Sykes Union and Student Activities Staff Win International Award
L-R members of the Sykes Union and Student Activities team who were present at the conference in NYC: Ace Walker, operations coordinator of Sykes Student Union; Barrett McGee, associate director of Student Activities; Dr. Adriane Reilly, associate director of Sykes Student Union; Dr. Clayton J. Kolb, director of Sykes Union and Student Activities; Bobby DeMarco, assistant director of Sykes Student Union.
The SUSA team was honored with the award for Excellence in Student Training Programs, acknowledging their demonstrated leadership in student activities by implementing creative educational programs to prepare students as leaders or employees. The value of the college union is recognized by the award through the positive impact on students’ performance, capabilities, and progress toward organizational objectives.
Dr. Adriane Reilly, associate director of Sykes Student Union, said that, “Prior to launching our reimagined training model, SUSA training was primarily lecture-based with community-building activities interspersed. … We transitioned from a lecture-heavy training to one focused on team building, skill development, and hands-on experiences. Our flipped classroom model allowed students to learn foundational knowledge online before training, so that in-person training could focus on practical application.”
The reimagined program, piloted in fall 2022, was developed by a training planning committee that involved Barrett McGee, the associate director of Student Activities and all student staff supervisors in Sykes Student Union and Student Activities. In the summer of 2022, Megan Waldrop, graduate assistant for Student Activities, interned with Dr. Reilly to help plan fall training.
Themes for training programs have ranged from board games to video games, musical theater to reality TV competitions. The ultimate objective is to equip students with the confidence and readiness to apply the skills they have learned, enabling them to perform their duties professionally and with excellence.
SUSA student employees from fall 2024 training.
“Incremental adjustments were made in response to student feedback and internal evaluations, showcasing our commitment to continuous improvement,” Dr. Reilly reports.
Post-training assessment included two questions that serve as markers of success for the program:
“Now that training is over, I feel ready to implement the job-related skills I learned to execute my duties professionally and with excellence,” and
“I feel comfortable making decisions independently based on training, previous experience, available resources, and sound reasoning.”
Results from the fall 2024 survey were extremely positive with more than 97% of the student staff agreeing that they were both ready to make decisions independently and implement their skills based on the training they received. This shows that Sykes Student Union was successful in giving their student staff the tools during training to ensure they succeed during their time at Sykes.
Sykes Student Union was previously recognized with the same ACUI award in 2015.
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