Administration and Finance

Osten Palmer

Classification: Sophomore
Major: Mechanical engineering
Employing Department: Administration and Finance
How long have you been a student employee? Six months
What is your role in the department? I provide administrative and technical support to the A&F office staff and design promotional materials for A&F sponsored events that I also participate in

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to know the ins and outs of this school, and to see what I could do for my community

What do you like best about working in your department? For me, I think is volunteering for events we have at the school. It's a nice change of scenery, and it gives me a look at the multitude of events the school creates when I, as a student, can't attend some of them myself

Alyssa Buchanan

Classification: Senior
Major: Political science
Employing Department: Administration and Finance
How long have you been a student employee? About nine months
What is your role in the department? A&F student ambassador

What made you want to be a student employee? The opportunity I had to help UH students and the community wherever I could

What do you like best about working in your department? One of my favorite things is promoting campus activities or events for students. Not only do students get to learn more about campus life, but I do, too

Blanche Ngoy

Classification: Junior
Major: Finance
Employing Department: Auxiliary Services – Vending
How long have you been a student employee? Nine months
What is your role in the department? Field inspector/customer service representative

What made you want to be a student employee? To gain experience and be involved on campus.

What do you like best about working in your department? I get to work independently and make sure that every vending machine works well and is stocked so students can get what they need.

Armonie Bibs

Classification: Sophomore
Major: Public policy
Employing Department: Auxiliary Services
How long have you been a student employee? Since November 2025
What is your role in the department? Student ambassador

What made you want to be a student employee? To become more involved on campus and connect with individuals who positively impact the University. I was especially interested in learning from their experiences and gaining insight into how they contribute to the campus community.
 
What do you like best about working in your department? The supportive environment. My managers are incredibly kind and encouraging. I also appreciate the opportunity to engage directly with students — whether that's being out in the field, having conversations, or educating others about the services we provide.

Lizet Gregorio

Classification: Freshman
Major: Computer science
Employing Department: Auxiliary Services
How long have you been a student employee? Since October 2025
What is your role in the department? Customer service representative

What made you want to be a student employee? I worked in retail before entering college, and I wanted more experience in an office setting.

What do you like best about working in your department? I really enjoy the environment everyone puts so much effort into. Everyone I have worked with has been polite and friendly since I started; they've helped me in both a professional setting and my academics. 

Jemimah Emmanuel

Classification: Senior
Major: Management information systems
Employing Department: Auxiliary Services
How long have you been a student employee? One year, seven months
What is your role in the department? Student ambassador

What made you want to be a student employee? I enjoy being of help to people and being someone students can rely on for help. It's rewarding to know that even minor interactions can brighten someone's day and/or help make students aware of resources or opportunities they might be missing out on that could benefit them. I also love that as a student employee, I can obtain real-world experience while still attending school and building my professional skills.

What do you like best about working in your department? I appreciate my department because of how friendly and helpful everyone is. My coworkers and managers feel like family, which fosters a really supportive and cheerful environment. The flexibility of work schedules also makes it easier to juggle school and work, and it's been an excellent place for my professional development because I'm continuously learning and developing new skills.

Hong Lan Nguyen

Classification: Junior
Major: Accounting
Employing Department: Office of Administration
How long have you been a student employee? Two years
What is your role in the department? I help with data entry and provide support for the different areas as needed. 

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to gain real-world experience and work on my communication skills.

What do you like best about working in your department?
I love how supportive everyone is and the positive work environment they create.

Roger Nunez

Classification:  Senior
Major: Accounting
Employing Department: University Services
How long have you been a student employee? 1 year 7 months

What made you want to be a student employee?
I decided to become a student employee and chose this department because of the experience and the flexibility regarding my school hours.

How has your job had an impact on your college career?
As my first ever office job, it has prepared me with the knowledge of what to expect in the future from an office/accountability related job.

What do you like best about working in your department?
It's great to work in such a positive environment.

Shyenne New

Classification: Junior
Major: Biochemistry
Employing Department: Cougar Card Office
How long have you been a student employee? Six months
What is your role in the department? Special projects lead

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to create connections and friendships on campus. 

What do you like best about working in your department? I get to talk to students daily. When students are newly admitted to UH, they come get a Cougar Card; and I love getting to be one of their first smiles received on campus!

Laila Broden

Classification: Sophomore
Major: Public health
Employing Department: Cougar Card Office
How long have you been a student employee? Since the start of the spring 2026 semester.
What is your role in the department? Customer service representative

What made you want to be a student employee? It provides valuable job experience while allowing me to maintain a healthy work-life balance. The flexibility of working on campus gives me the opportunity to stay focused on my academics, remain socially active, and gain professional experience at the same time.

What do you like best about working in your department? The strong sense of teamwork. My co-workers and I support one another and collaborate effectively to complete tasks. This environment has helped me develop important skills such as communication, collaboration, and networking, which will benefit me in the long term.

Abrie Orozco

Classification: Junior
Major: Nutrition
Employing Department: Cougar Card Office
How long have you been a student employee? One year, eight months
What is your role in the department? Customer service representative

What made you want to be a student employee? To gain professional experience while balancing my studies. Working in an office setting allows me to develop organizational and customer service skills, and I enjoy helping people.

What do you like best about working in your department? I truly value my time in this department, largely due to the exceptional culture my colleagues have built. Their consistent support and encouragement have been instrumental in my professional growth. 

Shania Harston

Classification: Senior
Major: Psychology
Employing Department: Cougar Card Office
How long have you been a student employee? Three and half years
What is your role in the department? Customer service representative

What made you want to be a student employee? So I could gain real-world experience while still being in school. It helps me make money while learning and preparing for my future.

What do you like best about working in your department? The people. I love working with my co-workers — we’ve created such a strong bond, and they’re like my work sisters. It makes coming to work more enjoyable, and we all support each other and make the environment really positve.

Armyrie Landry

Classification: Sophomore
Major: Exercise science
Employing Department: Cougar Card Office
How long have you been a student employee? Three months
What is your role in the department? Customer service representative

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to interact with my fellow Coogs and make an positive impact on someone's day. 

What do you like best about working in your department? The calm and safe work environment. Also, our ability to tend to each customer's needs carefully so they leave satisfied.

Sania Shukla

Classification: Junior
Major: Psychology 
Employing Department: Cougar Card Office
How long have you been a student employee? One year and four months  
What is your role in the department? Customer Service Representative 

What made you want to be a student employee? I became a student employee to build professional skills and prepare myself for future goals. I chose to work at the Cougar Card Office because it allows me to contribute to the University of Houston while being a part of an important department on campus. 

What do you like best about working in your department? What I enjoy most about working at the Cougar Card Office is being able to support the UH community and make a positive difference in someone’s day.

Marcos Barrera

Classification: Junior
Major: Mechanical engineering
Employing Department: Copy, Print and Delivery Services
How long have you been a student employee? One and a half years
What is your role in the department? I help deliver packages across campus.

What made you want to be a student employee? To do extra activities on campus. 

What do you like best about working in your department? I enjoy the free time I get. I’m able to use that time for studying. 

Isaiah Garza

Classification: Freshman
Major: Mechanical engineering
Employing Department: Copy, Print and Delivery Services
How long have you been a student employee? Since September 2025
What is your role in the department? Customer service

What made you want to be a student employee? The ease of travelling to work from class and working and being able to work with UH staff and help them contribute more to the University I attend and cherish.

What do you like best about working in your department? Learning my way around campus through deliveries, seeing the campus, and being able to talk to so many students and staff throughout the day.

Teresa Terriquez

Classification: Junior
Major: Math
Employing Department: Delivery Services
How long have you been a student employee? Three years
What is your role in the department? Front desk assistant

What made you want to be a student employee? The job is on campus and allows more time to study. 

What do you like best about working in your department? It has allowed me to develop skills that I can take with me in the future, and cool co-workers.

Samuel Ramirez

Classification: Junior
Major: Accounting
Employing Department: Delivery Services
How long have you been a student employee? Since September 2024
What is your role in the department? An assistant.

What made you want to be a student employee? Implementing work into my schedule made me a well-rounded student while providing me with experience.

What do you like best about working in your department? The culture and the community. Everyone is so welcoming. 

Harmony O. Wilson

Classification: Senior
Major: Health, public health track
Employing Department: Delivery Services
How long have you been a student employee? Since January 2023 and with Delivery Services since May 2025.
What is your role in the department? Customer Service. 

What made you want to be a student employee? I was a new transfer student at UH and wanted to meet new people and make money to support myself in college. 

What do you like best about working in your department? It’s a great working environment, great co-workers, and I get to learn new skills along with working in customer service.

Jonathan McKinney

Classification: Freshman
Major: Human resource development
Employing Department: Cullen Performance Hall
How long have you been a student employee? Six months
What is your role in the department? Box office specialist

What made you want to be a student employee? To build connections with other students through work experience.

What do you like best about working in your department? I love the people, my bosses and co-workers. They are all fun to be around as well as the smiles on the patrons’ faces as they come and go. All these things are why I love my job.

Valeria Tapia

Classification: Freshman
Major: Accounting
Employing Department: Cullen Performance Hall
How long have you been a student employee? About seven months
What is your role in the department? Shift lead

What made you want to be a student employee? Good opportunity to network while paying tuition!

What do you like best about working in your department? I love my co-workers and boss.

Darin Bowden

Classification: Freshman
Major: Hospitality
Employing Department: Cullen Performance Hall
How long have you been a student employee? Four months
What is your role in the department? Scan tickets and usher guests

What made you want to be a student employee?  Easy to commute to work and get more involved on campus.

What do you like best about working in your department? The relationships I've made with co-workers and bosses!

Meagan Owens

Classification: Junior
Major: Communications studies
Employing Department: Cullen Performance Hall
How long have you been a student employee? About three months
What is your role in the department? Box office staff

What made you want to be a student employee? The luxury of being able to choose my schedule/have a relaxed schedule whenever I'm busy with homework or have midterms or finals.

What do you like best about working in your department? I love my bosses and my co-workers a lot. My co-workers make the job go by fast and are always super funny to talk to, even when we work for 10+ hours. Having a job where everyone is extremely relaxed and not strict or mean is a complete 180 from my previous jobs and it makes working there fun!

Macy Wooden

Classification: Junior
Major: Media production
Employing Department: Cullen Performance Hall
How long have you been a student employee? Since the start of the spring 2026 semester.
What is your role in the department? I work with the box office.

What made you want to be a student employee? To be engaged with the UH community, and I thought working with UH was the right choice.

What do you like best about working in your department? I thoroughly enjoy getting to be a part of the performance and seeing the diversity in the audience.

Grayson Williams

Classification: Junior
Major: Construction management
Employing Department: F/CM – Project Management
How long have you been a student employee? About seven months.
What is your role in the department? My role in the department is to support ongoing construction projects by assisting staff with day-to-day tasks while learning how construction projects are managed in a real-world environment. 

What made you want to be a student employee? It gives me the opportunity to apply my classroom learning to real-world experience, especially with the numerous construction projects currently taking place across campus.

What do you like best about working in your department? The opportunity to meet a wide range of people while learning about the many responsibilities the department oversees and how they are carried out. 

Veera Prakash Sunkara

Classification: Graduate student
Major: Construction management
Employing Department: Office of Space Management and Analysis
How long have you been a student employee? Since May 7, 2025
What is your role in the department? I work as a facilities inventory assistant and GIS specialist, where I support project documentation, space and asset data management, and assist project teams with field verification, drawing coordination, and updates to campus facility records.

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to gain hands-on experience in construction management while applying my academic knowledge to real campus projects and learning from experienced professionals in the field.

What do you like best about working in your department? I enjoy working on real-world projects that directly impact the campus environment, collaborating with project teams, and gaining practical experience in documentation, coordination, and facility management systems. It has also given me the opportunity to interact with professionals from different backgrounds, learn from their experiences, and better understand my own career goals.

Bahulika Bodige

Classification: Graduate student
Major: Construction management
Employing Department: Office of Space Management and Analysis
How long have you been a student employee? I have been working as a student employee for the past 7 months.

What is your role in the department? I work as a GIS Specialist, supporting campus planning and operations through mapping, data management, and spatial analysis. I create and update campus maps, maintain GIS datasets, and develop dashboards to improve data accuracy and support efficient decision-making.

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to gain hands-on experience while pursuing my graduate degree and apply my academic knowledge to real-world projects. This role allows me to strengthen my skills in GIS and construction planning while preparing for my professional career. 

What do you like best about working in your department? What I enjoy most is the opportunity to work on real-world planning projects and collaborate with a supportive team. I also like being able to enhance my technical skills in GIS while contributing to meaningful work.

Rekha Laxmi Sarojini Atluri

Classification: Graduate Student
Major: Engineering data science
Employing Department: Office of Space Management and Analysis
How long have you been a student employee? Since September 2025

What is your role in the department? As a graduate data analyst, I develop interactive Power BI dashboards and reports to support facilities planning and space management. I analyze large datasets, including space utilization data, and contributed to building the SUE (Space Utilization Efficiency) score report to evaluate usage patterns across campus. I also work on MP1 financial planning and automation using Excel and Power Query, creating structured models for forecasting and reporting. Additionally, I design graphs, visualizations, and presentations to communicate insights clearly to stakeholders and support data-driven decision-making.

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to gain hands-on experience by applying my academic knowledge in data science to real-world projects. This opportunity allows me to work on impactful initiatives like dashboards, reporting, and automation, while also developing my technical, analytical, and communication skills in a professional environment.

What do you like best about working in your department? I enjoy working in a collaborative and supportive environment where I can continuously learn and contribute to meaningful projects. I particularly value the opportunity to work on diverse tasks such as dashboards, SUE score reporting, MP1 financial modeling, and presentations, which help improve campus operations and decision-making. The team encourages growth, innovation, and knowledge sharing, making it a very rewarding experience.

Saahithi Sreekantham

Classification:
Major: Political science and English
Employing Department: Houston Public Media News Department
How long have you been a student employee? Since the start of the spring 2026 semester.
What is your role in the department? News intern

What made you want to be a student employee? I have always loved journalism and reporting; and joined because I wanted to be more involved in the larger Houston community's news and happenings.

What do you like best about working in your department? I love working at HPM because of the breadth of experiences I've had since joining. I've worked with and learned from incredible reporters, gained audio and digital editing skills, and met people from all walks of life that I never would have connected with without this employment. This has been one of the most rewarding internships I've ever had, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity.

Steven Maximilian McDonald

Classification: Senior
Major: Media production — sports production specialization
Employing Department: Houston Public Media Special Projects
How long have you been a student employee? Since the start of the spring 2026 semester.
What is your role in the department? Production assistant

What made you want to be a student employee? I have a personal connection with HPM and KUHF 88.7, and seeing the listed internship, I reached out to Fujio (Watanabe, manager, Media Production for Community Fundraising) to apply for the internship.

What do you like best about working in your department? Good colleague environment, and interesting extra work — going to the rodeo and visiting an artist's studio.

Eleazar Hernandez

Classification: Sophomore
Major: Construction management
Employing Department: Houston Public Media Major Gifts
How long have you been a student employee? This will be my second year.
What is your role in the department? I ensure all major gifts ranging from $1-$50,000 are counted for and received by the correct department while also ensuring guests and visitors are satisfied with their experience here at the local PBS and NPR station.

What made you want to be a student employee? Originally, I was looking for meaningful experiences that would help elevate the University of Houston. But as I started to look more into it, I realized the opportunity that is available to a student employee goes beyond just the University and really, it’s whatever you make it to be! 

What do you like best about working in your department? Always being able to interact with someone new that you may have thought you would never be able to speak with, especially since we always have guests and visitors working or visiting the station.

Elizabeth Chan

Classification: Senior
Major: Computer science
Employing Department: Houston Public Media Strategic Advancement
How long have you been a student employee? I have been a student employee for four years, beginning when I was a freshman.
What is your role in the department? I have a flexible role. For example, I might be handling the data analytics of an event or making sure the documents of a meeting are in order. My role has allowed me to contribute to many different projects in the department.

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to help my parents by paying for the college tuition myself while also gaining valuable experience.  

What do you like best about working in your department? The people in my department. I like being involved in different parts of my department and working with the amazing people in it. They taught me about many areas I never knew existed until I started my current job.

Sara-Michelle Tsai

Classification: Junior
Major: Media production
Employing Department: Houston Public Media Special Projects
How long have you been a student employee? Since the start of the spring 2026 semester.
What is your role in the department? Intern

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to see how a professional media production department operated, and the opportunity to use and learn the equipment was exciting as well.

What do you like best about working in your department? Being able to participate in productions and on set, and having a great learning environment to better my skills and knowledge. 

Zoe Brown

Classification: Freshman
Major: Media production
Employing Department: Houston Public Media Strategic Advancement
How long have you been a student employee? Since the start of the spring 2026 semester.
What is your role in the department? News intern.

What made you want to be a student employee? I want to inspire children from all over the world to be successful and have a positive impact on their lives.

What do you like best about working in your department? I like writing thank you letters for the people who donated to the station and improving to keep Houston a safe place.

Anna Monroe

Classification: Senior
Major: Journalism
Employing Department: Houston Public Media Newsrooom
How long have you been a student employee? Five months
What is your role in the department? Strategic department advancement assistant

What made you want to be a student employee? I saw this as a great opportunity to grow my skills in my career and build connections.

What do you like best about working in your department? I love the hands-on experience I get in the newsroom and on the radio. The people here are experts in their field, so no question of mine goes unanswered.

Janayla Breaux

Classification: Freshman
Major: Computer Science
Employing Department: Univeristy Information Technology
How long have you been a student employee? Six months
What is your role in  the department? Office of the CIO Student Office Assistant

What made you want to be a student employee? I wanted to become a student employee to gain some real work experience and start supporting myself while being in school.

What do you like best about working in your department? What I like most is being in a professional setting where I can use my tech skills to help with daily tasks. I also enjoy the positive and welcoming environment which makes me feel comfortable working around adults and upper administration. It’s helped me grow, become more independent, and connect what I’m studying in computer science to a real workplace.

Daniel Luciano

Classification: Senior
Major: Computer information systems
Employing Department: Technology Services & Support
How long have you been a student employee? Two years, eight months
What is your role in the department? As an IT net ops student assistant, I assist the UIT network analysts and technicians with auditing, maintaining, and expanding the campus network.

What made you want to be a student employee? Prior to working for UIT, I had no professional experience working in tech, so I thought it would be a good foundation during my time at UH.

What do you like best about working in your department? I get to explore all of the different parts of campus. I've seen really cool areas within the main campus and have also gotten to work at the other campuses. UH has some really cool hidden locations.

Briahna Owdley

Classification: Sophmore
Major: Psychology
Employing Department: University Information Technology
How long have you been a student employee? One year and two months
What is your role in the department? OCIO (Office of the CIO) Student Office Assistant and Web & Content Creator

What made you want to be a student employee?  I wanted to be a student employee because I need to support myself while in school, but I also wanted a job that understands I’m a student first. It also gives me exposure to different resources on the campus, being involved and being an active participant in the UH community.

What do you like best about working in your department? The environment is very friendly and makes me feel comfortable working around many other adults and upper administration. It also satisfies my desire to help out in an office setting, as I am tech-savvy and like using my skills to support day-to-day tasks.