Business Student Nathan Klosowski Recognized for Transportation Services Work
Image by Ed Brennen
Student Employee of the Year Nathan Klosowski poses with, from left, Candice Garabedian and Lauren Michaels of the Student Employment Office and his manager in Transportation Services, Karina Cruz.
04/17/2019
By Ed Brennen
Like many UML students, junior business administration major Nathan Klosowski is career-driven.
It just so happens that the career he’s driving for involves transportation and vehicles.
“I’ve always had an interest in transportation,” says Klosowski, who has developed that interest while in school by working part time in the Office of Transportation Services.
“Everything I’m doing there is really valuable for my future,” says Klosowski, whose concentration is in analytics and operations management. The Lowell native started as a shuttle bus driver two years ago and is now a coordinator and supervisor. “I’d like to focus on the operations and logistics of vehicles, so this has been the perfect experience.”
Klosowski was recently recognized for his outstanding work by being named UML’s Student Employee of the Year.
Each year, as part of National Student Employment Week, the offices of Student Employment and Financial Aid recognize the thousands of UML students who work while in school, either through the Federal Work-Study program or in departmental and off-campus positions.
Image by Ed Brennen
Student Employee of the Year nominees were recognized at a ceremony at University Crossing.
Employment supervisors are invited to nominate students for the award, which makes them eligible for state, regional and national student employee of the year honors.
This year, there were 25 nominations, the most that Manager of Student Employment Candice Garabedian can recall in the eight-year history of the award on campus.
“Student employment is a really important piece of their education,” says Garabedian, who, along with Job Location and Development Coordinator Lauren Michaels, recognized nominees and their supervisors at a ceremony at University Crossing. “Not only does it help them pay for school, but it teaches them skills they can use when they take that next step to a co-op or internship.”
Junior music business major Luis Diaz, who recently helped launch a new Money Management Mentors program through his work with Student Activities and Leadership, was first runner-up. Senior mechanical engineering major Emily Hatfield, who works as a tour guide for orientation and enrollment events, was second runner-up.
In his role with Transportation Services, Klosowski recently helped to institute a new in-house training program that enables student drivers to earn their commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). The program not only saves the university money by increasing efficiencies, but it also improves service to riders.
Image by Ed Brennen
Junior music major Luiz Diaz receives his runner-up award from Job Location and Development Coordinator Lauren Michaels.
“He took on the CDL program from the beginning and did a wonderful job,” says Manager of Parking and Transportation Karina Cruz, who nominated Klosowski for the award. “As soon as he started working in the office, he demonstrated leadership abilities. Any task he’s given, he accomplishes with ease.”
Klosowski learned about Transportation Services as a freshman, when he attended the office’s first “Drive-a-Shuttle” event, which lets students get behind the wheel of a shuttle bus (in a campus parking lot) and hopefully sparks an interest in working as a driver.
On a recent Sunday afternoon in the University Crossing parking lot, Klosowski was working as course supervisor for the event, hoping to find the office’s next wave of student employees.
“The whole transportation team is like one big family. It’s a very different working environment than anywhere else,” says Klosowski, who works around 20 hours a week.
Klosowski's days are busy and his job always involves new projects and tasks, which he knows is how it will soon be in the 9-to-5 working world.
“I feel well prepared to move on to the real world,” he says.
The other student employees nominated this year were:
Denver Heath (Lowell Public Schools), Kehinde Abegunde (Student Financial Services), Kellsie Howard (Manning School of Business), Tanisha Bury (Office of Student Affairs), Margaret Ritchie (Student Affairs Office), Apollos Ba (Political Science Department), Denzel Bogues (Office Services), Kelly Bradford (Manning School of Business), Emily Crossley (School of Nursing), Ailly De la Cruz (Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell), Daniel Fornaciari (Department of Art and Design), Luke Gagnon (Boys and Girls Club), Lily Getty (Office of Student Affairs), John Lesack (Manning School of Business), Victoria Mom (Financial Aid Office), Shawn Nagle (Office of Sustainability), Michael Pugatch (Manning School of Business), Michael Richard (Lydon Library), Joseph Rock (Campus Recreation), Christopher Romano (Office of Student Activities and Leadership), Bradley Sherwood (Tsongas Industrial History Center) and Danny Xu (Department of Computer Science).
Students can apply for jobs through the Student Employment Office at uml.edu/jobhawk.