Double take for Student Employee of the Year

By Hope Green

She probably handles more letters than Ann Landers, although in this case the mail is from BU alumni. And rather than complaints about pet peeves and meddlesome in-laws, the messages are nearly all positive: new job, house, spouse, or perhaps a new addition to the family.

Heidi Baracchini (front) with development and alumni relations staffers (from left) Bari Walsh, Jennifer Burke, Taylor McNeil, Wendy Garbarino, Chea Waters, and Natalie McCracken. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

Heidi Baracchini (COM'00) is the unofficial manager of class notes for Bostonia magazine. Since her freshman year, she has been coordinating and fact-checking the hundreds of miniature news items that make up one of the quarterly's most-read sections.

Soon it will be Baracchini's turn to drop a line, as she graduates this May. Her work in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations will not be forgotten: along with her diploma, she has received the Student Employee of the Year Award from both BU and the commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Baracchini learned of the campus award in March. The state honor was announced at an awards luncheon on April 4.

"It was kind of overwhelming, considering there are so many schools in Massachusetts," Baracchini said after the luncheon ceremony. "I was very surprised and delighted."

Also honored for their service were Kimberly Bedard (CAS'00), Wai Yip Lau (ENG'01), and Thuy-Ai Nguyen (CAS'00, GRS'00), who received Outstanding Achievement Awards. "I was especially honored," Baracchini says, with typical graciousness, "to be in the company of other student employees who are so dedicated and doing so many interesting things."

As an editorial assistant, Baracchini supports the full-time staff who produce BU's development and alumni publications. The department is a favorite choice for work-study employees majoring in journalism, as it gives them a chance to build a writing portfolio. But the students also do their share of less glamorous chores, and supervisors praised Baracchini's cooperative manner in their letters to the awards committee.

"In an office where deadlines are a constant concern, [Heidi] has helped us work through crises time and time again," wrote Jennifer Burke, a writer and proofreader. "Approachable and good-natured, Heidi is always ready to help out. When we've been in a pinch, she has even offered to deliver an urgent package off-the-clock, in between classes."

Supervisors also point to her knack for creating systems that make the office run more smoothly, particularly in the case of Bostonia's class notes section.

"Heidi has organized this procedure and in effect become its director, so unobtrusively that her fellow students feel grateful rather than criticized," wrote Natalie McCracken, executive director of development and alumni publications.

This spring McCracken asked Baracchini to become her temporary assistant. Baracchini, who no longer qualifies for work-study, was happy to expand her hours: she needs only two courses this semester to complete her major in broadcast journalism.

"This is such an excellent group of writers and editors," she says of the office staff. "I've learned a lot from them."

Baracchini was born in Massachusetts but her family moved to Palmetto, Fla., just south of Tampa, when she was 10. She seldom saw her parents in the house at the same time: her father, a welder, and her mother, a nurse, worked opposite shifts.

"They have definitely taught me a lot about hard work," says Baracchini, whose places of employment since the age of 15 have included a shoe store, a restaurant, and last summer, a real estate office.

The lure of city life contributed to her decision to attend BU. Now the South beckons her back, and she has changed her career direction -- from broadcasting to Web design. "With broadcasting, you have to be able to pick up and move right after graduation," she explains. "I'm really close to my family, and I want to live near them."

Baracchini plans to look for Web-related work in Sarasota or Tampa. Eventually, she hopes to launch a business of her own.

Aside from journalism, Baracchini has minored in women's studies and become involved in a local campaign to educate the public about domestic violence. Last year she served as a peer advisor to other COM students.

This is the second straight year that the state's top student employee is from BU. Last spring the award went to Raymond Jean (SAR'99), an Emergency Medical Services supervisor in the Department of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

Baracchini received savings bonds of $500 from the University and $50 from the Northeast Association of Student Employment Administrators (NEASEA), which confers the statewide award. Her name will be entered in NEASEA regional and national competitions.

Honorable mention
Bedard, Lau, and Nguyen each received a $100 savings bond and a certificate for their outstanding achievement as work-studies.

Bedard has been an office assistant in the Division of International Programs since 1997. In his nominating letter, International Programs Executive Director Joseph Finkhouse told of how she came to the rescue after a full-time staff person left at the beginning of last summer. Bedard took charge of coordinating a complicated, 100,000-piece mailing used in the office's marketing and recruiting efforts.

"This was the most responsibility I have ever entrusted to a student employee," Finkhouse wrote. "Our faith in Kim paid off. Her careful and thorough management of this process -- a process which involved virtually every aspect of our operation -- and her unflagging initiative and positive attitude really helped save our 1999-2000 recruiting season."

Lau has been a senior payroll assistant in the Student Employment Office for the past three years. His work in cost analysis has helped the office decide on a pay scale for all BU student employees.

"Patience is truly an asset when working with payroll," reads a nominating letter from Judy Carroll, student payroll manager, and Carol Gately, assistant manager. "Many of the calls we receive are about someone not being paid, a W-2 going to the wrong address, an incorrect tax status, or a job that is not being set up. Wai is able to handle even the most irate caller calmly and works with them to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible."

Nguyen has worked in the research laboratory of Chris Amemiya, MED associate professor and director of developmental genetics, since the fall of 1996. She has since embarked on her own research project to clone genes in two species of Antarctic fish, while continuing to help keep the laboratory running smoothly.

"When necessary," Amemiya wrote, "she even assumes a leadership role, something that can be daunting when dealing with more senior individuals; however, no one seems to mind relinquishing authority to her . . . as she is never one to gloat or take undue credit.

"Moreover, Thuy-Ai has a very good grasp of maximizing space and efficiency of the working environment and has made several positive changes to our laboratory setup . . . to improve our day-to-day operations."

The Student Employment Office administers the annual Student Employee of the Year Award. The staff received 58 nominations from both the Charles River and MED campuses this year and narrowed the list to 10 finalists before a panel of 5 judges, all University employees, selected the winners.