May 04, 2016 Student Employee Highlight

Brady Nelson, a junior who’s majoring in economics and minoring in business, stands at the library security desk, smiling and greeting patrons. He’s not the sort of person who you’d expect to be in security – hovering to ensure that books aren’t stolen and that everyone’s abiding by the rules. Instead, Brady finds that the majority of his interactions involves helping people, rather than reprimanding them.

“Most of the people who come to the desk are either looking to check out a book or they have a question about where something is located,” explains Brady. “I even had a U professor call me when he was on the road in Louisiana and needed help finding a street. I used Google Maps to get him the answer.”

Brady began working at the library just prior to Fall semester of 2014. He was attracted to the library because of its convenient campus location and because he’d enjoyed using the library as a student. Over the past 1 ½ years, Brady has contributed many hours to the security team, which he says he’s enjoyed a good deal: “Everyone’s really fun to work with because we all do our part and also we’re supported here at the library.”

Melanie Hawks, the library’s Organizational Development Manager, developed a staff training program specifically for student employees and this is one of the things that Brady has benefitted from the most. “The training taught us things we need to know upon graduation, like how to write a cover letter how to present ourselves at interviews. It was very informative and I came away with a better understanding of how to prepare for finding a good job,” comments Brady.

Additionally, having applied for several scholarships, Brady has relied on his supervisor, library Security Manager Scott Bigler, for letters of recommendation. Brady has received the library’s employee scholarship as well as a scholarship from the department of Economics.

“Brady has a positive outlook while on duty and can often be seen laughing with his fellow co-workers. He helps provide a friendly and welcoming environment for our students, staff, faculty, and patrons,” says Scott. “He is constantly willing to lend a helping hand. Brady is committed to his education and career goals by participating in the wonderful extracurricular programs the U and library offer to help students succeed.”

As for Brady’s future? He’s interested in the world of finance as well as working in developmental economics, helping lesser-developed countries build stronger business-based economies. We wish Brady continued success in his studies and in all his pursuits and we thank him for all his dedicated service to the library.