Students and faculty and staff members were recognized with various honors Wednesday, April 15, at the 37th Annual Elizabethtown College Awards Ceremony. Among the honors were the Distinguished Student Awards and the Points of Distinction Scholar Award presented by President Carl J. Strikwerda.
Distinguished Student Awards are given to students who have shown the effective integration of the four signature learning attributes at Elizabethtown; relationship-centered learning, international and cross-cultural perspectives, real-world learning and purposeful life work. Out of these winners, the Point of Distinction Scholar Award is given to the student believed to have shown this integration to the highest degree. This year’s award was bestowed upon senior biology major Christine Morzek.
To be considered for these two awards, students must be nominated by faculty or staff members. These students must meet certain criteria, such as a being in good social and academic standing. If the conditions are met, the student is invited to submit an application, which is reviewed by the Campus Life Committee. The Committee then selects the recipients of the Distinguished Students Awards and the Point of Distinction Award.
“The awards ceremony is a time for the campus to celebrate the accomplishments of students and some faculty and staff [members],” said Susan Lehman, assistant to the dean of students. “I think it’s a nice aspect to being on a small campus, because I don’t think that you would have this kind of thing on a large state campus. It’s part of what contributes to us having a sense of community.”
The Awards Ceremony is held every spring. In addition to the Distinguished Student Awards and the Points of Distinction Scholar Award, various campus community members were recognition by academic departments and student groups including Student Senate, Residence Life, SWEET, Religious Life and Called to Lead.