For more information, contact John Bennett, (937) 775-3232. 
April 12, 2006 Academics, job responsibility, research project earns WSU student Ohio Student Employee of the Year Amanda Smith is a junior in Wright State University’s Honors Program with a 3.7 grade point average in her social work major and business management minor. While working toward her certification for the nonprofit sector, Smith works at least 20 hours per week supervising student telephone surveyors in the university’s Center for Urban and Public Affairs (CUPA). A personal curiosity that became her Honors research project, Smith created a survey for high school juniors that asks them what resources are best helping them prepare for college. Over 40 area high schools are using the survey, and Smith and fellow student Nicole Couchot will present their findings at an academic conference in Montreal next month.These are just some of the reasons why Smith was named the Outstanding Student Employee at Wright State and why she was also chosen the Outstanding Student Employee in Ohio by the state chapter of the National Student Employment Association. Students from colleges and universities around Ohio were evaluated on their reliability, quality of work, initiative, professionalism and unique contributions. “We usually have about 300 people who apply for these jobs every year and we hire five or six,” says David Jones, CUPA research associate and Smith’s supervisor. Starting as a telephone interviewer, Smith advanced to being a shift supervisor and currently the telephone laboratory supervisor. “She does all of the scheduling and oversees the day-to-day operations of the lab,” says Jones. Smith has also contributed to other CUPA reports and focus group facilitation. “Our supervisors in the phone lab do a really good job of training and mentoring and working with the students to ensure that they enjoy their job and are successful,” says Jones. “Amanda’s been a big part of that in working with our freshmen who come in every year.” For her research project, Smith obtained funding from the Honors Program and the Department of Social Work to pay for research and travel. “One of the biggest findings is that urban students are very likely to express a desire to further their education,” Smith says. “However, since high school graduation rates do not mirror the percentage of students who want to go to college, there is a disconnect somewhere, either in student motivation, parental support, or school preparation that must be addressed in order to address this disconnect.” Smith and Couchot will present their survey findings at the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) conference in May. The surveys were administered in various ways: by the schools; by CUPA to students in a large group; and by CUPA to individual classrooms. “This will be an interesting piece, as we have found that students tended to take the survey more seriously when we went class to class and less seriously when the school administered the surveys themselves,” said Smith. She also hopes to submit an article, “Impact of High School Preparation and Available Resources on Future Education and Career Goals” for publication in an academic journal. After graduating in 2007, Smith is considering setting up a nonprofit day care center that would be affordable to lower income families. It would combine her interests and training in social work, management and nonprofit management. Smith is clearly making the most of her college experience. “If you’re willing to do it, there’s a lot available at Wright State,” she says. “A lot of students are involved in community service.” 
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