Leadership and Engagement Awards
The Leadership and Engagement Awards recognize the distinguished undergraduate and graduate students, student organizations, faculty, and staff for their promotion of leadership, community building, involvement, service, co-curricular excellence and overall enhancement of the student life experience on the Frostburg State University campus. Recipients of these awards demonstrate exceptional leadership and service to students, Frostburg State University, and our community.
Now accepting nominations year-round!
Each award period runs March 1 - Feb. 28, except where indicated.
The Division of Student Affairs is proud to announce the Awards for which nominations are being accepted. The Leadership and Engagement Awards include:
- Student Employee of the Year
- Emerging Leader Award
- Social Change Award
- Outstanding Social Programming Award
- Outstanding Educational Programming Award
- Outstanding Cultural Programming Award
- Outstanding Student Organization Advisor Award
- Outstanding Faculty/Staff Award
- Father Ed Hendricks Award
- Unsung Hero Award
- Pillar of the Community Award
- John C. Armor, Jr. Memorial Student Organization Award
- Civil Citizen Communicator Award
- Graduate Student Worker/Graduate Assistant Award
- Dr. Mary Mumper Service Award
- SGA Senior Service Award
- Derek Thomson Sheely Leadership Award
Student Employee of the Year Award
The Student Employee of the Year Award recognizes Frostburg State University student employees who demonstrate outstanding performance as employees of the university. In addition, recipients may be eligible for district, regional, and national consideration in the Student Employee of the Year program, coordinated by the National Student Employment Administration.
The Student Employee of the Year Award is granted to passionate, motivated students whose contributions are highly valued by their department of employment. Nominees must be FSU student employees who have worked a minimum of six months part-time (or three months full time) during the selection period of June through March.
Nominations are judged on the following characteristics:
- quality of work
- initiative
- disposition
- reliability
- contribution to the employer
Emerging Leader Award
This award recognizes an outstanding freshman or sophomore who has demonstrated leadership skills, involvement at FSU, and strong academic performance.
Social Change Award
This category recognizes an individual or organization who has worked to make a positive difference in our local, state, national, or global communities. This individual or organization should have worked toward the enhancement of service to others.
Outstanding Social Programming Award
This award seeks to recognize a student organization for their time and talents to facilitate an engaging and thoughtful event for Frostburg State University. This category recognizes student organization programming that is inherently social in nature. Nominated programs should be social programs. Nominated programs should be linked to a recognized campus organization, student, or faculty/staff member.
Outstanding Educational Programming Award
This award seeks to recognize a student organization for its time and talents to facilitate an engaging and thoughtful event for Frostburg State University. This category recognizes student organization programming that is inherently educational in nature. Nominated programs should have raised awareness on some sort of issue or led to an understanding of a topic. Nominated programs should be linked to a recognized campus organization, student, or faculty/staff member.
Outstanding Cultural Programming Award
This award seeks to recognize a student organization for its time and talents to facilitate an engaging and thoughtful event for Frostburg State University. This category recognizes student organization programming that is inherently cultural in nature. Nominated programs should have raised awareness on some sort of cultural issue or led to an understanding of culture. Nominated programs should be linked to a recognized campus organization, student, or faculty/staff member.
Outstanding Student Organization Advisor Award
This category recognizes the support and contributions of an outstanding recognized student organization advisor at Frostburg State University. This individual volunteers to advise an organization outside their current duties as a faculty or staff member.
Outstanding Faculty/Staff Award
This category recognizes the support and contributions of an outstanding Faculty or Staff member and the contributions they have made to Frostburg State University students over the past academic year. Recipients of this award are to have not only demonstrated excellence in their respective roles on campus but also be cited for departmental support, going above and beyond their known job description, and for being exceptionally courteous and cooperative when working with the student population. This individual goes above and beyond their job description to serve students.
Father Ed Hendricks Award
This award recognizes a student leader who has demonstrated a genuine concern for the well-being of others. Candidates for this award demonstrate compassion and commitment to our campus community. Through their integrity and their many contributions to the campus, the recipient of this award has made a significant impact on Frostburg State University. This award honors the legacy of Father Ed Hendricks, former Catholic Chaplain, and his distinguished service to Frostburg State University.
Unsung Hero Award
The Unsung Hero Award recognizes an outstanding student who may not hold a position of leadership but has shown significant commitment to their organization through involvement or their department through employment and has proven themselves to be an outstanding participant in all programs, meetings, and activities.
Pillar of the Community Award
The Pillar of the Community Award strives to identify and recognize those key leaders on campus that are impacting the greater campus community at Frostburg State University. The Pillar of the Community Award is awarded to a student who embraces the Frostburg State University experience through active involvement with student life, commitment to serving others, engagement in the campus community, dedication to academic excellence, and exuding pride in the University through thoughts, words, and actions. The recipient of this award is recognized as among the best and the brightest students that Frostburg State University has to offer. The Pillar of the Community Award is one of the highest awards offered at Frostburg State University.
John C. Armor, Jr. Memorial Student Organization Award
The John C. Armor, Jr. Memorial Student Organization Award recognizes a student organization at Frostburg State University that has displayed exceptional dedication to both the Frostburg community and its members. This award aims to honor organizations that actively engage in meaningful community service initiatives while also enriching the experiences of their members.
Criteria for consideration include the following:
Demonstrated Service to the Frostburg Community: The recipient organization should have a documented history of active involvement in projects and initiatives that contribute to the betterment and advancement of the Frostburg community.
Service to Membership: The organization should demonstrate a commitment to enhancing the personal and professional growth of its members, fostering a sense of belonging, and providing opportunities for skill development, leadership, and personal growth.
Preference for Recognizable Community Projects: All else being equal, preference will be given to organizations with community projects that are highly visible and impactful, leaving a significant and positive mark on the Frostburg Community.
This award seeks to celebrate and encourage student organizations that are making a significant difference both within the university and in the broader Frostburg community, aligning with the university's commitment to community engagement and student development.
The winner of this award must either meet or exceed expectations on the Student Organization of the Year Rubric (posted outside of Lane 230).
Civil Citizen Communicator Award
The Civil Citizen Communicator Award recognizes a student (or group of students) currently enrolled at Frostburg State University (FSU) who has within the previous year demonstrated communication leadership, or a commitment through word and actions to civil, constructive change as a contributing member of an organization or community. This nominee should demonstrate 1) communication competence, 2) leadership competence, and 3) an awareness of and responsiveness to matters of civility and social change that impacts others. This award aligns with the missions of the Communication Leadership Lab and FSU to support the oral communication competency and leadership development of our students. It also supports regional development through recognition of efforts linking campus and community partners. Please specify why the nominee fits the criteria above and give examples of the kinds of communication leadership the nominee accomplished (public speeches or other public messaging, video or documentary production, social media or promotional campaigns, building or strengthening communication networks or partnerships, etc.) and what impact they had on achieving an organization's or community's mission or goals.
Graduate Student Worker/Graduate Assistant of the Year Award
Many offices around FSU’s campus would not be the same without their valued graduate student workers and/or graduate assistants. This award seeks to recognize graduate students who are also employed on-campus who have made a difference in their departments/offices through their dedication to the mission and to the students they support.
The Graduate Student Worker/Graduate Assistant Award is granted to passionate, motivated students whose contributions are highly valued by their department of employment. Nominees must be a graduate student enrolled at FSU who may or may not have a graduate assistantship. Nominees should have been employed for at least one full semester.
Nominations are judged on the following characteristics:
- quality of work
- initiative
- disposition
- reliability
- contribution to the employer
The following are presented at the Leadership & Engagement Awards but sponsored by other departments. Please see the award description for contact information.
The Dr. Mary Mumper and SGA Senior Service Awards should be submitted using the nomination form linked above on this page. Nominations will be passed along to their respective committees. The Derek Thomson Sheely Leadership Award has a separate application process that is detailed below.
Dr. Mary Mumper Service Award
This award/honorarium will be presented to a faculty, staff, alumni, or community member who has provided multiple years of dedicated service to one or more FSU student organizations and exemplifies a positive Bobcat spirit. Students are encouraged to consider nominees from the local community, as well as student organization advisors with multiple years of service. The recipient will be selected by a committee of students appointed for this purpose under faculty direction by the Chair, or Chair’s designee, of the Faculty Senate.
Dr. Mary Mumper demonstrated extraordinary commitment to Frostburg State University and service to her students and colleagues through numerous leadership roles. Among the most precious of these roles to her was advising the Pre-Med Society student organization for many years. This award was established by her chemistry and health science students upon her retirement in 2013 and is funded by the generous donations of her students and colleagues.
SGA Outstanding Senior Service Award
The Outstanding Senior Service Award (OSSA) represents the cumulative effort in service, to the university and to the community, throughout the student’s undergraduate coursework. Demonstrated academic and leadership ability, uncompensated service to the campus and community as well as grade point average will be taken into consideration when selecting an award recipient. To be eligible for this award, students must have completed no less than 90 credit hours, of which 45 must be from FSU. Student nominees must expect to complete graduation requirements in May or have graduated during the previous December of the academic year in which the awards are held. Please contact the Student Government Association for more information.
Derek Thomson Sheely Leadership Award
Derek Sheely was a remarkable leader – both on and off the football field. This award honors the spirit of a young man who consistently demonstrated his genuine concern for others. Derek understood that leaders acquire influence as a result of the quality of their relationships and the respect they give to others. He innately understood that influence is much more enduring than power, which can be very ephemeral. Never complacent, he strove for excellence in all that he did. One of his instructors commented on his desire to achieve a thoughtful, deep, and complex understanding of issues that he studied and stated that Derek was determined to clear “a path for those searching for truth and achieving goodness in this life.”
Frostburg State University has partnered with Derek’s parents, Kenneth and Kristen Sheely, to create an award that will be given annually to the student who exemplifies the qualities of leadership that Derek so clearly demonstrated.
Applicants must be enrolled full-time at FSU with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.4 and have completed no less than 70 and no more than 95 credit hours. Student(s) must be nominated for this award by a member of the campus community. Student(s) who are nominated will be required to complete an essay reflecting on their leadership experiences and how these experiences have shaped their growth as individuals. The selection committee will conduct interviews of the finalists for this award. The recipient must have demonstrated the ability to provide leadership to a group of students – in the classroom, a student organization, or on an athletic team. Before completion of their senior year, the recipient will be expected to engage in forty (40) hours of service that will increase awareness and research of concussions and traumatic brain injuries, with a focus on youth sports. Students are required to apply through the Academic Works scholarship portal at https://frostburg.academicworks.com/. The application deadline is March 1. Please contact the Frostburg State University Foundation for more information.
