Levin Paulson, of Bridgeview, was named Moraine Valley Community College’s 2022 Student Employee of the Year by the college’s Job Resource Center, which oversees student employees.

Paulson is a clerical student employee in the Moraine Valley Library. A typical shift for Paulson includes interacting heavily with customers, checking out books and laptops for students, making sure hotspots are working, troubleshooting issues, making sure proper maintenance is done for laptops and assisting his coworkers.

“Every once in a blue moon, I will work a night shift at the Library, which means I get a chance to see Levin in action. Levin’s reputation precedes him as he is a personable, knowledgeable, all-around absolute joy to work with. We are lucky to have him on the team,” said John O’Reilly, Library assistant.

Paulson was born in India but grew up in Saudi Arabia, where he learned to speak English. His family moved back to India and eventually came to the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Paulson, a self-described introvert, took all his classes online through Moraine Valley. He wanted to get out of his comfort zone, so he got a job at the Library.

“Coming from India, everything is completely different. It is two opposite worlds. The Library has helped me get acclimated to working with others and has been a great first job for me,” said Paulson, who added the hands-on work with students has allowed him to hone his collaboration skills with other employees.

Paulson graduated in May, and he will pursue his bachelor’s degree in computer science at the University of Illinois Chicago.

“Levin has been a wonderful addition to the Library staff. He is a hard worker who is willing to take on new challenges. He is also an excellent teacher and helps instruct others on Library processes and procedures. I know we can reach out to him to share his knowledge and expertise with other staff. I expect he will be very successful in the IT field, and he will make an excellent supervisor in his future career,” said Terra Jacobson, dean of the Learning Resource Center.

Paulson would like to thank all members of the Library staff. “Adjusting to the new job was made possible by every coworker who helped me get acclimated and answered all my questions,” he said.

 

For news media inquiries, contact Jessica Crotty, assistant director of Communications, at (708) 974-5281 or crotty@morainevalley.edu.