Honoring Excellence in the University Community

Students, staff and faculty receive awards for their accomplishments and contributions.

April 21, 2014

GW Balance Dance Troupe

GW Balance, the student ballet troupe, performed to Beyonce's "I Was Here" and received the Students' Choice for Performance Group of the Year Award.

An air of celebration overtook the George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium as the lights rose on the stage signaling the start of the 29th annual Excellence in Student Life awards held on Wednesday evening.

The awards ceremony, presented by the Division of Student Affairs’ Administration and Hallmark Programs, highlighted the achievements of students, faculty and staff in building what University President Steven Knapp called “the life of our great university.”

“The Excellence in Student Life Awards celebrate students, faculty and staff who demonstrate pride in GW, achieve greatly in their organizations, serve as personal and academic mentors to others and show themselves to be inspirational leaders and champions of diversity and inclusion,” Director of Administration & Hallmark Programs Bridgette Behling said.

Dr. Knapp congratulated the more than 300 nominees, as he opened the program.

“Win or lose, your fellow students or colleagues have recognized you as someone who has really made a difference in the life of this institution,” Dr. Knapp said. “Tonight, we recognize the passion and commitment on the part of our students.”

The dynamic hosts of the evening, seniors Chelsea Lenhart and Matt Scott and junior Omeed Firouzi, invited students to “sit back, get comfy and raise high.”

The trio led the audience through the evening with a series of skits, from a staged “selfie” with the audience to rival Ellen DeGeneres’ infamous Academy Award photo to Ms. Lenhart comically dressed in a toga as Greek Woman of the Year.

Freshman Ian Tang took home the first award of the evening. His photo of the Washington Monument was selected as the winner of the #OnlyatGW contest.

Up next was the Honey Nashman Spark a Life Award, created to honor a faculty member who spurs the growth of a student or organization through positive mentoring. The 2014 winner was School of Media and Public Affairs Associate Professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Cheryl Thompson, who joined the university faculty in 2013.

Myles Surrett, program coordinator for GW TRAiLS, Adventure Bound and SUMMIT in the Center for Student Engagement, received the Robert A. Chernak Spark a Life Award for the inspiration and mentoring that he offered students.

Barbara Luchs, the granddaughter of alumnus David Baer, a graduate of the class of 1910, whose memory is honored through the Baer Award for Individual Excellence, gave a wave to the crowd before the Baer awardees, seniors Ms. Lenhart, Audrey Alexanderand Jon Carfagno and juniors Maddison Bruer and Vance Prescott, were announced.

Individual awards continued with the presentation of the Class of 2009 University Pride Award to Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library student liaison and house staff Ty Miranda and the Class of 2005 9/11 Memorial Scholarship to senior Chris Faircloth.

Senior Collin Krahe received the Marc A. Zambetti Award in honor of the alumnus and sports enthusiast, and student ballet troupe GW Balance took home the Students’ Choice for Performance Group of the Year Award following a stirring dance performance set to Beyonce’s “I Was Here.”

“Our organization has been growing and expanding over the past 10 years, both in size and in scope of our performances,” GW Balance President Rachel Weiss said. “We could not be more proud to have performed at the gathering of some of the most incredible students, staff and faculty members at GW.”

Co-ed a cappella group the GW Vibes and the Voice Gospel Choir also performed.

Other highlights included the Outstanding Student Service Award, given to senior Jane Wallis and the GW Alternative Breaks Program; the Graduate Award for Individual Excellence, presented to alumnus and GW Law School student Michael Komo, B.A.‘12; and the House Staff of the Year Award, given to senior Morgan Shafer.

Allied in Pride was honored with the Walter G. Bryte, Jr. Achievement Award for the creation of Allied in Greek, which aims to highlight leadership in the Greek Life and LGBT communities; and GW TRAiLS received the Learning Through Action Award.

Other individual award winners were senior Amanda Dudley who received the Mount Vernon Award, senior Ashlynn Profit who received the Manatt-Trachtenberg Prize, and Rachel Lesniak and Shakita Jenkins, the undergraduate and graduate Student Employee of the Year Award winners, respectively.

Ms. Profit was also one of four students, including Corey Gregory, Anthony Bucci III and Marcela Torres-Cervantes, who received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for their efforts to honor the legacy of Dr. King.

Student leaders Zinhle Essamuah, Peter Sacco, Megan Krishnamurthy, Ben Pryde and Avani Singh received the Joint Committee of Faculty and Student Scholarships, a $3,000 prize awarded to students who show exceptional promise as campus leaders.

Greek Life was honored for its efforts to unify and support the campus community. Inter-fraternity Council Chapter of the Year Award went to Pi Kappa Phi, Panhellenic Council Chapter of the Year Award went to Chi Omega and Multicultural Greek Council of the Year Award went to Kappa Phi Lambda.  

Senior Paris Bienert, a member of Phi Sigma Sigma, was named Greek Woman of the Year and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. member, senior Khalipha Misawa, was named Greek Man of the Year.

Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority Inc. and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. received the Excellence in Diversity Award for their commitment to inclusion.

The GW Wall of Fame Award was presented toward the end of the evening. Vice Provost and Dean of Student Affairs Peter Konwerski presented the award to School of Engineering and Applied Science Director of Advising and Administrative Records Howard Davis, hosts Mr. Firouzi and Ms. Lenhart, senior Hunter Francis Pritchard, Center for Student Engagement Assistant Director of Experiential Learning and Leadership Heather Schoff and outgoing Student Association President Julia Susuni.

“This is a unique event because it gives our community the opportunity to pause and reflect on GW’s student leaders and the contributions they have made to student life,” Ms. Susuni said.

“From the individual students to the student organizations who were honored, the Excellence in Student Life Awards give us the chance to not only recognize the impact our student leaders have made, but also inspire future student leaders,” she said.

The evening ended with the coveted Pyramid Award for Student Organization of the Year, given to the Jewish Student Association, Camp Kesem GW and the Generic Theatre Company for their impressive programming on and off campus.

“This is a university that preserves a spirit that was given to it through the dream of its namesake George Washington to create a university in this nation’s capital that will produce generations of student leaders,” Dr. Knapp said. “We do that now, not just for this nation but for the entire world.”

Following the program, the winners were joined by students, faculty and staff for a dessert reception held at Kogan Plaza.