Mentoring Student Workers in PSO

Professional Development Session 1

Student workers play a critical role in supporting PSO operations while also gaining early professional experience. This session explores how PSO staff can move beyond task supervision to intentional mentoring, helping student employees build the skills, confidence, and habits needed for long-term success.

Participants will examine practical strategies for integrating student workers into meaningful aspects of daily work, including opportunities for communication, problem-solving, and client interaction. The session will also highlight how today’s students prefer to learn and receive feedback, with an emphasis on creating structured, supportive environments that promote growth while maintaining operational efficiency.

Through examples from across UGA, participants will leave with actionable approaches to developing student employees in ways that strengthen both individual outcomes and the broader PSO mission.

Learning outcomes:

Identify opportunities to intentionally develop student workers’ professional skills (e.g., communication, accountability, leadership) within daily PSO operations
Apply practical strategies to engage student employees in meaningful, real-world work experiences, including appropriate client interaction
Adapt mentoring and supervision approaches to align with how today’s students learn, receive feedback, and build professional confidence

Speaker:

Josh Podvin, Assistant Director for Community Partnerships, Office of Service-Learning

As assistant director for community partnerships at the Office of Service-Learning, Podvin plays a key role in collaborating with local communities. Podvin supports the Engage Georgia platform, promotes partnerships with local communities, and coordinates communication and support of community partners, special projects and days of service. He has previous experience as the coordinator for Experience UGA, where he facilitated field trips to the UGA campus for over 13,000 students in the Clarke County School District. Additionally, Podvin spent nine years serving as the senior coordinator for the Center for Student Organizations and National Student Exchange Program. He holds a master’s degree in landscape architecture from UGA. Podvin also holds a master’s in higher education from Arizona State University, and a bachelor’s in German, English and theatre from Wittenberg University.

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Session 1

Session 2

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