Student Activities and Leadership Development (SALD) will host the second Student Leadership Awards on Thursday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Latour Room of the Nazareth Student Center.

Magician Ben Seidman, who has appeared on various national television shows, is hosting the ceremony.

SALD Assistant Director Michael Kalage is spearheading the event for the second year. Kalage said he was pleasantly surprised with the number of nominations and overall turnout of the event last year and is anticipating even more participation and a bigger turnout for this year’s event.

The awards are as follows: Sr. Mary Persico Emerging Leader of the Year, Outstanding Senior Leader, Student Organization of the Year, Advisor of the Year, Most Improved Student Organization, Pacer Pride Award, Outstanding Graduate Student, Sr. John Award for Acceptance and Inclusion, Community Service Award, Award for Exceptional Leadership in Athletics, Program of the Year and the Fishbowl Award. Explanations detailing the criteria for each award can be found on Marywood’s website.

The selection committee of Marywood faculty and staff increased in members, going from last year’s 26 members to 45 members this year. The day after nominations are due, the committee members will receive an email detailing each nominee and then send back their selections.

The deadline to send in nominations is Thursday, March 8. To nominate yourself, a classmate, teammate, advisor, colleague or an organization, email [email protected] with the name of the award and nominee in the subject line. Include the nominee’s email address in the body, along with an attached one-page nomination letter.

On the same day, the induction of nearly 200 students into the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) will take place directly before the Leadership Awards in the Latour Room from 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.

SALD Director Kimberly Coleman said she sees the work students put in on a daily basis and feels that the Leadership Awards are a good way to show students that their work isn’t going unnoticed.

Kalage said he hopes the awards will help empower students to keep working hard.

“Recognition isn’t the most important thing and [students] should be working hard regardless of whether they’re getting the public recognition or not, but we hope it’s just a nice added bonus and keeps them motivated to keep up the good work,” said Kalage.

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