Personal achievements and community service can sometimes go unnoticed, but a certain on-campus program will soon recognize students who are highly regarded by their peers and reward them for their accomplishments.
Class Stars is a university-wide awards program organized by Class Councils that recognizes members of each class who excel in academics, athletics, leadership, service or spirit. Award recipients must be nominated by their peers to be considered for the award.
Neil Rabroker, senior accounting major and head director of Class Stars, said the entire program is student run.
“Instead of having adults pick the winners, we wanted it all to be student run and student focused, so it is actually a committee of about eight Class Councils members,” Rabroker said. “So it is really interesting because not only is it students nominating students, it is other students picking these students too.”
Caroline Janssen, senior business honors major, won the award for spirit last year for the Class of 2014.
“It meant a lot to me to win that because obviously you win by anonymous nominations,” Janssen said. “I knew that one or more of my peers respected that in me, and I think that respect from your peers is one of the biggest compliments you can get in college.”
Winners in each category are honored at a reception and receive a personalized award for their merit.
“The ceremony itself was really cool because you are at a table from all of the winners from your class,” Janssen said. “It is very, very humbling because at my table was an Olympic gold medalist and someone who served hours a week, almost like a full-time job, at a soup kitchen – people that were really giving back so much and really do great things with their lives. It was a huge honor to be in their company and to be recognized in the same manner as them.”
Janssen said she was particularly honored to receive the award.
“I think that a lot of times in college, you can build up a good resume, you can hold some good leadership positions on campus,” Janssen said. “And that can mean a lot, but ultimately, to me, what meant the most was knowing that my peers had seen something in me that they respected and that they thought was worth recognizing.”
Jessica Champion, senior kinesiology major and Class Stars committee member, said students are encouraged to nominate peers who they think have made an impact on campus.
“We want students to be recognized for what they’re passionate about and what they put their time toward – whether it be athletics, academics, spirit, service or leadership,” Champion said. “We look for students who have gone above and beyond in these categories, and their friends and peers have noticed. It doesn’t necessarily have to be someone well-known, but if they give generous amounts of time to whatever they’re passionate about, we believe they deserve to be recognized for it.”
Rabroker said the nomination process is simple and involves writing a paragraph on the nominee’s qualifications.
“The nomination maybe will take less than five minutes for the whole thing,” Rabroker said. “It is not like you are taking the time to write a resume for this person. You are literally just writing a paragraph to describe them.”
Nominations close March 19 and can be made online at classcouncils.tamu.edu/classstars.