Yang Li, CGE Graduate Assistant and international student from China pursuing a doctorate in higher education, received FSU’s Tony DiBenedetto Student Employee of the Year Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the university.

The Tony DiBenedetto Student Employee of the Year Award is bestowed upon outstanding student employees who demonstrate strength, skill, and character while delivering exceptional customer service and going above and beyond the duties of their role. Each year one graduate and one undergraduate student are selected to win this prestigious award.

Li, who has served on the CGE’s programming team for the past two years, was nominated by her colleagues for her leadership, creativity, and dedication.

CGE Programs Coordinator Laura Dean, Li’s supervisor, praised her for helping the team adapt programming to best serve students during the pandemic as well as for being a driving force behind adapting the CGE’s 2020 International Student Climate Survey to focus on pandemic-specific needs.

“Given Yang’s background as an international student at FSU, she is keenly aware of creating an environment for others with genuine inclusivity and support in mind. She uses her own experience as a stepping stone for positively affecting those she serves and works alongside,” Dean said. “I whole-heartedly believe she will continue to contribute in significant ways to the international education field and further advance FSU’s diversity and inclusion values as she progresses in her Ph.D. program.”

Li demonstrates her commitment to student success by extending excellent service to everyone in our community on a daily basis. For example, during the pandemic there were many concerns brought up from Asian community members in Tallahassee regarding prejudice and discriminatory behavior. Li was an integral part of the CGE’s efforts to provide supportive listening sessions for our students, which resulted in multiple new initiatives to better serve students. Li contributed to many of the new initiatives but took a lead role in creating a library of video resources with campus partners that specifically spoke to the needs of our international student population.

"I'm honored to receive this award," Li said. "Professionally, this award indicates that efforts to promote international students' success in the U.S. are recognized on campus, and hopefully this marginalized group in higher education will continue to garner more attention. Personally, as an international student, I am genuinely thankful to be on staff at the Center for Global Engagement and to witness the care and concern for international students from every one of my colleagues.”

All awardees were honored during the Career Center’s 2021 Student Employee of The Year Award Virtual Ceremony on April 16. For more information about this year’s award-winning students, click here.