Hi there; I’m Erin Norton Miller.  I am a native of Lexington, and UK is my alma mater!  I was an English major here and received my BA in May of 2000.  Before working at UK, I had jobs doing everything from retail to working in a warehouse to banking.  I started my career at UK in 2010 in a STEPS position in the College of Pharmacy.  I joined the College of Arts & Sciences in 2011 and began my current position as the Department Manager at the UK Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies in June of 2013.  I really enjoy being a part of this College and getting to work on the Culture Committee.  I love being in a place that values learning and excellence but also encourages getting to know and having fun with colleagues.

Each year the University of Kentucky seeks nominations from managers of students across campus to find the most outstanding of our student employees. This year, they received 42 nominations from healthcare, colleges and central services. A&S student employees represented 13 of those 42 nominees. Below are all of our fabulous student employees that were nominated by their managers for consideration as the UK Student Employee of the Year:

Hi y’all! My name is Christine Gildersleeve. It’s almost easier to tell you where I am not from, than where I am from. I was born into a military family which meant that from the get-go I was on the move. Born in Texas but raised predominantly in the Pacific Northwest (or PNW as us Seattleites call it) I have always felt an innate desire to be close to the ocean. As a child I spent many of my vacations in the Southern Outer Banks (SOBX) of North Carolina. My mother is a Carolina girl and my father actually got transferred back to her home town when I was in high school. It was a lot of fun going to the same high school as my mom and having my extended family close-by.

Hello out there, humans! My name is Brooke Kuerzi and I was born in Louisville, KY and grew up in Rowlett, Texas. I am working on a BS in Biology at UK, and I only have two semesters left (fingers crossed!). I chose UK for a couple very simple reasons; it was close to Louisville and my sister was already here. I began as a political science major, and I was convinced that I was going to become a politician, but I quickly realized that I was bored. Nothing felt challenging enough. Having never been a particularly exceptional science student, I obviously picked biology, and here I am today- stressed, miserable at times, but absolutely confident with my choice, and excited for the future.

Hello my name is Carlos Gutierrez and I am a native Lexingtonian who decided to stay in Kentucky to support our Cats and get a good education. Although I am studying primarily Chemistry I plan on completing Minors in Physics, Math, and Business. This sounds like handful and it is a lot, at times, especially when work is added nto the mix. I feel that it is important to explore all opportunities while I still can. This conglomeration of minors is a result of my recent transfer into The College of Arts and Sciences from The College of Engineering--and further complicated by the fact that The College of Agriculture was actually my first home on campus. I was allowed to participate in a research internship while still in high school through the department of Horticulture. I hope to continue my education by attending a Master’s program in Business Admininistration or Accounting post my undergraduate graduation.

Finding talent, hiring talent and building a community of talent is something A&S prides itself on. We are the best place to work, and we have the best student employees! 

Our goal is simple; create an environment where students achieve professional experiences and involvement in strategic activities.

We want our students to not only gain a degree, but advance with marketable years of experience and knowledge in the increasingly competitive job market. We are proactively setting the foundation of student professionalism by partnering with UK HR Training and hosting professional development opportunities such as Business Etiquette 101.

Hey y’all! I’m Lori Johnson and I’m junior from Louisville, KY! I’m studying Integrated Strategic Communications, and Community Leadership and Development; I know it’s a mouthful, but thankfully they’re two different majors! I’m also getting a certificate of Global Studies. Choosing where to go to college was a tough choice, but in the end my Big Blue Nation won out. The incredible sense of spirit and community is what really sealed the deal for me, everywhere you go, you see blue! It also didn’t hurt that my dad was also a Wildcat and I get to continue that tradition. Being a student at UK has given me the most amazing opportunities. I get to be in a great campus ministry, active in meaningful organizations and I have a really awesome job!

As the newest employee in my role as the Department Manager, I have found myself warmly welcomed by this ROTC community with the Cadre and Cadets. The community is so strong among the students that I have been drawn and begun attending morning physical training (PT) sessions with our team. My attendance has been well received, and many of the cadets tell me how they feel that our entire Cadre and staff team is extremely connected, and that this is very encouraging to them. We train our cadets to lead with strong emphasis on values & ethics, personal development, officership, tactics & techniques, critical thinking, and problem solving within the ROTC program. The cadets spend much of their time building a team environment, and working together to accomplish the goals of this program. We strive to engage them in a learning environment focused on being strong leaders and building lifelong personal and professional development. Our cadets are sharp and focused. We have students in our program with exceptional academic achievements, and this program encourages them to be lifelong learners and educators. Detachment 290 is a team, we are a community, and most importantly we are family, and I could not be more proud to be a part of this unified force.

The latest issue of Ecological Modelling (vol. 298) is out, a special issue on complexity of soils and hydrology in ecosystems. My article, The Robustness of Chronosequences, is available here. There's a lot of other interesting stuff in the special issue, too. Check it out!