Newman’s Emily Evans wins ‘Employee of the Year Award’
Emily Evans is currently studying towards her Masters in Integrative Psychotherapy (Adult and Child and Adolescent Dual Qualification) at Newman University, Birmingham. As well as studying towards her postgraduate qualification, Emily is currently working at Newman Health & Wellbeing; a counselling and psychotherapy service for the local community, situated on the university campus.
Emily, who works as a Child and Adolescent Clinical Case Manager, was nominated for Student Employee of the Year in the Step up to Leadership category by her manager, Colette Lewis who is the Clinical Manager of Newman Health & Wellbeing. Student Employee of the Year (SEOTY) is run by the National Association of Student Employment Services (NASES) and works closely with university careers services including the careers service at Newman who are active members and promote the competition.
There were a number of factors which supported Emily’s nomination for the award including undertaking regular presentations to groups of volunteer student counsellors to inform them about their developments to their placement role; these presentations had the potential to be challenging as they involved counsellors working with clients in a time-limited way, which some counsellors can have concerns over, but Emily was able to deal with their reservations in a supportive, but resolute way. Emily also provided support to senior managers in schools that had recently committed to having a Newman Health & Wellbeing counsellor and informed them about the processes required for counselling to be introduced into the school.
Colette Lewis commented “Emily is highly committed to her work role, regularly working longer hours than required, being flexible with her availability and continuing to work up to her maternity leave, even with periods of significant morning sickness. She is very committed to the Newman Health & Wellbeing vision of supporting local communities and is keen to play her role in the development of the service, by being involved in new business presentations and as a facilitator for a newly launched workshop service. During Emily’s time in the role there has been a significant increase in number of child referrals as we are now able to offer a faster response to client demand in a professional way.”
Due to her excellent work ethic, Emily was awarded the winner of Student Employee of the Year 2018 in the Step up to Leadership category and is the regional winner for all universities across the Midlands, a first for Newman University.
Colette Lewis commented: “We are all delighted that Emily has won this award, and is now entered into the National finals. Emily has made a huge difference to the lives of children with her dedication and professionalism, she has also helped Newman students who are on placement to feel supported in their important therapeutic work with young people.”
As a result of this fantastic achievement, Emily will now be in the running for the national award which is set to be announced on 5th July in Cardiff.
Emily said “When I received the call to say that I was a winner, I was really surprised – I had no idea I had been nominated! I felt really proud that my manager had put my work forward and that it had been recognised by both the team here at Newman and SEOTY. Developing the young person’s side of Newman Health & Wellbeing has been extremely rewarding – not only in terms of the work that has been carried out with vulnerable young people within the service, but also in having established therapeutic services within several schools. Mental health is gaining a higher profile, but funding to support the demand is not always available. Newman Health & Wellbeing fills this gap by providing quality counselling at an affordable price – meaning more young people can access help and be supported through difficult times.”
Newman congratulates Emily on her award and wishes her luck for the national finals next month.