Awarding student impact

Every day, Dal student leaders are making an impact – in the classroom, across campus and in their community.

And they’re getting one heck of a celebration this year at the Student Impact Awards, which will take place Tuesday, March 27.

Campus awards for student life aren’t a new idea at Dal: there’s been the DSU’s annual Student Appreciation Night, awards for RAs, the university’s Governors Awards and more. But this year, the DSU is partnering with Student Services to tie all of these, plus some new awards, together into one epic evening.

Jamie Arron, vice-president student life of the DSU, says that the idea came from a desire to ensure that all the separate awards got the recognition they deserve.

“We wanted to combine everything into one premiere ceremony that brings together all aspects of student life at Dalhousie, and also the entire Dalhousie community – students, faculty, staff and alumni,” he explains.

70 awards, five categories

The ceremony, to be held in the McInnes Room, will feature five categories of awards totaling approximately 70 awards total. Some of these are group awards: Most Charitable Society, Best Faculty Society and Best Student Society, for example. Others are individual recognitions, from the DSU’s Lilli Ju Award for lifetime contribution to student life, to the Live Well @ Dal Award for Tigers and intramural athletes, to the Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

To simplify the nominations process, the university and DSU have built a single online form for all the major awards. This way, students or student groups can be nominated either for a specific award or for the awards more generally. Nominations close Monday, March 5.

Krista Cross, senior manager of marketing for Dalhousie Athletics and Recreation, is leading the planning committee for the event itself. She says that the hosts will be familiar to students: former DSU vice-president student life Hannah Dahn and popular musician/videomaker George Woodhouse.

“Our students do pretty amazing things” says Ms. Cross. “This event is going to be about showing how committed our students are to being engaged, as well as to promoting spirit and community.”

Mr. Arron agrees.

“I think it will really increase awareness, particularly among staff and faculty, of the breadth and depth of what happens outside of the classroom here at Dal. It will spotlight how much students are really doing here, every day."

Because of a table sponsorship program, student tickets will be available free of charge (in limited quantities) at the DSU Info Desk starting Monday, March 5. For more information on the awards and tickets, visit dal.ca/impact