Digital Ambassador wins national student employee of the year award
10th July 2018
Ellie Wright, can now add winner of the regional Student Employee Of The Year (SEOTY) award to her growing list of achievements.
The recent English Language graduate was honoured on Thursday evening at a conference in Cardiff, for going above and beyond whilst working part-time for the university's marketing department. Ellie, who worked primarily as a digital student ambassador was nominated for the national award for her strong work ethic and her ability to connect online with prospective students about the merits of studying at Sheffield Hallam. "Ellie has a natural way of illustrating her student life without coming across as a cliché or being over enthusiastic. She is honest, open and authentic. She was always enthusiastic about helping us and very willing to share every ounce of her story," said Laura Lightfinch, senior marketing officer at SHU, who nominated Ellie for the award. Each year, university employers are given the opportunity to nominate exceptional student workers who combine study with paid part-time work for the National Association of Student Employment services' SEOTY Award. The national competition has surged in popularity since its inception in 1998. This year, Ellie stood-out, despite the roughly 700 nominations that were submitted from over 30 Higher Education Institutions across the country. Ellie competed against all the winners within the North East region (which includes Universities across Yorkshire and the North East) and was chosen as a regional winner. She was then invited to join all the other regional winners, at the national awards ceremony last night in Cardiff where she won the overall competition. "I was so excited to win the award because so many other deserving students had been nominated too. Working with Sheffield Hallam has been the best opportunity I've taken at university and winning this award really highlights how much I've been able to do and learn whilst working and studying," she said. Ellie, who was already an advocate for the university says the opportunity gave her more confidence to share her insights about 'The Hallam Experience' as well as strengthening her marketing skills and knowledge. "I'm really grateful to have been awarded this achievement to end my time at uni in such a positive way," she added. A second Hallam student Leyana Akbani, who is studying at Sheffield Business School, was also a winner at both the regional and national SEOTY 2018 awards. At the conference in Cardiff, Leyana was award the national Highly Commended Commercial Impact Award.