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Computer science major top student employee James M. Erwin, a Stockton junior majoring in computer science, is the University's Student Employee of the Year. A network administrator in Information Technology's Computer Learning Centers, Erwin received a $200 scholarship and a commemorative plaque during a reception honoring student workers. Runners-up are Octavio Flores, a senior in mechanical engineering, responsible for freight checking, delivery and filing in the School of Medicine; Esmeralda R. Garza, a graduate student in linguistics, who works as a clerical assistant in computer science; Tiffany A. Henry, a senior in management who works in the broadcasting service's education department; and Dawna L. McClelland, a senior in accounting who is a clerk/receptionist in the vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management office. The University, which employs roughly 6,000 students in 31 job classifications, runs one of the nation's largest student-work programs. The financial aid office sponsors the annual award, selecting winners based on their reliability, initiative, professionalism and the quality and uniqueness of their work. Erwin is in his third year of working in Information Technology's Computer Learning Centers (CLCs). He is a member of the Local Area Network Team, which is responsible for keeping all technical aspects of the CLCs available to University computer users around the clock. James D. Sissom, lab manager in Computer Learning Center 2, nominated Erwin. "Jim's accomplishments are great and notable but what makes them special is his attitude while getting the job done," Sissom wrote in his nomination form. "As a manager, it's unusual to find an undergraduate student you feel comfortable sending down to an academic or administrative department head's office to fix a tricky computing problem, especially under a deadline. Jim has done this more than once and went beyond just fixing the problem and recommends further procedures that would deter similar future problems. Jim shows great professionalism by constantly accepting new challenges and actively searching for opportunities to assist." Janice Schoen Henry, professor and chair of the Department of Information Management Systems, wholeheartedly endorsed Erwin's nomination. After the department's Local Area Network support specialist resigned in May 2001, Erwin handled the role until mid-August. Schoen Henry described Erwin as "very knowledgeable and handles all of his duties completely and accurately." "Working with computers can be very frustrating for the user, and Jim was always willing to assist each faculty, staff and student and be very personable in the process," she wrote. "Losing computer data can be equated to losing money, so the stress is readily apparent, and Jim is very sensitive to those issues as well." - Tom Woolf May 1, 2002