This post is part of a series focusing on Student Affairs work-study students who became full-time Student Affairs employees. SAIT User Support Specialists Cameron LeCrone and Harry Seong are featured in this post.
When Harry Seong was a junior Biology major at Northwestern, he started a work-study job at Student Affairs Information Technology. While he liked fixing computers at home, he had little knowledge on SAIT when he began the job.
He quickly started picking up skills while on the job on technology and client service.
Three years later, Seong is now a Northwestern graduate and full-time SAIT User Support Specialist. He is one of multiple work-study students that transitioned into full-time staff after graduation.
“The bulk of my skills I learned here at SAIT as a work-student student,” said Seong, a class of 2013 graduate. “It’s been such a growing experience to work here with people that saw me transition from a student to a professional.”
At SAIT, staff members deal with the 400-500 computers within Student Affairs. They help manage online applications and largely work in troubleshooting/computer issues.
Seong works in helping solve computer issues with users. Like Seong, Cameron LeCrone got his start at SAIT as a work-study student.
LeCrone, also a User Support Specialist, started his work-study job as a freshman. As a work-study student, he worked in Tier 1 support, which is the first line of response when users have a computer issue. His role as a student employee was to learn troubleshooting skills and perform simple fixes.
“My time as a student was great because I got such a well-rounded education,” said LeCrone, a class of 2014 graduate. “Liberal arts education in the classroom, but then I was learning about technology and its applications through SAIT.”
LeCrone is currently the manager for the work-study students, a role that Seong passed on to him just last month. As manager, LeCrone has to ensure that the student employees have the best training to deal with user support.
“It was a weird transition from being a student to becoming manager of the students,” Seong said. “But ultimately, the students were so supportive and we built strong relationships from the work we did together.”
Seong and LeCrone both feel that they have had a smooth transition into full-time staff. They attribute it to the unconditional support they have received from the department staff.
“SAIT really trains students in technology,” LeCrone said. “The background they get here really helps in future jobs, which can be seen in the great jobs our senior work-study students have lined up and my own experience becoming a Northwestern employee.”