A St. Cloud State University faculty member was honored with a Board of Trustees Awards for Excellence by Minnesota State Colleges and Universities on April 19.
Hailey Olson, Assistant Director for Career Development and Outreach in SCSU’s Career Center, has received a 2023 Outstanding Service Faculty award.
The Board of Trustees annually recognizes the contributions of service faculty with the Service Faculty of the Year award and Outstanding Service Faculty recognition. These honors recognize the individual professional accomplishments of service faculty in the role they fulfill in advising and counseling students, recruitment, retention, residential life programming and other areas of university service.
“I was surprised and flattered when I heard that I was nominated for this award,” Olson said. “I’ve worked at SCSU for about 10 years, and it is a privilege to work alongside such wonderful colleagues in the Career Center and across campus. It is truly a team effort to serve our students to the best of our ability, and I am honored to receive this award and thankful to those who nominated me.”
Olson, who holds a master’s degree from SCSU, advises students with career and major decision-making and helps students with career readiness in her role. She partners with faculty and student service departments to enhance career development opportunities across campus. Olson also recruits, trains and mentors undergraduate peer career advisors who grow as young professionals on campus. In addition to her main responsibilities as Assistant Director of the Career Center, Olson also teaches a Career Planning course each semester at SCSU and is a faculty partner for high school teachers who teach the Career Planning course through the Huskies in the High School Senior to Sophomore program.
“My goal is to provide superior support and resources for students while encouraging and pushing them to reach for their dreams,” Olson said. “I enjoy problem-solving with students and helping them discover how to take the next step in preparing for their career with a positive mindset.”
The Board of Trustees Awards for Excellence acknowledge and provide system-wide recognition for consistently superior professional achievement of our college and university teaching and service faculty. Other awards included in the annual Board of Trustees Awards for Excellence include Educators of the Year and Outstanding Educators.
