The Student Life Achievement Awards, more commonly known as the STUEY’s, are a hallmark of the NSU experience. Each year the awards recognize students, staff, student organizations, athletic teams, corporate partners and NSU alumni for their achievements and contributions to the NSU community.
As Christina Rajkumar-Castillo, the associate director of Campus Life & Student Engagement, described, the STUEY’s are NSU’s version of the Oscars and are a way to acknowledge all of the people that make NSU a great place to be.
“It’s a great way to recognize a lot of the hard work and the great accomplishments that many of our staff, our students, our student clubs and organizations and even people that we work within our community have made to the university. This is a great way to recognize some of those efforts. I think it serves as a great motivation for many others to continue to do the great work that they do and strive to do even better, especially when it comes to fulfilling the mission and goals of NSU,” said Rajkumar-Castillo.
Each year, nominees for the awards are selected based on how well they fulfill the core values of NSU: academic excellence, student centered, integrity, innovation, opportunity, scholarship/research, diversity and community. All current students, staff or faculty members can submit nominations for the award. Rajkumar-Castillo encourages individuals to nominate people who embody NSU’s core values.
“If anyone wants to submit a nomination, now’s the time to do it for someone they really believe deserves to be nominated and recognized for the work that they do,” she said.
After nominations close, a nomination committee made up of members representing each award area will review the nominations and move forward a candidate who represents their area. The top five candidates in each category will be announced as the finalists and the winner of the award will be announced during the award ceremony.
Due to COVID-19, like last year’s event, the awards ceremony will take place virtually on April 13. Rajkumar-Castillo explained that, like last year, there are plans in the works to promote the event in the preceding weeks as well as on Instagram live, where, before the event, some of the finalists will be interviewed about their nomination.
Aquisha Powell, the president of Freedom Sharks and winner of last year’s NSU undergraduate student organization of the year, explained that winning the award was a great accomplishment for her organization.
“Winning the [STUEY award] was an amazing opportunity for Freedom Sharks. As a small organization, we dive into each opportunity to put ourselves ‘out there’ on campus. Being awarded Undergraduate Student [Organization] of the Year boosted our camaraderie amongst members,” said Powell.
If anyone you know embodies what it means to be an NSU shark, consider nominating them for the Student Life Achievement Awards. Nominations for the awards close on Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. and can be made on the Campus Life and Student Engagement website under the events tab. For more information about the event, visit the Campus Life and Student Engagement page on NSU’s website.
