Pascuzzo gains experience through multiple student employment opportunities

Nov. 2, 2022 | By Karissa Rickman, communication assistant

With an internationally benchmarked student employment program to supplement the myriad profession-based experiences Northwest Missouri State University offers its students, Martina Pascuzzo has taken advantage of those opportunities to prepare for her career.

Martina Pascuzzo (Photos by Lauren Adams/Northwest Missouri State University)

“I chose each of my campus jobs strategically as I saw them as an opportunity to explore different aspects of my personality and career paths as well as to better understand the University,” Pascuzzo said. “Thanks to my experience, I can say and show I’m adaptable to various environments and teams. I’ll always be grateful for the offices that allowed me to adapt the position to my career goals and needs, thus providing excellent hands-on experience for my future.”

Northwest offers 1,200 student employment positions on its Maryville campus that help students build professional skills. Pascuzzo, a senior from Argentina who is majoring in interactive digital media with an emphasis in new media, has worked within seven different campus offices since arriving at the University.

She has gained experience as a photojournalist with The Northwest Missourian student newspaper and a project assistant for Textbook Services. This fall, she works with Career Services on its social media platforms and as a career ambassador in addition to managing social media and working as a graphic designer for the Learning and Teaching Center.

Martina Pascuzzo works on a project in the Learning and Teaching Center where she is a graphic designer this fall.

Last year, she provided valuable support to the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (IRE) as a data analyst – work that led to her recognition as Northwest’s 2022 Student Employee of the Year.

Dr. Egon Heidendal, who serves as interim vice president of culture and oversees the IRE office, nominated Pascuzzo for the award in recognition of her hard work and dedication to the IRE team.

While working in the IRE office during the fall 2021 semester, Pascuzzo wanted to learn more about one of its analytical tools, Tableau. She shared her interest with Heidendal, looking for a project that would help her professional career and increase her chances of finding a meaningful job after graduation. The project involved rebuilding the dashboards Northwest used to monitor COVID-19 case data for Nodaway County and the University. Through Pascuzzo’s work, the dashboards were launched a month ahead of schedule.

“This mammoth task had prior been a challenge to the full-time staff, but Martina was determined to make the project a success,” Heidendal wrote in his nomination of her.  

Pascuzzo's Northwest involvement also includes the Adink advertising club and roles as secretary and vice president with the International Student Organization, a peer mentor with Lead Green, and a peer leader with Summer Orientation Advisement and Registration (SOAR).

As she plans to complete her bachelor’s degree next spring, Pascuzzo is deciding whether to further her education by pursuing a master’s degree or launching her professional career.

“Across all my experiences, from my first job in student publications to my current roles in Career Services and the Learning and Teaching Center, I can say I’ve grown and learned different transferable skills, not only for my future career but also for my personal development,” Pascuzzo said. “Each one of them was a unique challenge that required a specific skill set, which I learned to develop through my supervisors and peers, and always showed a willingness to improve.”