The UC Davis Student Recognition awards are given out each year in order to recognize outstanding students on campus.
The Mary Jeanne Gilhooly Award, established in 1942, and the Veloyce Glenn Winslow Jr. Award, established 1966, are for outstanding graduating senior woman and man, respectively. The Margarita Robinson Student Leadership Award, established 1982, is for outstanding juniors.
“The awards are in place to recognize students who have made a significant contribution through participation in campus or community service,” said Laura Hall, associate director of Campus Recreation, in an e-mail interview. “Evidence of socially responsible, ethical and outstanding leadership either in specific positions of responsibility or while engaged in service activities are indicators of a nominee’s qualifications for the award.”
Staff, faculty and other students can nominate students for these awards or they can self-nominate. Once they have been nominated and the Student Affairs Vice Chancellor’s Office has confirmed that they meet the GPA requirements, the nominees are sent an application. The Winslow and Gilhooly awards require a 3.0 average GPA, and the Robinson award requires a 2.5 average.
“It’s treated like a job interview,” said Ellen Yoshimura, office manager in the Student Affairs Vice Chancellor’s Office. “[A committee] screen through nominations, then it’s narrowed down to an interview, then they make a final selection. It’s a competitive process.”
Hall chairs the committee that decides the winner of the Margarita Robinson award.
“They actually spend a lot of time reading through the applications,” said Don Ho, recipient of the Margarita Robinson Student Leadership Award in 2011. “The selection committee does a good job of trying to find a good balance between being very strong academically and what they’ve done for the community.”
The winners of the senior awards receive a small gift, a $500 check and a plaque at graduation. The winner of the junior award gets a small gift and a $100 check. All the winners are treated to a luncheon with the vice chancellor and the chancellor if she is also available.
“I really think this is one of the few opportunities where students who do a lot for the campus can get some recognition for it,” Ho said.
The deadline for nominations and applications for these awards is Monday, Feb. 13.
AKSHAYA RAMANUJAM can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
