Residence Life also recognized members of the Residence Life student staff council and one graduating Neighborhood Manager: Wise Halverson.

The evening included opening remarks from President Connie Book and Vice President of Student Life Jon Dooley.

Student Staff Member of the Year (by neighborhood)

Student Staff Member of the Year is awarded to at least one staff member from each residential neighborhood who has demonstrated excellent teamwork, dedication, and positivity in their role.

Recipients

Colonnades: Mackenzie Perry

Danieley: Jason Adama-Tettey

East: Asia Green

Global: Keali Chang

Historic: Kiera Wenzel

Loy: Catarina Gandara Da Silva

Oaks: Morgan Seate

Station at Mill Point: Annabelle Stephens

Living-Learning Community (LLC) End of Year Awards

Almost 80 nominations were submitted for the Living-Learning Community End of Year awards, including nominations by participating students, staff and faculty advisors. Elon鈥檚 nationally ranked LLCs support over 600 residents in 24 different living-learning communities led by 33 faculty and staff LLC advisors.

Living-Learning Community Student of the Year: Odalys Zelaya Figueroa, First Phoenix LLC, Colonnades Neighborhood

Living-Learning Community Ambassador of the Year: Violette Valadez, First Phoenix LLC, Colonnades Neighborhood

Living-Learning Community Program of the Year: Elon College Fellows Murder Mystery Night, East Neighborhood

Living-Learning Community Advisors of the Year: Paula DiBiaso and Kenneth Brown, First Phoenix LLC, Colonnades Neighborhood

Living-Learning Community Resident Assistant of the Year: Grace Smith, Sustainable Living LLC, Colonnades Neighborhood

Living-Learning Community of the Year: Performing Arts LLC, Global Neighborhood

NRHH Rising Diamond Award
Tessa Mattison, senior resident assistant, Historic Neighborhood聽

This award recognizes a Residence Life staff member who shows that leadership inside and outside the department is crucial to continued growth in the 福利亚洲国产精品 experience. The recipient of this award has demonstrated that their skill set learned at Elon has positively impacted their community and will continue to impact whatever community joined after positively. The official symbol of NRHH is a diamond 鈥搕he world鈥檚 most precious gem- to signify the value and beauty one finds in their experiences.

Student Leadership and Community Development Award
Maximus Garganta, senior resident assistant, Colonnades Neighborhood聽

This award highlights a student staff member who demonstrated extraordinary leadership in their role and promoted community development by challenging and caring for residents through their Elon experiences.

Student Employee Excellence Award
Eva Miller, office assistant, Global Neighborhood聽

This award highlights an hourly student employee who has displayed extraordinary dedication, leadership and service to their neighborhood and/or the Office of Residence Life. They consistently positively impact their neighborhood/office staff and community by going above and beyond what is asked in completing their work responsibilities.

Julie Justice Faculty Engagement Award
Claudine Moreau, faculty director, Historic Neighborhood

In honor of Julie Justice鈥檚 depth of service and engagement with her residents during her time as a faculty-in-residence in the Oaks neighborhood, this award honors a faculty member who has contributed to enhancing the residential campus initiative by engaging with students within the residential community, and broadly developing connections within the neighborhood to enhance the student residential experience.

Program of the Year

Neighborhood: East
Program Name:聽East Gets on the Bus to Twin Lakes
This award highlights a neighborhood program, event, or series that promotes active engagement of residents with faculty and staff over a topic that promotes the intellectual theme of the neighborhood.

Firestarter Award
Sydney Michel, resident assistant, Historic Neighborhood聽

This award recognizes a new student staff member who has shown exceptional promise in their role through creative and engaging floor programming, sound decision-making, and a consistently positive attitude. Their dedication to building community and enhancing the living and learning experience at Elon sets a strong foundation for continued impact and growth.

Trailblazing Guide Award
Nicholas Rugbart, senior resident assistant, Global Neighborhood聽聽

This award honors a seasoned student staff member who consistently goes above and beyond – not only excelling in their own role, but also serving as a reliable source of support and mentorship for their peers. Their approachable nature and commitment to fostering a strong living and learning environment truly embody the spirit of campus community.

Tracy Pace Program Assistant of the Year
Sandra Bays, program assistant, East Neighborhood

This award honors a program assistant in Residence Life who utilizes exceptional organization, interpersonal, and customer service skills.

Professional Staff Member of the Year
Mariann King, community director, Global Neighborhood

This award recognizes a professional staff member of the Residence Life team who has demonstrated mentorship, community building and professionalism throughout the 2024-25 academic year.

Community Partnership Award
Grace Smith, resident assistant, Colonnades Neighborhood

The Community Partnership Award is presented to an individual who has continuously partnered and supported throughout the school year with Campus Safety and Police.

Participants will answer questions about each of the four Winter Term themes 鈥� health, intercultural engagement, media and politics 鈥� among other topics. All who participate in and complete the game in full will receive a voucher good for one free item on the coffee side of the Oak House.

Prizes in the form of Visa gift cards and Oak House branded glasses or coffee cups will be awarded to the top three finishers.

Anyone interested in participating should .

The first-place winner will receive a $50 Visa gift card. Second place will win a $25 Oak House gift card. And third place will walk away with a $10 Med Deli gift card.

鈥淲e want the game show to demonstrate that legitimately fake news can be tricky to spot,鈥� said Colin Donohue, faculty director of the Oaks and School of Communications director of student engagement and alumni affairs. 鈥淏ut if we take a few moments to look at the information, ask questions about it and then do some research, we鈥檒l be better news and information consumers. And that鈥檚 incredibly important at this exact moment in time, as we head toward a presidential election.鈥�

The game will be sponsored by the Oaks Neighborhood, the School of Communications and Elon鈥檚 chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The Fake News Game Show was originated by Michael Koretzky, the director of a regional chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Donohue, Oaks Community Director Trianne Smith and apartment manager Chandler Vaughn 鈥�21 are organizing Elon鈥檚 version of the game show.

The tradition was started by Assistant Professor Julie Ellison Justice, who served as Oaks faculty director from 2015-2018. While many neighborhoods host various neighborhood dinners for their students, the Oaks tries to make theirs feel like dinner parties. Faculty and staff from across campus, as well as community members, are invited to attend and have informal conversations聽 regarding topics from voting to mental health to financial literacy to social media. The conversations are guided by discussion questions but also informal and resident-led, so each table has a very different conversation.

Oaks Community Director Trianne Smith said she hopes students gain new information from these dinners that they carry with them into classes and then apply to real life.

鈥淚 love when we can partner with other neighborhoods for these events,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭he conversations are great when the students have the opportunity to mingle with others from across campus.鈥�

In past years, the Oaks has partnered with other neighborhoods to provide different perspectives. Aside from other students, Oaks residents have spoken with local candidates running for Alamance County commissioner, Elon faculty and staff, and professionals from the Town of Elon. The opportunity to openly discuss topics and speak with experts in various areas allows students to explore new opinions and express their own.

Smith and Oaks Faculty Director Colin Donohue plan the dinners, and they work with apartment managers to compose questions for residents to use as conversation guides. The focus of the dinners keeps the neighborhood’s theme of Emerging Adulthood in mind by allowing residents to form their own opinions and see how they can use their knowledge in many ways.

鈥淭he Oaks neighborhood dinner is one of my favorite on-campus events because of how nicely it marries the intellectual and the social,鈥� Donohue said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 meant to be laid back, so that students have the opportunity to connect with faculty and staff over a meal and meaningful conversation.鈥�

This semester, the Oaks will continue to host neighborhood dinners and Late Night Noms on various Tuesdays. But while the offerings remain the same, the events will look a little different.

鈥淓ven during this time of COVID, it鈥檚 incredibly important that we have the opportunity to build community in the Oaks and spend time with each other,鈥� said Colin Donohue, the faculty director of the Oaks and the School of Communications director of student engagement and alumni affairs. 鈥淲e want to continue to offer programs that allow our students to connect and to engage in meaningful conversation. So we will continue to offer our traditional events, with our priority being the safety of our students and the Elon community.鈥�

More neighborhood dinners will be offered because they will not be open to the entire neighborhood. Instead, all dinners will be hosted outside and will be broken down by building in order to limit the size of the gathering to no more than 25 people. Still, the dinners will continue to be a great way to spark conversations among residents around topics related to political engagement, information literacy, financial literacy and thriving.

Oaks resident and sophomore sport management major Violet Robertson attended the neighborhood鈥檚 first dinner. She said she appreciated the precautions and the opportunity to have conversations with residents.

鈥淭he dinner was run smoothly within COVID guidelines, while still being a fun social event where we could mingle with our neighbors,鈥� she said.

Late Night Noms will maintain their 8 p.m. start time and take a hybrid approach, combining a mix of in-person and virtual events. The first LNN of the semester allowed residents to play a game of wellness bingo entirely on Instagram. The next one allowed students to swing by the McCoy Commons patio and pick up a goodie bag.

The Oaks Neighborhood is committed to maintaining the health and safety of its community while continuing to build a sense for community focused on the neighborhood theme.

鈥淥ur goal is to keep the themes in any way we can,鈥� said Trianne Smith, community director of the Oaks. 鈥淲e are using a lot more social media this semester, hosting contests and posting information for the students. Colin and I are trying to be flexible with needing to change and maintain the Ready and Resilient guidelines.鈥�

The community leaders shared stories of their work in public life, offering students, faculty and staff the opportunity to learn about the lives of the invited guests, rather than strictly talk about politics.

鈥淭he cool thing about the neighborhood dinners across campus is that we really value story sharing,鈥� said Sylvia Wade, the community director for the East Neighborhood. 鈥淚 think this really provides an opportunity for leaders to step out of their comfort zone and share a little bit about themselves that isn’t focused on their policy.鈥�

Elliott Lynch, a former Democratic candidate for the 64th district seat of the North Carolina House of Representatives, said he didn鈥檛 grow up with any black role models in civic life, but he hopes students today can see black political leaders as good examples.

鈥淚t’s always important for us to have role models, and it’s always important for young people to be exposed to old people like me so you can maybe learn something and ask questions,鈥� Lynch said.

Civic leaders also talked about the importance of local government.

鈥淵ou need to at least be aware of what happens in local politics because, in most situations, your local government impacts you more than the national government,鈥� Lynch said.

Guests in attendance:

• Tony Foriest, former North Carolina state senator
• Elliot Lynch, former candidate for the 64th district seat of the North Carolina House of Representatives
• DiAnne Enoch, town clerk, Town of Elon
• Sugelema Lynch, community organizer, Down Home NC
• Devonte Wilson, president, Young Democrats of North Carolina
• Lora Cubbage, judge, North Carolina Superior Court

福利亚洲国产精品 attendees:

• Naeemah Clark, professor of cinema & television arts
• Randy Williams, associate vice president for inclusive excellence and assistant professor of education
• Kenn Gaither, associate dean of the School of Communications and professor of strategic communications
• Amy Johnson, executive director of the Elon Core Curriculum and associate professor of history

The dinner invites black and African-American political and civic leaders from across North Carolina to discuss their professional paths with students, faculty and staff.

Guests in attendance will be:

• Tony Foriest, former North Carolina state senator
• Clara Foriest, Elon Board of Visitors
• Elliot Lynch, former candidate for the 64th district seat of the North Carolina House of Representatives
• DiAnne Enoch, town clerk, Town of Elon
• Sugelema Lynch, community organizer, Down Home NC
• Devonta Wilson, president, Young Democrats of North Carolina

福利亚洲国产精品 attendees will be:

• Naeemah Clark, professor of cinema and television arts
• Randy Williams, associate vice president for inclusive excellence and assistant professor of education
• Kenn Gaither, associate dean of the School of Communications and professor of strategic communications
• Amy Johnson, executive director of the Elon Core Curriculum and associate professor of history

The dinner is open to the entire campus community.

All participants were offered a free coffee-side drink before showcasing their knowledge across a variety of topics. Two teams of students finished first place and won $200 in Visa gift cards. One team comprised Abbi Decker, Jessica Flacksenburg and Seth McKee. The other co-winners were Megan Noor, Kaitlynn Dixon and Mackenzie Martinez.

Finishing second were Annie Lemasters, Jayne Bennett, Emma Siritzky and Jacob Hayward, who won $100 in Visa gift cards. Third-place finishers Emily May, Shannon Rogers and Megan Casner took home Oak House-branded mugs.

鈥淭his is the fourth consecutive year we鈥檝e offered a Winter Term-themed trivia event,鈥� said Colin Donohue, the faculty director of the Oaks and the School of Communications director of student engagement and alumni relations. 鈥淲e think it鈥檚 a fun way to reinforce the central thrust of Elon鈥檚 Winter Term. The questions help us understand how those themes are central to our lives.鈥�

Teams of four will answer questions about each of the four Winter Term themes 鈥� health, intercultural engagement, media and politics.

Prizes in the form of Visa gift cards and Oak House branded glasses or coffee cups will be awarded to the top three teams. Every trivia participant will also be offered a free drink on the coffee side of the Oak House.

Oaks Community Director Trianne Smith and the apartment managers develop ideas and then plan the Late Night Noms.

鈥淲e spend a lot of time thinking and planning what our students need based on best practices, based on research, based on what the apartment managers are saying they feel their students need and what we’re observing,鈥� Smith said.

This past semester, students who attended the 鈥減ositivitea鈥� Late Night Noms at the beginning of October, learned about sustainability and drank tea. At the end of October, students enjoyed fall-themed food and decorated pumpkins in celebration of Halloween.

Late Night Noms allows students to take a break, whether they stay the whole time or just drop by.

鈥淚t’s a good form of self-care to just go ahead and go somewhere, socialize for a bit, grab some food while you’re there and just relax,鈥� said Oaks apartment manager Perla Salazar-Rangel.

They are held in the McCoy Commons club room, so it鈥檚 only a short walk from Oaks residents鈥� apartments.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not something that they have to go out of their way to go somewhere completely off campus,鈥� Salazar-Rangel said. 鈥淚t’s so close and it’s in a nice space.鈥�

While students do get to enjoy free snacks and fun activities, Late Night Noms also helps advance the neighborhood theme by promoting useful skills. For example, last year, Assistant Professor of Finance Kate Upton taught students about financial literacy.

鈥淚f we say that emerging adulthood is really important, and we think that political engagement is really important as one of our subthemes, we can’t just say, 鈥極h, political engagement is important, go learn about it,鈥欌�� Smith said. 鈥淲e have to provide opportunities and create an environment where that learning and discovery can happen, so I think Late Night Noms helps with that.鈥�