Jane Cai was named Brigham Young University's 2026 Student Employee of the Year, with students Miranda Hulme earning second place and Jackson Guthrie third.
Each year, BYU faculty and staff nominate student employees who go above and beyond in their campus roles for the award. A committee selects three finalists to be recognized during Student Employee Appreciation Week.
Cai earned first place for the impact she made during nearly four years at BYU’s Office of Information Technology.
She began as a call agent resolving issues such as password resets and account access, before advancing to senior analyst and student supervisor, helping employees troubleshoot complex problems and respond to campuswide technology incidents.
“I have loved learning how to analyze a situation and troubleshoot the problem in order to get to the core issue,” Cai said. “From there, we’re able to figure out lasting solutions.”
In addition to supporting users, Cai worked on internal projects that improved office operations.
When the technical support center merged with BYU’s operator services, she helped develop training to prepare employees on both teams for the transition.
Cai also helped the office take over support for Brightspot, BYU’s website publishing system used across campus.
She worked with engineers to learn the platform, reorganize documentation and create training materials so other employees could better assist users encountering issues with the system.
“If you care about the work you’re doing, you naturally want to make things better,” Cai said. “It’s so important to take initiative.”
Cai’s initiative and curiosity prompted her manager, Levi Antoine, to nominate her for the award.
“Technology changes every day,” Antoine said. “Because of that, Jane constantly works with the full-time engineers in order to create new trainings and roll those trainings out to the floor … she is always looking for ways to make the team better and make the user experience better.”
Miranda Hulme, the second place recipient, is being recognized for her work in the BYU Marriott School Dean’s Office supporting accounting and financial operations across the college.
During the past three years, Hulme has worked on several major projects, including designing and conducting internal audits for Marriott School departments, reviewing financial documentation and identifying areas where processes could be improved.
Hulme also used programming skills she learned in the accounting program to build a Python tool that combines large financial reports after BYU’s transition to Workday.
The tool allows the office to generate complex reports in minutes instead of manually combining multiple spreadsheets.
“All the things I’ve done at my job have been really cool because I have been able to apply what I’ve learned in school,” Hulme said. “If I see a problem or something that could work better, I try to figure out a solution before anyone even has to ask.”
Jackson Guthrie, the third-place recipient, was recognized for his work in the BYU Electrical and Computer Engineering department’s EPICenter, a campus workspace where students design and build electronics projects.
During his two years working in the shop, Guthrie became the primary operator of the center’s printed circuit board milling machine, which produces prototype circuit boards used in research and student projects.
When the machine frequently malfunctioned due to poor documentation from the manufacturer, Guthrie systematically tested the system, documented common problems and created detailed instructions for other employees.
The documentation and training materials Guthrie created allowed the EPICenter team to continue producing circuit boards for students and researchers without interruption.
“We all just want to help each other,” Guthrie said. “Whether it’s a student project or a research design, everyone here works together to figure out how to make it happen.”
The three finalists represent the many unique ways student employees contribute across campus, from improving technical systems to supporting financial operations and advancing engineering projects.
University leaders said the award reveals the impact students can have while developing skills that prepare them for their future.