The Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement will host the invitation-only Eighth Annual Student Leadership Awards on April 10 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the RecPlex Basketball Courts.
Lauren Soares, graduate assistant for leadership development and civic engagement, said that the ceremony recognizes leadership in the university community for the 2013-2014 academic year.
“It’s a good way to cap the year off,” she said.
In past years, the Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards were typically held close to the date of the Leadership Awards and, this year, the SLCE office decided to combine the two ceremonies.
“It’s all under that same leadership umbrella,” Soares said.
The awards will recognize student leaders from various student organizations, student employees, students who have participated in leadership programs, such as the Emerging Leaders
Experience throughout the year, and “unsung heroes” who have engaged in a lot of leadership activity.
Sorority and Fraternity leaders may be nominated for any of the awards, and three categories — Neophyte/New Member of the Year, Outstanding Sorority Woman of the Year and Outstanding Fraternity Man of the Year — are designated just for them.
Although Soares said that the minimum dress code is business casual, this year’s student organizers wanted to evoke an elegant atmosphere by selecting the theme “Bowties and Pearls.”
“We’re inviting students to dress a bit fancier, if they feel like it, though business casual is fine, too,” said Soares.
Any undergraduate student is eligible to be nominated for an award. Nominations were accepted for three weeks earlier this semester and a committee of five students selected the finalists for each category.
Committee members were appointed after submitting an application on OrgSync last semester and have met weekly since the end of last semester.
Finalists for each award received an email last week notifying them of the their selection and requesting their attendance at the ceremony. Anyone who nominated a finalist is also invited, along with students who have participated in leadership programs throughout the year.
Recipients of each award will be selected based on their demonstration of the university’s core values, their extracurricular activities, their academic record and the steps they have taken to develop a better sense of community at NSU. The student committee will present winners with a small trophy and winners will be recognized by the SLCE office in its monthly email newsletter.
Soares said, “We want to make sure that [student leaders are] participating [at NSU] in ways that are getting students involved and really building a sense of community,” Soares said, “We want to make sure that their achievements can really get out there in our newsletter in different areas, where we’re saying ‘Wow, you’ve really done a great job this year.’”
There will be a short reception before the ceremony at 4:15 p.m. with pastries, cookies and beverages.
Soares said that students should always keep an eye out for peers who are demonstrating quality leadership around campus and consider nominating them for next year’s awards.
For more information on the Leadership Awards, contact Soares at ls1801@nova.edu or stop by the SLCE office on the second floor of the Rosenthal Student Center.
