Three working learners honored with VCU Student Employee of the Year Awards

By Konrad Solberg

For more than 3,000 students, Virginia Commonwealth University is a place not just to learn but to work - and their collective footprint spans the breadth of campus.

Across roughly 50 major business units, and supervised by several hundred faculty and staff, the students - known as working learners - maintain vital resources, support peers academically and help build a sense of community. For 2026, three of them were honored recently with Student Employee of the Year Awards, in recognition of their impact at VCU and beyond.

The awards program, which was introduced in 2025, is administered by VCU Career Services and the Student Employment Action Team. This recognition effort aligns with VCU Work+, an initiative designed to transform on-campus student employment beyond administrative tasks and into meaningful, career building learning experiences.

Here are the three honorees for 2026, who were recognized during National Student Employment Week in mid-April.

Emma Biniyam Toggia: Art and community

Slated to graduate in spring 2027, Toggia works as an education assistant at the Institute for Contemporary Art while double-majoring in urban and regional studies/planning as well as homeland security and emergency preparedness in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

As part of the ICA team, she manages community-focused projects, working with partners such as Oakwood Arts to connect local communities to art and the ICA.

"The arts and culture are the roots of any community," Toggia said. "People come here while they're on the clock, but they're not talking about work. They're talking about how beautiful the flowers or art are. So I see myself as a connector helping bring people to this, a bridge."

Toggia's supervisor at the ICA, administrative coordinator Hala Al-Tinawi, Ed.D., said her protégé made an immediate and lasting impact as soon as she joined the team.

"Emma does not wait to be asked. She walks into a space, sees what needs to be done and immediately steps in to help," Al-Tinawi said. "Emma has an incredible ability to make people feel seen and valued. She leaves every space better than she found it."

Jayden Stanley: The user experience

When a technology leader at VCU Libraries retired last year, a daunting challenge loomed: a backlog of repairs for makerspace and multimedia equipment. But Jayden Stanley stepped up.

"I took a lot of the responsibility on. Without that, I knew we would kind of fall apart," said Stanley, who graduated this spring from the School of the Arts with a degree in craft and materials studies.

Her impact in the Workshop - which provides hardware, software, spaces and expertise to help the VCU community produce creative work - was so significant that VCU Libraries created the role of technical assistant for her. Stanley helped direct equipment repairs, inventory organization and the upgrading of 3D printers.

Noting that artists must develop self-initiative, Stanley credits her studio background as the source of her hands-on resilience. Her supervisor, Oscar Keyes, Ph.D., multimedia teaching and learning librarian, said the VCU community benefitted from Stanley's resolve as the creative technologies department entered a transition period.

"Jayden really rose to the challenge of this past year," Keyes said, noting that her work extended beyond the technology. "She's taken on everything from … helping onboard new staff and supporting student staff training, and she regularly leads workshops and trainings for our studios and makerspace equipment."

Danielle Hall: Academics and accountability

For Danielle "Dani" Hall, academic coaching is about more than helping students study. It's about holistic support.

Hall is pursuing her master's in school counseling in the School of Education, with graduation planned in spring 2027, and she works within the Academic Progress Program at the VCU Campus Learning Center. She describes a large part of her role as "accountability partner" for vulnerable student populations, including upperclassmen repeating tough foundational courses and first-year students on academic warning.

"I am always looking at the longevity of how we can make sure something sticks with people," Hall said. "So right now, I'm working on a project to help future academic coaches make sure we can continue providing a level of support that is consistent."

Over six semesters as both a peer and graduate coach, Hall noticed that many students needed social and emotional support as much as academic. She has managed more than 300 individual coaching appointments with more than 40 regular students, helping many pass classes they previously failed.

Her Campus Learning Center supervisor, senior academic coach Sara Rafuse, Ed.D., said one of Hall's strengths is making students feel safe and validated.

"In my observations of Dani and the feedback we received about her, over and over again I saw students talk about how Dani believed in them," Rafuse said, "and how that belief shaped their experience and trajectory at VCU."