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Campus Life and the Division of Student Affairs held the Scarlet and Gray Awards at the Beverly Country Club this Tuesday to recognize outstanding student workers and leaders.
The annual celebration is dedicated to these students and highlights their achievements completed throughout the year. Samantha Maher Sheahan, Assistant Dean of Students, explains what the Scarlet and Gray Awards are and who is involved in its annual production.
“The Scarlet and Gray Awards is an annual program that is put on by the Division of Students Affairs […] to celebrate and honor all the work that students do, that staff and faculty do as advisors, that student workers and [others] do and contribute [to SXU], to recognize them and thank them for the work they do throughout the year,” said Sheahan.
Students invited to the Scarlet and Gray awards include student workers, student leaders, and RSO officers, including students from all areas of the university.
The Learning Center, Student Success Program, Student Employees, Student Ambassadors, Student Ministry, Student Media, Residence Life, Campus Life are of the many areas that students may be represented and awarded.
At the time of press, Campus Life was expecting to see around 200 people in attendance for the awards, where many organizations will be represented. In addition to their traditional awards, Sheahan explains that there are additional awards added each year.
“Every year we add something to it, so this year we have added the Student Employee of the Year Award, and that’s for anybody who’s employed as a student employee at the University […] and we also added some Registered Student Organization (RSO) Awards. We have Officer of the Year and a Collaboration Award for student organizations that collaborated together,” said Sheahan.
Sheahan also describes a few of the other awards given to notable SXU students at the ceremony.
“The Cougar Spirit Award […] goes to the student who is an outstanding first or second year who really embodies the spirit of SXU. There’s the Dean of Students Award for Servant Leadership which is given to someone who […] is always acting in service to others. Then there’s the Vice President Award for Student Leadership which is a larger award for [the student’s] contributions over [their] whole time [at SXU], usually given to a junior or senior,” said Sheahan.
Beforehand, the nominees will receive a letter specifying that they have been nominated for an award. Even if they do not win the day of the awards, they will still receive a certificate for their achievement.
“All of the nominees get invited [and receive a] certificate saying that they were nominated, and then the award winners all find out when they get to the [awards ceremony],” said Sheahan.
For Sheahan, there are many aspects of the ceremony that are very important to not only the students, but Saint Xavier University as a whole.
“I think it’s important to be able to recognize the work that students do because students do so many things. They’re not just students, but oftentimes they are athletes, they’re volunteers, [or] they have families. So they’re doing all these things, so we’re able to say that, in addition to all of these things, you’ve made a substantial contribution to the SXU community […] and you’ve gone above and beyond and really given a lot of yourself, and we really appreciate that,” said Sheahan.
For Sheahan, the awards represent a way to end the year on a good note and congratulate those who have accomplished something throughout the course of the academic year.
“It’s a good way to celebrate each other and the achievements of the year. It’s also a very nice way to end the year on such a positive, uplifting note before folks go away for the summer,” said Sheahan.
Sheahan mentioned her favorite parts of the ceremony and the support seen throughout the night.
“My favorite part is the way the students in the room support one another when people win. People are so great and they really […] value the work and the contributions [of other students]. I love that students nominate others […] for awards. Some staff and faculty will nominate students, but it’s when students nominate other students […] that speaks a lot to […] their peers [because] they want to recognize them,” said Sheahan.
Julie Gardner
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