First-Year Student Excellence Award

Nomination & Application Materials 2023-2024

The First-Year Student Excellence Award

The First-Year Student Excellence Award acknowledges one outstanding WVUIT first-year student from across the University. This important award establishes and acknowledges a pathway to leadership. This award demonstrates appreciation for the activities and accomplishments of WVUIT first-year students.

Purpose of the First-Year Student Excellence Award

The First-Year Student Excellence Award is an academic award recognizing one WVUIT first-year student who has not only earned high marks in her/his coursework but who also has given untiringly of her/his time in leadership positions, while maintaining personal standards of excellence.

Like the Presidential Leadership Award (which is awarded to three graduating WVUIT seniors, one from each college), the First-Year Student Excellence Award sets forth and acknowledges a single WVUIT student, in this case a first-year student, who best embodies the four personal characteristics sought in the recipients of both the First-Year Excellence & Presidential Leadership Awards. These individual characteristics are the same attributes and qualities desired in all WVUIT students:

• Academic excellence
• Outstanding leadership exhibited in student organizations, campus committees, and/or other college-related pursuits
• Distinctive representation of the college and university in local, state, and national forums
• Involvement in community activities

Each candidate for the 2024 First-Year Student Excellence Award must indicate within her/his application how she/he stands out as a WVUIT student in the above four areas.

Nomination & Candidate Forms for the 2024 First-Year Student Excellence Award

Students who are presented the First-Year Student Excellence Award must be nominated, and each nominated student must then apply. Only nominations and applications of “First-Year” WVUIT students who have completed less than 30 credits toward graduation at the time their nomination for the Award will be considered. Nomination and Candidate forms are available from the Academic Award packages published by the faculty members of the Academic Awards Selection Committee, who are listed below. The Packages are widely available on the WVUIT website.

Academic Awards Selection Committee

The faculty members of the 2023-2024 Academic Awards Selection Committee will review the information received from Award nominators and candidates, interview the candidates, and select the individual student recipient of the Award. The voting faculty committee members include:

• Dr. Joan Neff, Committee Chair, of the Business, Humanities, & Social Sciences College faculty, Classroom Building 200C joan.neff@mail.wvu.edu
• Dr. Cynthia Hall of the Business, Humanities, & Social Sciences College faculty, Classroom Building 100C cynthia.hall@mail.wvu.edu
• Dr. Taejin Kim of the Engineering and Sciences College faculty, Physical Sciences Building 210B, taejin.kim@mail.wvu.edu
• Hillary Parcell, MSN, of the School of Nursing Beckley Campus, Life Sciences 101E, heparcell@mail.wvu.edu

Nomination & Application Submission Requirements

Nomination and application forms/packets must be submitted to the Academic Awards Committee, as specified on the forms. Nomination forms may be submitted by students, faculty, administrators, or anyone associated with WVUIT. Self-nominations are acceptable. All Nomination Forms must be submitted by Friday, February 23, 2024 at Noon. All Candidate Application Forms then need to be submitted by Friday, March 15, 2024 at 4:30 PM. A complete application packet includes each of the following pieces:

• Candidate (Application) form;
• Recommendation letters from two (2) WVUIT faculty members;
• Personal recommendation letter from a peer/colleague, administrator, friend, or family member;
• Copy of the nominated student’s unofficial academic transcript;
• One-page letter from the nominated student that offers a meaningful self-reflection (Includes a 500-word narrative that describes your impressions of college life and how a college education will aid in the achievement of your life's goals as you see them now);
• Candidates may be scheduled for an interview between March 20-27, 2024.

The three letters included in the application materials should be prepared, as much as possible, so that knowledge is readily apparent from the document of the four personal characteristics sought in the recipients of the First-Year Student Excellence Award.

Nominate the WVUIT First-Year Student who you believe deserves the First-Year Student Excellence Award!