So Good to be Live! Students Receive Recognition during End-of-Year Ceremonies

After three years of pandemic disruptions, our awards ceremonies were finally back, in-person, live! Our 2023 PWR Awards Week–comprised of the Boothe prize, Lunsford prize, Hoefer prize, and the Notation in Science Communication showcase–was held Monday May 15 through Friday May 19, celebrating students face-to-face for the first time since 2019. 

We tapped into an elusive feeling of community, turning out to witness—together— the achievements of so many students. At each event, we were together in the same room, not just individually looking at stacks of faces in the Zoom room. The ceremonial power of this single week of celebrations in spring quarter connects us as a community of students, staff, and lecturers.

And so many people worked together to make it happen! PWR 1 coordinator Lisa Swan; PWR 2 coordinator Jennifer Johnson; Writing in the Major (WiM) coordinator Chris Kamrath; and Notation in Science Communication (NSC) coordinator Emily Polk all worked tirelessly in the run-up to Awards week–both through the nomination processes (and the portfolio process in the NSC’s case), and into awards ceremony planning. Associate Director of PWR, Christine Alfano, kept all the components in motion, working with each person involved to map out how the festivities would unfold. Administrators Michelle Bercow, Cristina Huerta, and Jasmine Hernandez added many hours to their always busy days in order to make sure everyone felt invited and welcomed (as well as to make sure we had something to snack on and could find a beverage to accompany our socializing). PWR Faculty Director Adam Banks,  Senior Associate Vice Provost Elaine Treharne, and VPUE Vice Provost Sarah Church pulled the gatherings together by giving audiences the long view on how significant these activities are as they introduced the events.

Awards week is the culmination of a year-long process, which has many moving parts. Eligibility for a given award year resets at the beginning of Spring Quarter, and the coordinators of each PWR award worked from Spring 2022 through the end of Winter 2023, to set up the submission and judging process. A special thank you for the leadership (and hard work) of coordinators Lisa Swan; Jennifer Johnson, Chris Kamrath and Emily Polk, which was was warmly felt and heartily recognized at the in-person ceremonies.

Each of the four events had its own memorable moments. The Boothe ceremony drew a large crowd of nominees, plus their friends and families.  Behind the scenes, Michelle, Cristina, and Adam sprang into action to help a student guest who had fainted in the lobby–and the ceremony went on without a hitch! Senior Associate Vice Provost Elaine Treharne MC’d, and award winning students’ were introduced by their PWR, ITALIC, and SLE instructors.

At the Lunsford ceremony, Andrea Lunsford–the founding Director of PWR, Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor Emerita, and award namesake and donor–made a guest appearance via Zoom to congratulate the winners.

At the Hoefer ceremony, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education Sarah Church was MC, and one winning group came dressed for the occasion in full suits!

The Notation in Science Communication ceremony was a wonderful morning showcase, with each student presenting their portfolio. The writer Sara Michas Martin came and signed her book of poetry, Gray Matter, for the graduates, who were each gifted a copy. The NSC seniors were excited and boisterous: cheering and applauding wildly anytime Coordinator Emily Polk said "NSC" as part of her scripted remarks.

These spring events to honor undergrad writers and speakers have taken place for many years, and even amid the distancing of the pandemic they brought together families, friends, and teachers who support students’ hard work. Yet this year, somehow the mere act of gathering seemed like a reason to feel exuberant. We all got to see each other, bump into each other, strike up random conversations, feel a part of something. The pandemic had kept us separated. This year’s return to in-person ceremonies gave us a new way to feel the emotional power (PWR!) of this long tradition. So glad you could make it!