Monthly Student Employee Spotlight

Georgia Zanca Georgia Zanca is majoring in Journalism with an outside concentration in Screen Arts and hopes to work for Walt Disney. Georgia says, "The Emily Shane Foundation has given me the exceptional opportunity to help others recognize their own talents and to see my students mature and grow into incredible young men and women. Getting to be with students on a weekly basis exposes me to new perspectives and provides me with insight from different backgrounds, languages, and more. "

"Georgia demonstrates a tremendous work ethic, and works well with minimal supervision. She is extremely creative in her approach when working with a student who did not speak english and was able to forge a productive relationship with her by using online resources to translate back and forth from English and Spanish. This student has improved her english speaking skills and is notably more confident due to Georgia's care and persistence. Georgia is a wonderful colleague and a joy to work with."
- The Emily Shane Foundation

The Emily Shane Foundation is one of Pepperdine's Work Study Community Service Partners. Students who have been awarded a Federal Work Study award have the opportunity to work off-site in the community. The Emily Shane Foundation is a unique educational initiative that provides essential mentoring/tutoring to disadvantaged middle school children across Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Cindy Kim Cindy Kim is an undergraduate senior graduating with an Advertising degree with an emphasis in Business. In the future, she hopes to go into Dental or Dental Missionary. Cindy says, "I love my supervisors and the people I work with in the Information Technology department. Not only are they super intelligent, their personalities make it such a fun place to be. Thank you Tessa, Lynn, and Tim for always being there to help me!"

"Cindy has not only been an exceptional employee, but has always been excited to work. With the pandemic and sending many of our students home, Cindy was available 4 and sometimes 5 days out of the week. She is a kind and understanding hard worker, and continues to leave her mark within Tech Central."

- IT Client Services

Dai-Ning (Maggie) Lin

As a rising sophomore, she has yet to discern what God's plans are for her. Nonetheless, she aspires to become a philanthropic business leader that will work with sustainability in mind and give back to society.

Maggie says, "I love how my on-campus job at the Intercultural Affairs Office provided me with the opportunities to utilize my creativity and artistic skills to overcome challenges and to support our diverse community. Moreover, it has also introduced me to so many amazing people from such varying backgrounds, who made my Pepperdine experience all the better! Big shout-outs to my supervisors, Rebecca, Dani, and Daniel for all the advice; and a big thank you to all my colleagues for making "work" so fun."

"Maggie is passionate, driven, and a go getter. She creates beautiful videos highlighting the work that is done in ICA in a timely manner. Her work showcases her creativity and is always done at the highest level of excellence. She takes initiative, brings new ideas to our staff meetings, and is always willing to learn and grow."

- Intercultural Affairs

Isabella Teague

Isabella is an incoming senior majoring in Advertising with an emphasis in Creative Writing. She hopes to one day lead through Art Direction in an ad agency or her own.

Isabella says, "Working at the Student Employment Office each day was an adventure and each task was never the same. I've never had such a wonderful, understanding supervisor like Tess - someone I can always joke and have a heart-to-heart conversation with. Though words can't fully express how much this experience has meant to me, I will say that working at the Student Employment Office has helped me grow, understand myself better, and motivated me to make a difference in any choice of work I choose to do."

"Isabella has worked in our office for a year and constantly goes over and beyond what is asked of her. Among other responsibilities, she created all the marketing items for National Student Employment Week and led our social media campaign where we raffle off 3 prizes each day. Isabella is incredibly talented and an absolute joy to work. She is not only professional in all that she does but has a witty sense of humor while treating everyone with the utmost care. Thank you Isabella for all your hard work and for being creative, a problem solver, and dependable."

- Student Employment Office

Zion Chang

As Digital Arts and Computer Science are growing industries around the world, Zion would like to eventually work abroad and do career missions. For now, it is her hope to work in the Digital Arts field-- specifically in graphic design, but she is also interested in front-end related work. Zion says, "I am a graphic designer for the Center for Faith and Learning and this job has encouraged me to pursue art as a career rather than keep it as a hobby, while still glorifying God. My favorite part of this job is easily my relationship with my boss, Stephanie. She is extremely supportive and loving, and I enjoy every conversation I have with her. Thank you, Stephanie, for being the amazing woman that you are! I am always encouraged by you to be a better daughter of Christ."

"Zion is going into her senior year and has worked for me since her first year at Pepperdine, creating our marketing materials. She is super talented and creative and her art has only grown more impressive over the years. She is flexible and independent, cheerful and positive, and thinks deeply about how her faith informs her choices and her pursuits in life. It has been an absolute joy to have her as an employee and I dearly miss our weekly check-ins in the office. I am looking forward to working with Zion during her senior year!"

- Center for Faith and Learning

Emma Thomasson

Emma is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Philosophy with plans of becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist in her bright future. Emma says, "My favorite part of my job is that my supervisors have become like family to me, they have truly helped make Pepperdine into my home away from home."

"Emma is an outstanding contributor to the work of OSA. She has a rare combination of gifts: good judgement, smart intuition, excellent written and verbal communication skills. Emma is wise beyond her years. These skills allow us to rely on her to navigate exam procedures with professors as well as answer phones during our weekly professional staff team meeting. We trust her to talk with parents -- no small responsibility. Emma is punctual, reliable, and always follows through. She is a gift to our office as well as the students and faculty we serve."

- Office of Student Accessibility

Alexis Okamoto

As an Economics major, Alexis hopes to work in Data Analytics for a tech company one day. Lexi says, "I really enjoy working with other students and offering my services to help them grow professionally. I also appreciate how supportive my supervisors have been to me throughout the past year! They've been nothing but encouraging and kind, and I could not have asked for better people to work for."

"Lexi is a dedicated Career Ambassador who has been graciously working remotely for the summer on top of completing a summer internship. We are so grateful for her dedication, attention to detail, and efficiency! She is such a valued member of our team and works hard to provide great service to fellow students."

- Seaver College Career Center

Michelle Okinedo

Michelle is a Business Administrator major in the 5 year MBA Pepperdine program. She plans to specialize in Entertainment, Media, and Sports Management, eventually making a positive impact in the music industry.   Michelle says, "It has been such a joy getting to work at Waves on Call since my freshman year! I have especially enjoyed getting to connect with Pepperdine Alumni on a regular basis and seek advice from them. During my time at Waves on Call I have gotten the opportunity to cultivate genuine connections with Pepperdine alums and gain priceless wisdom. Through the countless phone conversations I have had over the years, I have learned the art of communication and how to remain authentic. Moreover, as the supervisor for Waves on Call, I have learned to lead humbly and by example."

"At the end of the day, people will not necessarily remember that Michelle has raised a substantial amount of money for Pepperdine, yet they will remember that she put others before she put herself in order to make a successful Call Center--this is the raw impact you can not ask from someone, they just do it because they know it is the right thing to do...and because they love Pepperdine. I am blessed to have Michelle as an employee."

- Waves on Call

Jada Jensen

"Jada is ICA's social media intern and she is SUCH a go getter. She consistently goes above and beyond to come up with creative content and innovative ideas for how to engage students virtually. In addition to her creativity Jada is also a very responsible young lady and always sees projects to completion. ICA is so lucky to have her, on the team!"

- ICA (Intercultural Affairs

Candy Shim

Major: MS in Global Business Career Goal: Project Management and Digital Marketing in the creative industry (hopefully one day abroad) Candy says, "I love each interaction I'm able to have with my peers at Graziadio and my weekly meetings with my supervisor (shout out to Emily Guetzoian)! My job has given me the opportunity to learn so much about effective communication and the importance of being proactive, especially in the current virtual environment."

"Candy is a PGBS student who joined our team this fall as a PGBS Writing Consultant. She is a terrific tutor who strives to provide her students with a positive tutoring experience. She provides additional resources and suggestions to students to help them succeed on their own after the tutoring session. As a fellow PGBS student herself, Candy is able to incorporate her own knowledge and tips into her tutoring sessions. Candy also provided a terrific, interactive presentation for students on time management strategies. Candy is a kind, thoughtful, hard-working student employee and contributes positively to the Graziadio mission."

- Student Engagement and Success (PGBS)

Brittaney Edwards

Major: Juris Doctor (JD) Career Goal: I intend to become a corporate or health law attorney. Brittaney says, "I enjoy helping students apply creative solutions to complex writing problems, and I enjoy working closely with my supervisor, Emily Guetzoian."

"Brittaney is a 3rd-year law student who joined our team this fall as a PGBS Writing Consultant. From day one, Brittaney has sought to provide an outstanding tutoring experience for the students she tutors. She is very thoughtful and always very intentional in her planning and her approach to tutoring. She also made a great presentation on Learning Styles for our students. Since she holds an MBA herself, Brittaney has been especially helpful in mentoring some of our business school students and providing them personalized study strategies and advice during tutoring sessions. Brittaney is intelligent, professional, and an asset to our team."

- Student Engagement and Success (PGBS)

Zoe Clevely

Major: Business Major and Applied Maths and Art Minor Career Goal: What is most important is that I am able to be creative and do something impactful and meaningful. Zoe says, "I love that I get to help bring light to an amazing nonprofit, and in doing so get to help disadvantaged students in the LA area get the support they desperately need to thrive! I also love getting Pepperdine athletes involved with the Emily Shane Foundation as it is not only so amazing for the students they will be supporting, but also an amazing experience for them to step up and make a difference in the community that supports them so much."

"Zoe deserves recognition for her efforts in doing all she can to help promote our nonprofit charity's work to the Pepperdine Community. As an athlete - a Pepperdine Wave - Zoe displayed great leadership and communication skills in coordinating an effort with all sports teams that comprise the Waves to educate everyone about our work (serving children in middle school who risk academic failure with no recourse due to financial limitations). She did a terrific job!"

- The Emily Shane Foundation

Malaun 'Launnie' Phillips

Hannah Cheng

Major: Integrated Marketing Communications Career Goal: Working in PR/marketing in the entertainment/media industry Hannah says, "I love the flexibility of it and that I've been able to practice so many skills I'll be using in the future, like social media analytics, graphic design, creating interactive campaigns, etc. A big thank you to my supervisor, Jeffrey Bowen, for being so supportive and helpful, and also to Laura Nickerson for providing the fun opportunity to make TikTok videos with her!"

"Hannah Cheng has been instrumental in spreading the word about the Libraries' fantastic programming and resources. You've probably seen her work if you follow any of the Libraries social media accounts. She has been creating engaging content and growing our follower base since she was a first-year student (she's now at the end of her junior year). Hannah is a motivated self-starter who requires little direction, a work quality that is sure to make her successful in the field of marketing and communications. We at the Libraries are deeply appreciative of all her hard work."

- Pepperdine Libraries

Sloane Osmers

Major: Interpersonal Communication Career Goal: Working in media, marketing, or e-commerce fashion Sloane says, "I have gotten so many opportunities and have met so many amazing individuals from my job. Working for Esther and Elia has been a blessing and I am so lucky to have had the chance to work for them because of how amazing they are!"

"Sloane has been a student employee in our division for almost the past four years. In that time she has grown and matured. Sloane consistently demonstrates exceptional and ethical work habits. She is a great mentor to the other student employees - always going out of her way to help, students, faculty and staff. I can always count on Sloane's dependability when it comes to work and if it worked with her schedule she is always willing to cover for another student if they couldn't work their shift. Sloane is a well-rounded student; and is a very mature young woman with a pleasant professional demeanor. She is a sweetheart! I will surely miss Sloane when she graduates this spring. I consider her one of my granddaughters from another mother. She has made me very proud!"

- COM Division

This May, we are proud to spotlight our 2021 Student Employees of the Year!

Please go to this website to read more about our five student award recipients: Derek Pinto, Sepideh Agahi, Candy Shim, Grace Ramsey, and Mary Buffaloe!