-campus network and her ability to connect with diverse populations of students as a career ambassador.
“She is a very valued member of the Career Development family…she is so special in so many ways. On her professional side, she really gets career development. You know, she started college with an interest in her own success and has worked tirelessly toward building experiences that really have carved a path for her future,” Bliss said.
“There is no question that reliability is at the center of all that [Harris] does. There’s simply no more reliable and consistent member of the crew Ambassador team. [Harris] shows up and she jumps in. She is reliable beyond her years, and she demonstrates a level of maturity and works above and beyond her roles requirements,” she said.
“We will all miss [Harris’s] sunny smile and her great contribution to the ambassador program. But wherever [Harris] goes, she will be that go-to-person on a team who will lean 150% into what she does. Harris will do great things and succeed no matter where the path takes or her curiosity will carry her to her next steps and through her future,” Bliss said.
The third nominee was senior Elizabeth Lilly, former Student Government Association president, who was nominated by Elaine Grant, Student Affairs conference services director.
According to Grant, Lilly has worked in service of the student body and WC. She has worked to advocate for transparency, diversity and inclusion, student mental health and wellness, and improving campus safety.
Lilly has also helped on Zoom panels, developed marketing messages to students, and served as representative on the Presidential Search Committee.
“I nominated [Lilly] because she is the epitome of a student leader. [Lilly] has shown grace under pressure. She has shown integrity; she has shown that the tricky balance between being a student and being the voice of the students and hearing what the students have to say and working with the administration,” Grant said.
The fourth nominee, senior Grace Steele, front desk attendant at the Casey Swim Center, was nominated by Casey Swim Center Aquatic Director and Assistant Athletic Director Kimberly Lessard.
As a front desk attendant for the Casey Swim Center, Steele was responsible for checking in those in the College and the Chestertown community.
“[Steele] was quick to learn what I needed her to do, she was able to solve problems, put out fires, she got to greet everybody at the front door,” Lessard said.
According to Lessard, there were a few instances where Steele would have to work in uncomfortable situations, such as when a member would show up with no reservation or when they would swim in the wrong lane.
“She has always handled it very professionally. [Steele] has always been very positive and willing to step in when needed. She will be a great addition to any work environment and will be someone you can count on,” Lessard said.
The winner of the 2021 Student Employee of the Year Award, was Lilly.
“Thank you guys so much for all your support this past year has definitely been a bit of a roller coaster. But I say this all the time. And I’ll say it again, I wouldn’t have been able to do all the amazing things without my team and my co-workers. It has been an absolute honor to serve as SGA President and to work with all of your offices and other offices on campus. It really has been an incredible senior year,” Lilly said.
Featured Photo caption: Winner of the 2021 Washington College Student Employee of the Year, senior Elizabeth Lilly, SGA President. Photo by Sammy Jarrett.