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Students who balance work with studies receive awards recognition

9 May 2024
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The crowd at the Student Employee of the Year Awards 2024

Outstanding students who balance part-time work with their studies were celebrated at the annual Student Employee of the Year (SEOTY) Awards. Winners were announced across six categories at a ceremony in Durham Town Hall on 30 April.

This year's competition received more nominations than ever before. Over 11 students were presented with awards for their work across a wide range of disciplines from Marketing to Photography, and Engineering to Customer Service. 

Crystal Truong, who was nominated in three categories, won the Internship Award for her work as an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Intern at Durham University. She also won the overall Student Employee of the Year Award. 

Billy Stapleton took the Above and Beyond Award (On Campus) for superseding all expectations during his employment within the University’s Computing and Information Services Team. Tarika Sodhi received the Above and Beyond Award (Off Campus) for going above and beyond for her employers at Tealicious Tearoom. 

Kate Jones won the Step Up to Leadership Award (On Campus) for her outstanding contributions to the team and the broader community as a Student Community Warden. Leo Thompson took the Step Up to Leadership Award (Off Campus) for passionately advocating for his team at Local Energy Systems. 

The Self-Employed/Freelance Award went to Arabella Tagg, an event and wedding photographer who has taken over 170,000 photos and founded the Durham Photographers Swap and Shop Facebook group. 

Curtis Jones was awarded the Internship Award (Off Campus) for leveraging every opportunity to grow personally and professionally at his engineering apprenticeship at Arup, a British multinational professional services firm that provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services. 

The Team of the Year Award went to the Post-Grad Student Ambassadors, who have received outstanding feedback on events they have delivered and have contributed to a surge in student applications. 

Employers who have provided excellent experiences for Durham University students were also recognised at the awards ceremony. These included the Student Recruitment Marketing team, who received the Employer of the Year Award (On Campus) for being inspirational mentors for The Durham Student team and the Duke of Wellington pub, which received the Employer of the Year Award (Off Campus) for providing a warm, welcoming environment and many employment opportunities for our students over the years. 

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