Submission Information and Links

PROGRAMS:

     t  Community Service Program

     t  Diversity Program

     t  Educational Program

     t  Social Program

                                  For diversity, educational, and social programs, the judging committees look for creativity, originality, financial

                                  feasibility, percent of attendance and adaptability to other campuses. If the nomination is in conjunction with a

                                  nationally recognized week or holiday, the nomination needs to display how your campus has approached the

                                  program in a new or different way. Expanding on the adaptability question is always helpful; try to list resources

                                  used, etc. These nominations are not only giving recognition to a group of leaders that have done a super job

                                  on programming, but it becomes a resource and a guide for leaders on other campuses.

                                  With diversity and educational program nominee, some consideration is given to the relevance of the issue so

                                  mention if your campus is having a certain problem or circumstances that the program addressed. Timeliness of

                                  response to an issue is also a favorable quality in an original program.

                                  Nominations for the community service program should list resources contacted, expand on the purpose of the

                                  program, and describe the success of the program.

INDIVIDUALS/GROUPS:

     t  Advisor:

                                  Advisors need to create a supportive environment for the leaders they work with. The focus of the Advisor

                                  OTM should be based on the advisory role of the person rather than their professional role. Personal examples

                                  are often the best way to express the intangible contributions of an advisor. The nomination should display

                                  how the advisor was instrumental in helping the leaders they work with grow, learn, and develop. It is also

                                  important to note the difference between the relationship between advisor and organization member versus

                                  the relationship between supervisor and staff member. It's great that they do their job well, but it's even better

                                  that they're an amazing advisor!

     t  Community:

                                  This category is another award that recognizes the intangible. A community is a group of individuals that

                                  share a sense of belonging with other members of the group and share experiences that bind them together

                                  and make them a mutually identifiable group. An outstanding community is one that makes a positive impact

                                  on the members of the group and the people around them. Make sure to include how the community exists,

                                  whether it is a wing or floor of a residence hall or if it is an executive board or committee of an organization.

                                  You should also tell what activities the community does together and what accomplishments they have made.

     t  Executive Board Member:

                                  Be sure the person you are nominating is eligible for the award. The nominated exec needs to be recognized

                                  by the NRHH constitution. Let the judging committee know about how the exec has enhanced the

                                  organization and any unique or creative approaches they have taken in their position. This category should be

                                  approached similarly to the Student Of the Month category. We are looking for those special efforts, not just

                                  fulfilling the job requirements of the position.

     t  Faculty/Staff:

                                  This category is to recognize an outstanding faculty/staff member for their contributions above and beyond

                                  there normal scope of duty and daily tasks. The nomination should highlight how this individual has impacted

                                  the community or your life at large and paint a clear picture of how they did so.

     t  First Year Student:

                                  See “Student” below

     t  Organization:

                                  This category is to recognize an outstanding organization, not an outstanding organization member.

                                  Nominations should be group specific and not concentrate on the efforts of a few individuals. It is also helpful

                                  to include information about some of your members and their commitment to the organization. Not only

                                  include members and their commitment, but also the commitment of the organization to certain organizations

                                  in the community or campus. Also include any new and exciting ideas the organization has tried out during

                                  the month.

     t  Resident Assistant:

                                  This is another category in which nominations have been found to not be month specific, so watch out for the

                                  tendency to include extraneous information. We look for unique contributions to the position, so you might

                                  include any difficult confrontations with which the RA intervened or crisis situations with which he/ she

                                  managed to make a difference. Besides programming, you also could include any bulletin board he/she

                                  created, how he/she might have promoted an advocacy month or week, how he/she has supported his/her

                                  fellow staff members, etc. Please be sure to include the nominator's relationship to the nominee. Other things

                                  that make for a good RA of the month candidate include committee involvement, involvement in other

                                  organizations, maintaining an exceptional GPA or having organized a particularly close community. These

                                  are not the only things that a RA can do to deserve an OTM, though, the main thing to consider is have they

                                  exceeded the expectations of their job.

     t  Spotlight:

                                  The award is intended to recognize outstanding OTMs that don’t fit into any set category, such as: Student

                                  Assistants, Food Service Personnel, Facilities and Maintenance Staff, Administrative Personnel, etc. Also

                                  include how this person has helped out an individual or contributed to the well being of the building.

     t  Student:

                                  This category is intended for the new or average student leader, such as an Office Assistant, or Office

                                  Manager, who puts forth special effort during the month of the nomination. We are looking for a special

                                  effort or growth on the  art of the nominee. We want to know what made this individual extraordinary that

                                  month and how he/ she has contributed to making the residence hall system better on your campus. The

                                  nominator has much latitude with this category, so take it away! Please note that Resident Assistants,

                                  Advisors, NCCs and Executive Board Members are not eligible for this award.

Tips for Writing Winning OTMs

     t  Submit OTM nominations on TIME!

     t  Make sure you are nominating someone for the correct category

     t  Make sure your nominations are MONTH SPECIFIC. Use statements like, "In this month, ..."

     t  Give as much information about the event or the individual as possible; feel free to ask the person you want to

                                  nominate about their work.

     t  Be descriptive and elaborate as people who may have never been to USC might be reading the nominations and

                                  will not have any other knowledge about your nomination. Write so that everything you say can be visualized

                                  and understood.

     t  Define acronyms, since they are not always universal

     t  Proofread your nominations for spelling and grammar

     t  We recommend writing all nominations in a word document and then use copy and paste.

If you have any questions about your nomination or you want to confirm that your nomination was received, feel free to email our OTM Chair: Sunit Rohant (srohant@usc.edu).

NRHH thanks you for your Of-The-Month nomination!

OTM Information