Five days a week, right at the crack of dawn, Charity Nebbe runs the WOI radio sound board, produces a morning radio show and performs a comedy skit called “Coffee with the Classics.”

It was this “creative and intelligent contribution” to WOI Radio that caused Nebbe to be named Iowa State University Student Employee of the Year.

Not only has she captured this title, but has also won the state of Iowa student employee competition. She will also be competing in the Midwest Student Employment Association.

The 21-year-old Nebbe, a political science major, was chosen out of 47 ISU student employees for the award based on the qualities of reliability, quality of work, initiative and professionalism, said Janie Barnett, ISU enrollment services advisor.

Besides these qualities, “the committee goes on the uniqueness of [the student’s] contribution,” Barnett said.

Outside her job description of “board operator,” Nebbe has taken on additional duties at the station.

“Charity has gone above and beyond what most students do at WOI. [Nebbe] has done progressively more senior work in producing and comment,” said Rick Lewis, WOI Radio general manager.

Nebbe starts at 5:30 a.m. and works until 8:30 a.m. At about 6 a.m., Nebbe runs the sound board and microphones and picks out the tapes and CDs for the morning show, “Morning Report.”

“I also pick out all the segments and lead-ins for the morning show,” she said.

“[Nebbe] does a variety of things, including a segment called ‘Coffee with the Classics,’ which is a lot of fun,” Lewis said.

“We take a section from some book, sometimes a classic, sometimes not, that we dramatize. Then we have a multiple choice test and people can call in to guess what book we’re reading,” Nebbe said.

Every other Tuesday, Nebbe is a commentator on “Iowa Voices,” a show that is sometimes humorous, and often political.

“Iowa Voices” highlights Iowans like David Yepsen, the Des Moines Register political reporter, and Michael Gartner, owner of the Ames Daily Tribune and former president of NBC News.

Commenting on public radio has fueled Nebbe’s interest in political science.

“I love public radio. It’s really the root of my political interest. Public radio covers the whole world in an unbiased, unconstrained way,” Nebbe said.

“A variety of students were nominated” for the award, Barnett said. “It’s exciting to acknowledge and have have employers acknowledge employees that go above and beyond the call of duty.”

Honorable mentions for the award were given to: Matthew Burns, Anne Dunn, Stacy Robb and Becky Schmitz.

Burns, a senior in industrial engineering, is a resident assistant for Bergman House in new RCA. Dunn, a senior in biology, is a research assistant for the animal science department.

Robb, a senior in mechanical engineering, is an office co-manager of the Energy Analysis Office of the Center for Building Energy Research, and Schmitz, a senior in English, is a research assistant for the philosophy/religious studies department.

The ISU Student Employee of the Year award is part of the seventh annual Student Employment Week. An open house will be held all week in room 7 of Beardshear Hall for all ISU employees.