Recognizing Student Leaders

The 21st Student Leadership Recognition
Awards program has added several new awards, which foster and reinforce student leadership development on campus and in the community. These new awards have been added thanks to sponsorship from several UW-Eau Claire staff members through gifts to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation’s Campus Campaign.

The new awards and their sponsors are:
Chancellor’s Leadership Award; Residence
Hall Leadership Award, sponsored by the Housing and Residence Life staff; Contribution to Community Award, sponsored by Jodi and Scott Thesing-Ritter in memory of their daughter, Makena; Giraffe Leadership Award: Sticking One’s Neck Out for Social Justice, sponsored by Beth Hellwig, vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students at UW-Eau Claire, in honor of her son, Ryan Olson; Outstanding New Leader Award, sponsored by the family of Kimera Way, executive director of the UW-Eau Claire Foundation; and the New Student Organization Award, sponsored by University Centers.

The added awards include more recognition for service-learning and community involvement and new leadership development that was lacking in previous years, said Angela Bong, student leadership and organization coordinator.

“In the past, the awards did not do enough to recognize students who go above and beyond their requirement for service-learning and provide valuable volunteer time to the community,” Bong said. “The awards also tended to go mostly to upper classmen and established organizations and did not recognize new organizations or students who got involved early in their college careers.”

The new awards expand the program from five award categories to 10 and the
number of awards made from nine to 12. Students do so many incredible things we wanted the opportunity to recognize and honor more of the things they do,”
Bong said.