May 3, 2016

SVSU’s Metiva named Michigan’s best student employee

A student employee from Saginaw Valley State University was recognized as the top student employee in Michigan.

Zach Metiva, a computer science major from Standish, was selected by the Midwest Association of Student Employment Administrators as the 2016 Student Employee of the Year for the state of Michigan.

“With my experience at Web Communications, I was exposed to real world experiences that allowed me to progress my skills as a software developer,” Metiva said. “I was also faced with many different challenges everyday. This allowed me to become more proficient in meeting client deadlines as well as accepting feedback to allow for desired changes.”

Metiva received a congratulatory letter, a check for $75 and a certificate honoring his accomplishment.

SVSU supervisors Holly LaRose-Roenicke and Jason Swackhamer nominated Metiva, who was then selected to represent SVSU for the competition. Metiva had worked as a student employee in SVSU’s University Communications and Web Communications departments since May 2014. In their nominating letter, Larose-Roenicke and Swackhamer cited Metiva’s work ethic as one of his leading qualifications.

“Zach conducts himself with a high level of professionalism,” the letter reads. “He is easy to work with, accommodating and is appreciative to be on a team. He gets along well with anyone- from top level administrators, to his peers.”

Metiva has worked extensively on creating pages for multiple SVSU websites such as the mySVSU portal using the program Microsoft Sharepoint. He also created a 120-document Human Resources library for SVSU employee use.

Upon graduating in May, Metiva will begin working full-time as a web developer for Rehmann, a financial services firm in Saginaw.