Housing Staff Receive Regional and National Awards
Housing staff recognized for regional and national achievements
Nov. 8, 2013 — October was a rewarding month for the staff of housing and dining services.
At the 2013 Upper Midwest Region – Association of College and University Housing Officers conference Oct. 23 through 25 in St. Louis, K-State received several honors. Of the more than 85 programs that were presented at the conference, only the top five were recognized. Among those five were “Making the Most of Your Graduate Experience,” given by Assistant Residence Life Coordinators Phillip Neumann and Jake Wakem, and “Building from Scratch: New Construction for the Newer Professionals,” given by Director Derek Jackson and University of Iowa Director of Residence Services Von Stange. Jake Wakem received the “Best New Presenter” award.
Also honored at the conference was Jessica Jones, administrative assistant for residence life. Jessica received the annual Support Staff Recognition Award for her outstanding work with the housing team.
More great news came from the National Residence Hall Honorary. October’s announcement of the September “Of the Months” included a record number of K-State nominations. OTMs are a series of awards issued to residence hall staff on the campus, regional and national level. A total of 70 OTMs were submitted for our staff, with 14 winners at the campus level. Of those 14, seven won regional awards and two were national winners. K-State had the highest number of OTMs competing for national September awards.
Regional winners are Kyle Myers (advisor category); Danielle Yadon (desk assistant category); The Ball is in Your Court (diversity program category); Nicole Meulemans (residence life faculty/staff category); qWest (social program category); K-State Libraries (spotlight category, Ready Player One); and Timothy Suttle (student category).
Kyle Myers received the national advisor award for his role in creating the Honors House Council, through which members can play a greater role in the governance of their community. West Hall’s “qWest” social program, a six-week series promoting teamwork with a high rate of participation, also was a national winner.