10 Ways to Show Appreciation to Your Student Employee (Including Plants from Us!)

Calling all Supervisors! DU’s National Student Employment Week (April 4 – 8) is quickly approaching! Would you like to show appreciation for your student employees, but tight on budget? We got you.

The Office of Student Employment is now taking orders for tiny plants to gift your student employees. Fill out this form with your name, department, email and how many student employees you’d like to gift. The week before, we’ll schedule time with you for pick up. Please note these tiny plants are precious and limited. If we run out of supplies, we’ll notify you.

Here are some other free or low-cost ideas for showing appreciation!

No Cost Ideas

1. Send a thoughtful note. Email mail or snail mail. Another option is to have everyone sign an e-card and send it to your student employee.
2. Shout out on your department’s social media accounts Instagram, Facebook or other- like we’re doing here.
3. The gift of time. Let your student employee sign off early for work one day.
4. Host a zoom get together with games (scattergories, code names, 20 questions, scavenger hunt, heads up, name-place-animal-thing, etc.). Keep the work talk to a minimum.
5. Decorate office doors or bulletin boards with signs expressing appreciation to your student employees.

Low Cost Ideas

1. Stickers or pins.
2. Goodie bags and/or care packages (candy, trail mix, popcorn, pens, oranges, etc.).
3. Department or DU swag.
4. Coffee or tea mug.
5. A social-distanced breakfast or lunch.

What ideas do you have? What are your student employees’ interests and what would they like? This is a good time for the Supervisory Questionnaire with the question “how do you like to be appreciated?”. Can your department budget be used for anything purchased? With any and all ideas, please adhere to COVID safety guidelines, and the safety preferences of you and your student employees.

Join us in honoring our student employee of the year nominees at the Student Employee of the Year Celebration! If you didn’t have a chance to nominate your student employees, consider nominating next year.