Every month, students, staff and professionals living and working in an on-campus setting nominate individuals and programs for monthly awards. The National Residence Hall Honorary sifts through the nominations to pick out the best of the best.

Below are the OTM (Of the Month) winners for February 2016! Winners at the campus level go on to the Regional level.

Community Service Program: Cigarette Butt Cleanup, NRHH

The Tau Alpha EpCBC2.16silon Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary was nominated for the February Edition of its signature Community Service Program, the Cigarette Butt Cleanup.

“By cleaning up the cigarette butts and the trash in the area, we showed the community what it is like when people get together to do something positive. This program definitely helped us to build community. We made those who live in the area very happy with thecleanup, they were very appreciative for the help! It also made thosewho volunteered and occasionally smoked, really think about the impactof throwing a cigarette on the ground. It also made those involved feel like they were making a positive difference in the community to the point that they said they would love to be involved again in helping the community!”

-Hannah Steinman, Nominator


Diversity Program: Formation Discussion, Pomfret

“After the super bowl, Beyonce released a new song, called Formation, and music video that sparked a big uproar about racial stereotypes in America. This program was created to facilitate a discussion about her video and observe how residents responded to it.”

“As a young white female, I found out a lot of information that I would not have been able to obtain anywhere else in the same type of environment that this program created. I was able to learn a lot about the Black Lives Matter movement, the Black Panthers, and several racial stereotypes that I was unaware of. This program was great in providing eye-opening lessons for diversity on this campus.”

-Elrine Goosen, Nominator


Educational Program: Mental Health Awareness Week, Buchanan-Droke & Gladson-Ripley

IMG_44301During February, BDGR hosted a week of programs around promoting a healthy self. Monday was Mirrorless Monday and that evening there was a Top Chef: Smoothie Edition competition focused around healthy snack options. Tuesday had a “de-stress” theme. Staff members hung bubble wrap squares on residents’ doors for them to pop and also hosted an evening program entitled “De-Stress Crafts and Coloring.” Wednesday was a day of rest where students were encouraged to do yoga with UREC or Mindfulness Mediation with Pat Walker Health Center. Thursday, No Woman Left Behind joined BDGR for a “Friends with Bracelets” bystander awareness program.

“The program encompassed multiple forms of programming, which is an exceptional feat. It was passive, social, and educational at different times during the week, sometimes with multiple programs happening in one day. It stretched across two halls and everyone was a participant. I was honored to participate in the program and proud to be a part of something like this. It was well-planned and thought out. It was budgeted well, considerate and fun.”

-J.P. Green, Nominator


Executive Board Member: Madison Wieters, NRHH Vice President of Service

“This past month, Madison organized a community service project mawieterthrough NRHH for members, those who wanted to join outside of the organization for community service hours, and for students interested in NRHH. The event went swimmingly! There were 17 volunteers who showed up, a pretty even split between NRHH members and those looking for service hours and who were interested in the organization.

Madison did an awesome job coordinating this event that meant so much to the people who live along the wall or just pass by daily. Something that only took a small part of our day meant a great deal to them, which made the community service opportunity that much more meaningful.”

-Joseph Van Winkle, Nominator



First Year Student: 
Nate Hemby, Hotz

Nathan2“In the month of February, Nate exuded many of the characteristics that you look for in an ideal first year student. He is one of the most committed members of our Hotz Hall Lead Hogs. For the month of February, our Lead Hogs decided to do a program called “Are You Smarter Than A Professor?” It’s a play on words with the once-popular TV show “Are You Smarter Than A 5th grader?” In collaboration with a couple of other members of the Hotz Hall Lead Hogs, Nate took charge in making sure the planning phase of this program went off without a hitch. Whether it was in the organization of team signups, the coordination of getting the word out, or even determining how many pizzas we would need, Nate had his hand in on many of the areas of this program.”

-Trevor Page, Nominator


Institution Faculty/Staff: Jan Noble, Walton

“Walton Hall Institutional Service Assistant Jan Noble has been a force of positivejan engagement in the Walton Hall community. Since becoming a part of the Walton staff last fall, Jan has established a great visibility and presence with the residents and staff of the Walton community. During the month of February, Jan has focused her ability to engage residents on the campus-wide Recyclemania competition. Each day she is excited to share recycling totals and is the first to give credit to the residents for their contributions to the competition.

As a community Walton has never placed in the top five of Recyclemania finishes. Because of Jan’s efforts in February, we have climbed into first place and begun to build a lead. There is no way that without Jan’s enthusiasm and commitment to this program that our RAs or our residents would be as eagerly participating. In fact, in response to Jan’s endearing efforts, our residents have adopted a #DoItForJan campaign on social media to promote participation in Recyclemania.”

-Michael McAllister, Nominator


Organization: Tau Sigma Transfer Honor Society

tslogo_large“This organization embodies what I think RSO’s are about. Bringing people together that have something in common and helping student transition and find their place. This semester they were able to add 75 new people to their roster! They went from 15 people and starting an RSO up from the ground, to having everything in place and they are now beginning to plan their spring induction, the philanthropy they want to partake in and other opportunities for the group to be involved in. They are a dedicated group of people who went into something not knowing what to expect and helping build up the first Tau Sigma in the state of Arkansas.”

-Allyson Braggs, Nominator


Residence Life Faculty/Staff: Amanda Bobo, Pomfret

“Amanda Bobo has been my mentor for the last three years, but Bobothis February as deadlines for many schools rolled around and I prepared to go to the Oshkosh Placement Exchange, Bobo was my biggest resource and confidant.

Bobo joined forces with Andrea Allan to write a series of letters preparing me for No Frills and OPE (Oshkosh Placement Exchange). In the end, they wrote me a total of nine letters. Andrea wrote me two. Bobo wrote the other seven!”

-Samantha Brandeberry, Nominator



Resident Assistant: 
Kelsey Barnes, Maple Hill West

Kelsey“Kelsey Barnes is an exceptional individual to have on the Maple Hill West 2015-2016 staff. As her co-RA, it has been a privilege to watch Kelsey grow into the RA position and make it her own as the year unravels. Qualities that I admire most about Kelsey are her intuition, ambition, and intentionality. Kelsey has used all of these shining qualities to shape herself into a phenomenal Resident Assistant. As a staff member, Kelsey is always available as a resource for guidance, support, affirmation, and challenge. She regularly pushes our staff to support one another and advance our creativity.” 

-Katherine Teshler, Nominator


Residential Community: David Almond & Kyle Tedder, Northwest Quad

“Both of these young men went well beyond the ordinary call of duty that comes with being roommates with one another. Both individuals expressed concern for their roommate, whom they have only just recently moved in with, because of his epilepsy. These two took it upon themselves to reach out to myself to make sure their roommate was taken care of. They knew that their roommate had to take his medicine exactly at 7:15 pm each evening and if he didn’t, he could be prone to seizures. It was truly amazing that they knew their roommate well enough to know exactly what medicine he needed and when he needed it.

I think this simple act of being conscious of the time and the potential consequences of their roommate not being able to reenter the building to take his medicine, speaks volumes to these guys’ character.”

-Ryan Cooney, Nominator



Social Program:
Anti-Valentine’s Day, Buchanan-Droke & Gladson-Ripley

“The goals of this program were to bring a gender-neutral social program to our community that is more heavily female than male. Often, programs are geared toward one demographic or another, so this program was created in hopes that both females and males would enjoy the different parts of the program.

Additionally, providing a social outlet for freshman residents on Valentine’s day that didn’t put an emphasis on having a significant other was important to the RAs planning this program. Encouraging each individual’s confidence in themselves was an overarching goal for the BDGR staff during February.”

-Samantha Brandeberry, Nominator


Spotlight: Kiana Cunningham, Maple Hill East

“Each member of my staff, this semester, are responsible for leading a staff Kianameeting which encompasses coming up with the topic, content, and then practical implementation. Kiana decided to broach the topic of “perspective”.

Kiana took us through an exercise where we wrote down our initial thoughts that popped into our head when she said a specific list of words. Intolerance, prejudice, and freedom were just a few of the words on the list. Each one Kiana lead our staff through a discussion as to what perspective each of us held for these words and why we would have that perspective. The discussion was probably the best we have ever had in a staff meeting and we hit really powerful topics. Since our staff meeting I have had several of my RAs comment to me individually that Kiana’s meeting was an amazing point for them and really meaningful in their personal growth. “

-Zachary Hein, Nominator


Student: Brogan Caffarelli, Reid

FullSizeRender“In the month of February the role of Vice Chair for the budget committee became open. This position requires a representative from the budget committee to present a detailed report of bills requesting funds to the house of RIC. It is a very interesting role because the Vice Chair also help oversee the budget committee with the Director of Internal Affairs and is voted on by their peers. Like a lion, Brogan immediately took charge. She is always on time for the meetings and provides an atmosphere of positivity and many different opportunities for groupthink.”

-Marcus Hatley II, Nominator


February Honorable Mentions:

Educational Program: Are You Smarter Than A Professor?, Hotz Hall

Institutional Faculty/Staff: Faith Yam, Hotz Hall

Social Program: Tea Time, Hotz Hall


OTM Cup Standings:

1st Place – Hotz Hall – 116 points

2nd Place – BDGR – 101 points

3rd Place – Founders – 86 points

For a complete list of rankings, please visit our website. The winning hall will receive the OTM Cup with their hall engraved on it for 2016 at the RA Banquet.