The Office of Student Involvement and Leadership hosted the 13th annual Student Excellence Awards ceremony on Thursday, April 11, 2019. Student Excellence Awards honors students, organizations, and student organization advisors for their contributions to campus in the areas of leadership and service. The nomination process allowed for students, faculty, and staff to submit nominations for the 11 award categories. There were more than 150 nominations received this award cycle, and award recipients were selected by a panel of judges organized from various campus departments. In celebration of the University’s 50th anniversary, alongside the achievements of all nominees, each nominee was given a 50th anniversary lapel pin, garnished with a green and gold ribbon to wear to distinguish them as honored guests. In addition to the awards presentation, three talented UAB students entertained guests. Abby Commerford, UAB's Got Talent winner, performed alongside Jackson Bailey and Vianna Benjamin. The ceremony was hosted by the 2019-2020 USGA president, Hana Habchi, and Miss UAB 2019, Lillie-Ann Dawson.
Award Categories and Recipients were as follows:
- Excellence in Service - Taylor Lucas
- Outstanding Scholastic Achievement - Swati Sakhuja
- Inclusive Campus Commitment - Andrew Bartholomew
- Student Organization Advisor of the Year - Jacqueline Alexander
- Student Employee of the Year - Sophie McVicar
- Rising Star - Helen Zhou
- Outstanding Community Service Project - Student National Medical Association
- Program of the Year - Social Justice Advocacy Council
- Outstanding New Organization - Lambda Pi Eta
- Outstanding Student Leader - Kimberlie Payne-Lesley
- Outstanding Student Organization - Planned Parenthood: Generation Action
In addition to these 11 awards, scholarship recipients, special honors, and Fraternity and Sorority Life awards were also distributed. Recognition was provided for the following awards and honorees:
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Virginia D. Gauld National Alumni Society Endowed Scholarship - Hannah Hixon - Dr. Aaron Lamar Jr. Endowed Scholarship - Madelyn Wild and Shreya Malhotra
- Camille Armstrong Memorial Endowed Scholarship - Monike Titus, Darrell Forte, and Morgan Richardson
- UAB Emerging Leaders Endowed Scholarship - Daphne Embry and Destyni Cravens
- Path to Leadership certification - Cody Johnson, Maura Harrison, Bella Tylicki, John Cole, and Kiran Adhikari
- UAB Pathfinders recognition - Darrell Forte, Katie Higginbotham, Hassan Sadruddin, and Ghada Abhoudair
- Sunshine Eve Hill Scholarship - Yulianna Jimenez
- IFC Scholarship - Nick Arnold and Matt Hudson
- Greek Man of the Year - Henry Kendrick
- Greek Woman of the Year - Ghada Abhoudair
- IFC Chapter of Excellence - The Epsilon Phi chapter of Pi Kappa Phi
- NPHC Chapter of Excellence - The Xi Mu chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
- Panhellenic Chapter of Excellence - Zeta Sigma chapter of Sigma Kappa
- MGC Chapter of Excellence - Kappa chapter of Sigma Sigma Rho Sorority, Inc.
For more information about Student Involvement and Leadership, visit their website or contact Lauren Hobbs at getinvolved@uab.edu, (205) 934-8020.