1. I Love my Job!
Maximizing Profit for the Honors Program Student Worker
Presenters
Jessica Waldschmidt
Honors Program Coordinator
Laura Wang
Honors Student Admin Assistant
Shan Xiao
Honors Student Admin Assistant

2. Introduction
What are we talking about today?
● employee profit
● honors student employment programs
● benefits
Take-away:
● Expand your concept of what profit is
● How to maximize profit

3. Profile: Honors at Iowa
● ~4,000 members (18%)
● 8 Honors Professional Staff
● 6-7 Honors Student Admin Assistants
● 10-12 Honors Student Event
Programmers
● 1-2 Professional Student Assistants
● 22,354 undergraduates
● 5 undergraduate colleges
(Business, Education, Engineering, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Nursing)
● Research university; 42% of undergraduates
participate in research
● Member of the Big Ten and ranked one of the top
30 public institutions in the US (US News & Report 2014)
Honors at Iowa University of Iowa

4. Working in Honors VS. on Campus
● Work with all levels of
the program
● High level of
involvement, sense of
pride
● Strong connection
● Centralization
● Resistance to change
● Limited loyalty
Honors Program on Campus

5. Student Employee Responsibilities
• Reception/Admin
• Outreach
• Marketing
• Design
• Peer Advising &
Mentorship
• Networking
• Career Development
• Event Planning
• Discourse
• Housing Groups
• Audio/Visual
• Interest Groups
• Community
• International

6. Honors Student Admin Assistant Virginia Davis at the Honors reception desk

7. Honors ITC Monitor, Gallery Coordinator and Admin Assistant Noreen Jeglum
staffing the desk in the Honors Student Center

8. Apple Orchard
Pumpkin Carving
Iowa City Foreign Relations Council Honors Student Staff

9. Student Perspective: Benefits
• Hourly pay, academic credit, internship
• Learn more about the Honors Program
• Professional work environment
• Skill-building and professional development
• Network with potential employers, professionals, faculty
• Advancement opportunities
• Work with your peers
• Develop student-side of Honors Program

10. Employer Perspective: Benefits
● Delegation
● Collaboration
● Mentorship
● Save money by offering non-monetary incentive
● Access to the student’s perspective
● Skills, interests, and ideas

11. Employer Challenges & Solutions
• Time commitment
• A large investment now will pay off long-term
• Cost
• Can be offset with other incentives
• Possible performance issues
• Implementing an evaluation process allows for performance issue
resolution

12. Tips for Students
• Just like academics, excelling at what you do
means more opportunities
• You will be asked for your input a lot, be ready
to give it
• Look past the daily tasks and see what you are
doing long-term for the program and your
professional development

13. Tips for Employers
• Treat student positions like permanent ones
• Document processes and write up instructions on
everything you can; have the students keep them
up-to-date
• Meet regularly as a group, provide continuous
training
• Personal recognition goes a long way

14. Thank You