And the award goes to…

Pace’s annual Blue and Gold awards go on despite remote operations

Miaira Raiford, Contributing Writer

On Friday, May 8, The Blue and Golds: Campus Community Award Ceremony took to Zoom to celebrate, honor and highlight previous recognition on the Pace campus. Hosted by the Setters Leadership Initiatives (SLI) and Student Development & Campus Activities (SDCA), around 85 to 100 attendees gathered on the app from 4:30 p.m. − 6:00 p.m, consisting of a variety of nominated students, faculty, student organizations, fraternities and sororities.

The awards are exclusively attended by nominees and their guests to come together in celebration of accomplishments and awards made possible by the Pace community, which include Organization/Group Awards, Residential Life Hall of the Year, the Jefferson Award, Individual Awards and many more.

Sophomore Samantha Murphy won Outstanding Transfer Student, an award dedicated to any transfer student enrolled who has “demonstrated extraordinary qualities and participated in activities that have had a positive impact on the Pace University-Pleasantville Community.”

“I’m still in shock,” Murphy said. “It’s this thing in my family; no one ever really wins anything, so this is shocking.”

Nominees are not distinctively told what award they are chosen for, only that they have been selected to attend the awards and are going to be recognized either individually or within their organization. Each award is presented by a member of the University community, and at the conclusion of each award, the recipient, their guests and the presenter pose for a photo.

Pace University’s Book Club took the win for Organization of the Year, which is awarded to an organization that is not a fraternity or sorority that shows “exemplary behavior at all times and sets a precedent for other organizations to model, while benefitting the larger university community.”

A screenshot of Pace Book Club members and eboard

“We are so honored and excited to be named Student Organization of the Year,” President and founder of the club, Mackenzie Morgan said. “I’m incredibly proud of all the hard work my executive board and my members have put in to make Pace Book Club something special.”