BU Student Employees and Supervisor of the Year Honored

More than 10,000 student employees work across the Charles River and Medical Campuses, providing support to the University’s many programs, departments, libraries, offices, and dining halls. Today, two will be honored for their exceptional service at the annual Student Employee of the Year award ceremony at the Castle.

Andrew Parlato (CAS’14, COM’14), student manager at the Alumni Association’s Telefund, has been selected as this year’s Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year. Telefund each year employs more than 60 student callers, who contact over 80,000 alumni, parents, and friends of the University to update information and solicit support of BU’s Annual Fund. Parlato joined the office as a student caller in 2012 and was promoted to student manager, a position he originated and helped to develop.

“Our supervisor can only be here for so many hours a day, and we make our phone calls at night,” says Parlato. “I thought the student manager position would be beneficial to facilitate communication and provide guidance on a daily basis.”

“He truly cares about the success of the program,” says Lindsay Roth, Development and Alumni Relations associate director of annual giving, who nominated Paralato for the award. “That passion comes through in a variety of ways and can be seen in the energy of the entire student staff.”

“I love the human aspect of fundraising,” says Parlato. “What it’s really about is building relationships with people, creating connections, and finding common interests. You want to leave people with a warm, fuzzy feeling about BU.”

Graduate Student Employee of the Year Chelsey Lemaster (SPH’14, MED’14) has balanced her work as a student in a joint School of Public Health and School of Medicine master’s degree program with her job as a research coordinator at MED’s family medicine department. For the past two and a half years, Lemaster has been responsible for coordinating the Back to Health study. The study, which is examining three different strategies—yoga, physical therapy, and education—for patients suffering from chronic low back pain, is administered by MED’s Integrative Medicine program.

Lemaster “initially joined our research team on an ad hoc basis when we needed additional help,” says Robert Saper, a MED associate professor and director of Integrative Medicine, who nominated Lemaster for the award. Saper says that she was offered a part-time position, and then a full-time position last year, because of her personable manner and strong work ethic.

“She demonstrates extraordinary loyalty and commitment to her work,” Saper says. “It’s a gift to have an employee who always has your back.”

“I started this job excited to learn about research and working with patients,” says Lemaster, who plans to apply to medical school this summer. “It has been more rewarding than I ever could have anticipated.” In her role as research coordinator, she manages many aspects of the study’s grant, including financing and administration. She also monitors quality assurance policies and writes new grant applications and other material.

Each year, BU student supervisors can nominate one of their student employees for Student Employee of the Year. They must provide a letter of recommendation that addresses the student’s quality of work, leadership skills, and impact on the department. The Student Employment Office then sends the top nominations to a five-person panel of judges from different BU departments. The awards, which began in 1989 as a way to honor student employees, started honoring a supervisor as well in 2012.

This year’s Student Supervisor of the Year is Christina Coviello, Financial Assistance Office senior assistant director. Coviello supervises six student employees, the Financial Aid budget, and Smart Money 101, a financial literacy initiative that provides online tools and information to the BU community to promote effective money management.

“Christina is an exemplary student supervisor. She taught me very important skills that I used throughout my college experience, and now use as a graduate student,” says Jenna Gallanter (SAR’14), who, with her sister, Suzanne Gallanter (SAR’15), nominated Coviello for the honor.

Coviello works closely with students across the University to ensure that they have a comprehensive understanding of their finances. “I think it’s important to help them get on the right foot financially at a young age,” she says.

“I really make an effort to connect with the students I interact with, especially those who work in the office,” says Coviello, who enjoys mentoring her student employees and sees to it that the birthday of each one is celebrated. “I want to help the students succeed, but I also want them to know that I’m here if they want to talk about academic concerns or roommate issues.”

This year’s winners will be honored at a private reception at the Castle this afternoon. They will be joined by past honorees to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the award.

Kat Sorensen can be reached at katsoren@bu.edu.