Thank you to our fabulous student interns and staff

zoom meeting screen clip of the WorkLife student team and staff

thank you note written on a white card in a dark green envelopeThe MSU WorkLife Office is proud of the work our student interns and staff members provide to the MSU community. With a small staff, our students allow us to expand our reach while providing a learning opportunity for students in their areas of study. This past year, our students have stepped up to connect and work virtually while helping us launch the International Photo Voice project, our Well-Being at Work Guide, two new affinity groups and a community project to provide books featuring diverse characters and anti-racist messages to local schools. Throughout this year, our students have been valuable members of our team whose growth and commitment to learning have been evident. Join us in wishing these students all the best as they reach the next steps in their education and careers. 

Megan Lee
Megan is in the top 1% of students I have supervised. She is dependable, honest, learns quickly, is a great leader and is very intelligent. I have seen her leadership skills grow so much this year. I really would have been lost without her constant and consistent support and organization. Thank you, Megan! – Jaimie

Megan Lee is a student employee for the WorkLife Office. She will be graduating in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Capital and Society with a minor in Leadership of Organizations. Within her degree path, Megan’s education has focused on how psychological principles can be incorporated into the workplace. Her studies have strongly tied into her work with the WorkLife Office, adding practical experience to her undergraduate education in the areas of mental health support, psychological safety, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and creating positive and supportive workplaces. This fall, Megan will continue her academic career in Michigan State University’s Human Resources & Labor Relations Master’s program. Megan will be staying on with us as a student assistant. 

For the last year, Megan has been writing the WorkLife Office’s publication entitled “Well-being at Work.” This project is published as an interactive website, and encompasses topics such as mental health and work, why breaks are important, workplace culture, psychological safety, combating workplace bullying, ergonomics, and supporting parents through breastfeeding and childcare. The WorkLife Office plans on using this guide to promote characteristics of workplace wellness to employees and build other programming around the guide’s content. This guide has essentially been an application of the human resources and psychological principles Megan has studied that recruit, retain and support employees.

Adriana Presto
Adriana was a joy to work with. She is kind, dependable, and strong. She added value to our team by discussing her Cuban culture and showing vulnerability in our DEI conversations. I saw Adriana find her voice on our team. She represented our office with professionalism and follow-through. The MLK Stuff the Library project was successful due to her contributions. Thank you, Adriana for putting your heart and effort into your work. -Jaimie

Adriana Prieto has been an intern with the Michigan State University WorkLife Office since September of 2020. This upcoming May, Adriana will be graduating from MSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Leadership of Organizations. Following her graduation, Adriana will be pursuing a Master’s in Industrial Labor Relations with a concentration in Human Resources and Organizations from Cornell University.

During her time with the WorkLife Office, Adriana has been assisting MSU community members with requested local resources, as well as creating flyers and outreach to the MSU community. Adriana’s biggest ongoing project with the WorkLife Office has been planning The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Celebration 2021 Stuff the Library fundraiser, where over $4,200 was raised to provide almost 400 books featuring diverse populations to donate to 52 local schools. This project has coincided with Adriana’s studies and interests in educating people and creating a more diverse and inclusive environment.

Julia Shine
Julia took on a project that had been in the planning stages for over a year and saw it through. She is talented, creative, and willing to learn. She learned new technology, and new skills during her time with our office. Julia is patient, thorough, and has a huge heart. It was such a pleasure getting to know her and following her throughout her employment journey. I am very excited to see where her career takes her. Thank you, Julia!

Julia Shine is an undergraduate student intern at MSU WorkLife Office. She is a social work major with minors in Leadership of Organizations and Human Behavior and Social Sciences with plans to graduate this May of 2021. At the WorkLife Office, she has been collaborating with the other interns on several organizational tasks including resource lists for MSU faculty and staff, MLK Day fundraising event logistics, and programming. Her biggest project is an international faculty and staff photovoice project. Julia compiled and created an online booklet of stories and photos with multiple faculty and staff at Michigan State, and presenting the connecting themes of the stories to the WorkLife and MSU community. Through her social work studies, Julia has learned how to best communicate with individuals about their vulnerable experiences while being inclusive and respectful of different perspectives and backgrounds.  

In her future, she will apply these skills to a career. Julia was just offered and accepted a job as a HR and Admin Recruiter for Addison Group in the Chicago area. She is very thankful for her experience at MSU WorkLife.

Aminda Clark
I knew whenever I handed anything to Aminda, it would get done and be a great work product. Aminda has empathy, compassion, grit, and determination. No matter what came her way this year, she addressed it head on! Aminda is a wonderful professional and became a very valuable part of our team. I know wherever Aminda ends up, she will be an asset. Thank you, Aminda. Thank you also to Alyssa Bauman for being Aminda’s MSW supervisor so that we could host her! You are a treasure. -Jaimie

Aminda Clark is an intern for the Michigan State University WorkLife Office. She is pursuing a Master’s of Social Work through the Statewide Blended Program in the Organization and Community Leadership track. During the past few months, Aminda has been organizing and facilitating affinity groups focused on parents/caregivers of children and adult caregivers of other adults. Flyers, emails, speakers and facilitated discussion were created and put together for these groups. She has also begun a retiree photovoice project to highlight the retired community of Michigan State University and provide additional information for those nearing retirement.

She has one more year in her master’s program, in which she will begin to focus mainly on the Organization and Community Leadership portion of her learning. In Fall of 2021, she will begin her next internship with the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion in Detroit, MI where she will focus on policy and advocacy for underprivileged communities.