Seniors of Significance and 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

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 1 (fall semester) Selection and recognition of the Seniors of Significance (finalists for Outstanding Seniors)

Step 2 (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

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 6

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

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 Cory Grinnell, Program Assistant

Oklahoma State University Alumni Association

2008 Seniors of Significance/Outstanding Senior Award

Application

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.

_ _

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 _ No

GPA (through July): Overall 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 6 and 7 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.

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 Office(s) Held

Awards, Scholarships and Scholarly Activity:

In the space below, list the honors, awards and scholarships (academic, athletic, or extra-curricular) you have received while in college Include those not directly related to college

Awards and Honors Year(s)

Scholarships and Scholarly Activity Year(s)

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 3 letters of recommendation

 Attach an official transcript

 Attach Information Release form

 Marketing Information Form

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.

Date

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)

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.

_ OSU Stillwater Student

_ OSU Tulsa Student

_ In-state Student

_ Out-of-state Student

_ International Student

_ African American Student

_ Hispanic Student

_ Native American Student

_ Caucasian student

_ Other Ethnicity

_ On Campus Residential Life

_ Greek Life

_ Off Campus Life

_ Commuting _ Student Athlete _ Traditional Student _ Non-traditional Student _ First Generation College

Student

_ College of Agricultural

Sciences and Natural Resources Student _ Arts and Sciences Student _ Spears School of Business

Student _ College of Education Student _ College of Engineering,

Architecture and Technology Student

_ Human Environmental

Sciences Student

Are you filling out this application because you were nominated? Yes or No