Student Group Awards

Each year SGS honours several groups on campus for excelling in different areas. Although we feel that each and every group on campus is seriously incredible, we wanted you to tell us just how great you really are. We want to thank all the applicants and after much deliberation, the results are in! Congratulations to the following groups for their contribution to the U of A community and beyond.

And the Award goes to...

The 2011-2012 Academic Services Excellence Award recipient: The Undergraduate Linguistics Club!

This award is presented each year to the Departmental or Faculty Association that makes the greatest contribution to its own students. The Undergraduate Linguistics Club has made great strides to serve its student base in a number of ways this year, including launching a massively well-received Helpdesk tutoring event for its first and second year students who require assistance and support with their schoolwork as well as hosting a “Language in 30 Minutes” event series to broaden its members horizons beyond the department. Congratulations!

The 2011-2012 Community Outreach Award recipient: the Heart of the City Piano Program!

This award recognizes the student group who has made the greatest effort to involve its members with a community outside of campus. This year’s recipient of the award is a group unrivaled in their mandate on campus since their founding back in 2002, providing piano lessons to inner city children at their schools. The commitment of the volunteers in this group is demanding, but the group has created an impressive relationship with Edmonton Public and Catholic schools alike, and work to educate and celebrate their students’ talents. Congratulations Heart of the City Piano Program!

The 2011-2012 Best Event of the Year Award recipient: the Pakistani Students’ Association!

The University of Alberta is the home of some 450 student groups each year, each of which is actively involved and often hosts a number of events throughout the school year. Due to the sheer volume of events, the Best Event of the Year Award is always a difficult award to decide. This year the PSA’s Cultural Diversity Night flourished, guaranteeing promise and growth for the years to come. They collaborated with other student groups, including the U of A Dance Club and the Indian Students’ Association, to help showcase some of the great talent on campus and had over 200 participants attend the event. Congratulations on the success of the event and the award!

The 2011-2012 Student Group of the Year Award goes to…Engineers without Borders!

This award is given out annually to the group who has made the greatest contribution to campus life. The criteria for this event are very broad, as we have so many groups doing so many wonderful things on campus. This group in particular is the U of A’s own local branch of a much larger international group. Our university’s chapter has started to make some very deliberate and strategic changes to its structure and member development in order to have a more significant existence. This group has introduced monthly leadership workshops for its members, cultivated relationships with Edmonton-area high schools, hosted a Youth Conference on world water access, and had a large number of its members participate in its external national conference. Congratulations Engineers Without Borders!