2026 Student Employee of the Year awards announced

The University of Georgia’s annual Student Employee of the Year Awards luncheon hosted by the UGA Career Center took place on April 8 in the Tate Student Center Grand Hall. The event honored 100 outstanding student employees, nominated by their supervisors. Special recognition was given to the graduate and undergraduate Student Employees of the Year, runners-up and the winning student employee team. 

Riya Pandya, a fourth-year financial planning and business administration double major from Griffin is UGA’s 2026 Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year thanks to her work as a residential supervisor at the UGA Summer Academy with Jeffrey Mitchell, director of youth programs at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel. 

“She performed at a professional level while remaining a student herself and made transformational contributions when given responsibility and trusted with discretionary authority,” Mitchell said. “Riya represents the very best of what student employees contribute to the University of Georgia.”