For the second time in six years, one of Marquette’s own has been named National Student Employee of the Year.

Travis Huhn, a senior in the College of Engineering, won the award, given by the National Student Employment Association, for his work with Marquette’s Student Safety Programs.

Huhn first started working for SSP during his freshman year. He was recommended to apply for a safety patroller position by a friend who was a supervisor there at the time.

Huhn got the job, and advanced over the course of 3 1/2 years to safety patrol trainer, supervisor and his current position of student employment coordinator, responsible for the hiring and coordinating of student employees’ schedules.

He also manages the SharePoint websites for both SSP and of Department of Public Safety. The websites allow users to check work schedules and find replacements if necessary.

“DPS really liked what I did with the SSP SharePoint site, so they asked me to design theirs,” Huhn said.

Huhn applied his knowledge as a computer engineering major to his job at SSP. His supervisor, Sgt. Daniel Kolosovsky, said this really makes him a standout employee.

“Travis has demonstrated true ownership and pride in the program,” Kolosovsky said.

Before his recognition as National Student Employee of the Year, Huhn earned separate honors from DPS, Marquette, the region and the state.

But his award did not come without sacrifice and dedication to his job.

“Without a doubt, the most difficult part of this job is the time commitment,” Huhn said. “Right now, I’m balancing 30-hour weeks with 18 engineering credits.”

Because of the nature of the job, Huhn must motivate LIMO drivers and safety patrollers to come to work during difficult hours.

“We’re all students, so I have to sympathize with them,” he said. “No one wants to drive around drunk people on a Saturday night.”

But Huhn’s leadership encourages students to make the sacrifice and come to work, even when they have to deal with “drunken tomfoolery,” according to one of his co-workers, David Dau.

Dau, a senior in the College of Education, has been working with SSP for 3 1/2 years, but began working closely with Huhn about a year ago.

“He is such a hard worker and knows what needs to be done in order to make the program better,” Dau said. “It has been an honor to go to battle with him.”

“If we are short-staffed, he will come in and work, even if he has a test,” Dau said. “I will definitely miss working with him.”

Huhn hopes to continue working with DPS in a slightly different manner. He applied for a job with IT Services at Marquette, where his main responsibility would be IT support for the department. He also plans to attend graduate school at Marquette.

As he reflected on his time at SSP and his national honor, Huhn said the most rewarding aspect of his job was the great sense of community among the staff members.

“It takes a special group of people to do what we do on Friday and Saturday nights and leave work laughing about it,” Huhn said.