Emmy Truong knew that her supervisor nominated her as Virginia Commonwealth University’s Student Employee of the Year, but winning the inaugural award – from among more than 50 nominees – was unexpected.

“It was just very surprising – but in a good way, of course,” said Truong, a web developer intern in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. 

The moment was among highlights of the Student Leadership Awards ceremony, hosted by the Division of Student Affairs on April 17. The event was held during National Student Employment Week, as designated by the National Student Employment Association.

Jonathan Fuller, director of the First and Second Year Experiences program with Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success, led the review committee for the new award for student employees. He said Truong reflects the talent and commitment that VCU’s more than 4,000 working learners offer across campus. 

“We love seeing stories like Emmy’s, folks who may not get recognized for the work they’re doing behind the scenes to build systems or provide administrative support for various offices and teams,” Fuller said. “Seeing what Emmy has done has been incredible – to not only celebrate her work, but really highlight the work that our working learners or student employees do every day here at VCU.”

Truong, a junior from Herndon in Northern Virginia, is completing her first year as a VCU transfer student majoring in information systems in the School of Business. She received a scholarship at VCU through the Katherine Gomez Nelson Scholarship Program. As a web developer intern, she regularly maintains the OVPRI website, works with the communications team to implement site changes and handles projects including compilation of annual reports.

Among her achievements in the past year: Instead of presenting a paper for the office’s fiscal 2024 annual report, Truong put together an interactive microsite. The project was her first time working independently, which helped her develop her skills.

“It was fun to get to do something on my own, and it was nice to be challenged in that way, too,” Truong said.

She has also worked on the Mid-Atlantic Twins Registry website and the site for this year’s Research Weeks.

As an information systems major, Truong’s classroom studies tie in directly with her work. She also has used time during her internship hours to teach herself programming languages and related subjects.

Truong said she has welcomed the mentorship of Ella Danilovich, the OVPRI website developer and layout artist. Danilovich said her protégé was eager to take on notable projects and proved herself through attention to detail, work ethic and professionalism.

“I’ve been with the university for 20 years, and all the talk about the culture of care and appreciation – [Truong is] the embodiment of that,” Danilovich said.  

Truong will work for OVPRI full time over the summer – and plans to continue supporting the office in the upcoming fall semester.