Ohio State University community leaders honoured at Leadership Awards
The Office of Student Life recently presented its annual Leadership Awards to 99 students, student organizations, faculty and staff celebrated for their contributions to The Ohio State University community.
The event, held on April 14 in the Ohio Union Performance Hall, was co-hosted by Arianna Camel, the associate director of the Student Life Student Wellness Center, and Mercedes Wallace, the director of Buckeye Leadership Fellows.
Camel and Wallace introduced Senior Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers, who congratulated the award recipients and thanked them for the work they do for the Buckeye community and beyond.
“Leadership is indeed not easy, but it is critically important,” Shivers said. “It is how we make change in our world.”
According to Camel, the Student Life Leadership Awards “celebrate members of the Ohio State community who demonstrate exceptional skills in leadership, activism, community engagement and helping the Buckeye community engage, learn and thrive.”
Organizational honors included Outstanding New Student Organization and Outstanding Overall Student Organization. Individual honors included the Dean’s Leadership Award and the Outstanding Senior Award; the latter was awarded to fewer than 1% of graduating seniors.
Shrishti Shrivastava, a recipient of the Outstanding Senior Award and president of BuckeyeThon, reflected on her leadership experience, saying that she has learned “to be intentional and that there is power in making space for others.”
“You do not always have to be the loudest person in the room, and you can be a much more effective leader as long as you stick to being your authentic self,” she said. “This mindset has instilled in me the ability to pursue every opportunity that comes my way with confidence.”
Shrivastava credited Ohio State’s many student opportunities and her faculty mentors as reasons for her success.
As she pursues a career in medicine, Shrivastava said that the skills she developed through her leadership experience will aid her.