UTC students on the Campus Activities Board received the Outstanding Delegation award, the highest honor for a delegation at the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) regional conference held recently in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. More than 120 higher education institutions competed for the award, which UTC students took home for the second year in a row.
“Attending NACA is a huge privilege and I am thankful for this opportunity,” said Heather Delbridge, Director of Operations for CAB. “At the conference, we were able to take away so many great lessons on how to better serve our UTC community. We had a great time interacting with so many other universities from the south region and learning from them. Volunteering on-site was a blast and we loved being so active at the conference. We are looking forward to next year!”
The UTC delegation excelled “in all areas of [NACA] conference activity. The award takes into account the interaction students have with associate members (entertainment agencies), each other, as well as other conference attendees. Other areas of consideration include active volunteering on-site at the conference, active attendance at educational sessions and all conference related activities, participation in various awards and on-site activities, active knowledge of campus activities in networking with their peers, commitment to their campus and the organization.”
One of the successful events CAB hosted this semester was the Band Fest held during Homecoming 2014. Check out the video.
UTC CAB students also were honored in the Graphics Competition for Outstanding Banner for Welcome Week 2014. It was designed by the summer graduate intern for student activities, Richard Mahler.
“CAB is an organization that does so much, but receives very little recognition,” said Austin Arias, Assistant Dean of Students. “The amount of work they put in to provide quality, diverse social and educational programming for the entire campus community is truly admirable and the task is quite great. The board utilizes their time at the conference to truly better understand their role as programmers, get educated on the newest trends related to student engagement and interact with performers and entertainment agencies to bring back the best live entertainment to campus. They were incredibly active at the conference and you could not miss them in their blue and gold gear, volunteering and making the most of their experience. They have already been hard at work sharing what they have learned with their peers and have a renewed sense of motivation to make an impact on campus. I am incredibly proud of them.”
Arias himself won the Shuronda H. Smith Outstanding New Professional Award, “presented annually to a professional staff member who has been in the field of campus activities for one to three years and at an NACA® member school in the South Region for at least one year.”
Arias was honored for his significant contribution to campus life as a new campus activities professional and his commitment for excellence in service to student leaders. He has been an active volunteer for NACA for five years, serving in a variety of regional and national positions. He has attended the NACA conference since he was a campus programmer as an undergraduate.
NACA states as its mission it “will be the recognized leader in higher education for providing members with innovative practices and access to program that support campus engagement. NACA’s core purpose is to advance campus engagement. NACA believes that campus engagement is the development of community through student involvement with the university in experiences that contribute to student success and learning.”
