CSU senior Trenten Robinson has been named 2017 Student Employee of the Year — for the campus as well as the entire state.
Robinson is a literacy and math tutor majoring in political science in the College of Liberal Arts and is participating in CSU’s Off-Campus Work-Study Program at Bauder Elementary School. Additionally, he is a Reisher Scholar and has received other scholarships, including one for Marching Band.
Robinson works with small groups of children, assisting first-graders with math and accelerated reading. He also helps fourth-graders catch up if they are behind on their work. Using creative approaches, Robinson encourages the students to learn in a new and fun way, and they’ve already seen incredible growth because of his teaching methods, according to nomination materials. He displays a pure joy for learning through his actions by putting himself in the position of the children and coming up with new ways of teaching that he would’ve enjoyed when he was their age.
Robinson’s nominators also say he is not afraid to change things up, and is a role model for other teachers to think outside the box to help students learn in different ways. He has gained a lot of popularity with the students as well as fellow teachers, and they say they’ll be sad to see him go in May when he graduates from CSU.
Robinson’s fellow teachers and elementary students surprised him on April 10 by presenting him the award with cakes, colorful posters and a short video about how much he was appreciated (see below). Representatives from CSU’s Student Employment Services office and the Office of Financial Aid also attended the celebration. He received a $1,000 scholarship from the Office of Financial Aid as part of the CSU honor.
The state award included a certificate and $75.