Seniors of Significance and Outstanding Seniors Award

Seniors of Significance and Outstanding Seniors Award Dear Applicant, The OSU Alumni Association is proud to present the selection of the OSU Outstanding Seniors for the 2008-2009 graduating class The Award Committee is looking forward to receiving your application for the Outstanding Seniors Award The Outstanding Seniors Award recognizes undergraduate students who have excelled in scholarship, leadership and service to campus and community and have brought distinction to Oklahoma State University All undergraduate seniors who have graduation dates from OSU Stillwater or Tulsa of December 2008, May 2009 or July 2009 are eligible to apply To assist the Committee, carefully follow the guidelines below and please type or print clearly on your application In order to answer each question fully, you may need to attach additional sheets If you have any questions, please call the Alumni Association at (405) 744-5368 Selection is a two part process: Step (fall semester) Selection and recognition of the Seniors of Significance (finalists for Outstanding Seniors) Step (spring semester) Credential update, interview, and recognition of the Outstanding Seniors Completed applications must be returned to the OSU Alumni Association Student Programs office on the 2nd floor of the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center by the date indicated on the application Students may apply or may be nominated OSU faculty or staff, campus organizations, or employers may nominate students through the submission of a letter of nomination (approximately 250 words) containing the student’s contact information The nominated student will then receive an application to complete In either case, application or nomination, a total of three letters of recommendation should accompany the application A copy of the applicant’s official transcript must accompany the application All information submitted on the award application may be verified by the Alumni Association office Photo copies of all applications, letters and transcripts will be distributed to the judges for scoring Applicants are also asked to sign the Information Release Form which will allow release of photos, biographical information and quotes from essays to be used for press coverage, publications and event programs Judges for the award are composed of members of the Alumni Association Leadership Council Awards and Recognition Committee and selected faculty and staff from campus and academic programs Judges are asked to review the applications and score them on a 100 point system as follows: Up to 40 points may be awarded for Scholarship and up to 60 points for areas of Student Life Page of 13 In order to be considered, a student must also excel in more than one of the following areas of student life Up to 20 points may be awarded in each of the following categories:  Leadership: o Campus Organizations (offices, committees, contributions to the growth or excellence of student organizations) o Living Group involvement (office, honors or service)  Service: o Community Service (impact on others through service to campus or society in general)  Special Merit: o Scholarly efforts (scholarly research; national, international scholarships; Honors College involvement, etc.) o Activities that bring distinction to the University (national offices, honors including athletic involvement, or other designations that call positive attention to Oklahoma State University) o Personal growth and determination (obstacles overcome in pursuit of degree, extenuating circumstances, etc.) Employment experience in which money was earned to pay for school may also be considered When the first round of scoring is completed, the top scoring group of finalists will be announced as Seniors of Significance A reception will be held on Thursday, November 20, 2008 at the OSU ConocoPhillips Alumni Center for the Seniors of Significance All Seniors of Significance (finalists) are invited to update their credentials until March 1, 2009, and sign up for an interview time The interview dates are tentatively scheduled for March and 7, 2009 or March 27 and 28, 2009, for the selection of OSU’s Outstanding Seniors The interview is judged by a similar group of alumni, OSU staff and OSU faculty to those who scored the applications Applicants must be available for the interview to be eligible for selection as an OSU Outstanding Senior Questions for the interview will be selected by the judging panel and may include the following topics: questions prompted by the information submitted on your application, questions about the University or the Alumni Association, and questions designed to reveal your experiences, personality or future goals Scoring for the last phase of judging is a follows: 75% of the previous score total is carried over (up to 75 points) Up to 40 additional points may be scored in the interview The final selection is at the discretion of the interview panel Seniors chosen from the Seniors of Significance as the OSU 2009 Outstanding Seniors will be recognized at a dinner on April 30, 2009 at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center for the honorees, family, and academic mentors Honorees will be asked to provide 5-6 photos of their personal OSU experience which will be used in a video to be shown at the recognition banquet Honorees names will be recognized in conjunction with Commencement and the photos and bios of honorees will hang in Leadership Hall of the alumni center during the following year Page of 13 Summary: 1) Applicant should be an undergraduate graduating in December 2008, May 2009, or July 2009 2) Forms are available at the Alumni Association welcome desk on the 1st floor of the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center; at 060 Student Union in Campus Life; the Student Services Office in each academic college and OSU-Tulsa; and online at www.orangeconnection.org 3) Complete the application following the instructions on the form 4) Attach three letters of recommendation from faculty or staff, student organization or employer, or two additional letters if you were nominated by a faculty or staff member on campus 5) Attach a copy of your official transcript 6) Sign and attach the Information Release form 7) Return all to the Alumni Office by October 1, 2008 8) If selected as a Senior of Significance plan to attend a reception on Thursday, November 20 at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Your attention to these details will help the committee tremendously as it embarks on a difficult task Thank you for your cooperation Sincerely, Melisa Parkerson, Director Grinnell, Program Assistant 405-744-8711 melisa.parkerson@okstate.edu 405-744-8837 cory.grinnell@okstate.edu Page of 13 Cory Oklahoma State University Alumni Association 2008 Seniors of Significance/Outstanding Senior Award Application Page of 13 Complete this form and return it to the OSU Alumni Association Student Programs office on the 2nd floor of the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, no later than Wednesday October 1, 2008 at 5:00 p.m to be considered for the Seniors of Significance/Outstanding Senior Award If you have any questions, please call (405) 744-5368 (Late applications will not be accepted.) HONOR STATEMENT: I certify that all of the following information is true to the best of my knowledge I understand that the Alumni Association Awards Committee maintains the right to verify any part of the information provided Additionally, I give permission for the Committee to access my student records, including student conduct records, in any of the departments on campus _ _ Signature Date Name _ Current Address _ Current Daytime Phone Number E-Mail Address _ Parents’ Names and Address _ _ _ Hometown Newspaper (for news release purposes) _ College Division or Department _ Major _ Minors (if applicable) Will you be receiving an Honors Degree? Yes _ GPA (through July): Overall No In Major Expected Date of Undergraduate Completion: _ PLEASE NOTE: Students selected as Seniors of Significance must be available for Outstanding Senior interviews The interviews will be scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March and or March 27 and 28, 2009 If you believe extraordinary circumstances would prevent you from interviewing on that date, please attach an explanation with your application Page of 13 Leadership: In the space below, list the activities and organizations you have been involved with while in college Include activities and memberships not directly related to college Also, indicate those activities in which you held leadership positions Campus Activities Organization Years Office(s) Held Service: In the space below, list the activities and organizations you have been involved with while in college in the community Include activities and memberships not directly related to college Also, indicate those activities in which you held leadership positions Service on Campus or in the Community Organization Years Page of 13 Office(s) Held Awards, Scholarships and Scholarly Activity: In the space below, list the honors, awards and scholarships (academic, athletic, or extracurricular) you have received while in college Include those not directly related to college Awards and Honors Year(s) Scholarships and Scholarly Activity Year(s) Page of 13 Short Answer Essay Question The quality and content of your essay will influence your application score Please provide a brief statement (not to exceed one double-spaced page) stating the following: 1) If you have worked to earn any portion of your college expenses and how that has benefited or hurt your college experience 2) Why you think you are deserving of this award Include what you feel is your most noteworthy contribution to Oklahoma State University How have you made a difference on the campus or in the community? 3) Please list any pertinent information to help the committee evaluate your application for Outstanding Seniors If you are a non-traditional student or are in an otherwise unique situation, please specify Do not include newspaper clippings, articles, etc REMINDER:     Attach letters of recommendation Attach an official transcript Attach Information Release form Marketing Information Form Page of 13 Information Release Form OSU Seniors of Significance / Outstanding Seniors Award Name _ Local Address _ _ Permanent Address _ Phone _ Cell E-mail address Hometown Newspaper _ Parent Names _ Grandparents’ Hometown Newspapers (optional) _ _ Grandparent Names Photo and Text Release: I grant all Oklahoma State University campuses (hereinafter University), the right to use, publish, and copyright my image (including audio, moving image, text from application or photograph) for educational programs, media relations, Web sites, and promotion of University and Alumni Association programs The University and Association adhere to all Federal and State laws associated with the use of these materials Signature _ Page of 13 Date Page 10 of 13 Seniors of Significance/Outstanding Senior Marketing Information Please take a few minutes and answer the following questions This information will not influence your selection The information disclosed on this form will only be used to let us know how we are doing on promoting this program to diverse audiences Name: (Optional) Age: _ Gender: _ How did you learn about the Seniors of Significance/Outstanding Senior Award program? Did you become aware of the Seniors of Significance/Outstanding Senior Award through Facebook? Please check any statements below that apply to you Page 11 of 13 _ OSU Stillwater Student _ Commuting _ OSU Tulsa Student _ Student Athlete _ Traditional Student _ In-state Student _ Non-traditional Student _ Out-of-state Student _ First Generation College Student _ International Student _ Hispanic Student _ College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Student _ Native American Student _ Arts and Sciences Student _ Caucasian student _ Spears School of Business Student _ African American Student _ Other Ethnicity _ College of Education Student _ On Campus Residential Life _ Greek Life _ Off Campus Life _ College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Student _ Human Environmental Sciences Student Are you filling out this application because you were nominated? Yes or No Page of 13 ... _ How did you learn about the Seniors of Significance/ Outstanding Senior Award program? Did you become aware of the Seniors of Significance/ Outstanding Senior Award through Facebook? ... letters of recommendation Attach an official transcript Attach Information Release form Marketing Information Form Page of 13 Information Release Form OSU Seniors of Significance / Outstanding Seniors. .. cory.grinnell@okstate.edu Page of 13 Cory Oklahoma State University Alumni Association 2008 Seniors of Significance/ Outstanding Senior Award Application Page of 13 Complete this form and return it to the