Students honored virtually for real leadership

Though we have unfortunately been separated by geography throughout the second half of this semester our student leadership has responded in stride to maintain the connections that define a Tandon experience. Although coming together in person was not a possibility, the Office of Students Activities and Resource Center virtually honored the accomplishments of Tandon's student leaders, organizations, and advisors who have committed themselves to the enrichment of our campus community. 

Here are some impressions from our winners about the awards, and what this last year has meant for them and their organizations:

Nayab Butt

Winner of Student Leader of the Year Award

“Being involved in different Tandon organizations has helped me to form some of my favorite friendships. Getting to work with those friends in different settings, and roles, allowed me to evolve my own leadership style. I have learned so much from the past and current leaders around me, and I hope to continue to carry this trend and the friendships I've formed throughout my career and life.”

Alexandra Brinton

Winner of the Emerging Leaders Award

“I'm so honored to have won this award. I first want to thank my amazing fellow Student Council members, and our fantastic OSARC advisors and GAs. They were so supportive in helping us turn our ideas into realities. I'm so proud of all the work our team accomplished. Whether it was mental health events, raffling off tickets to Nets games or Broadway shows, or hosting Spirit Week, I knew I had an outstanding team that I could count on to help get the job done. I'm also proud of TUSC's seamless transition to online events, such as Trivia Night and Netflix watch parties. The best part about hosting events for Tandon was getting to connect with my fellow students. Serving as programming director has been the highlight of my time at Tandon, and I cannot wait to serve again next year!"

Society Women Engineers

Organization of the Year
Outstanding Organizational Collaboration Award

Spokesperson Shahrin Haque:

“This was my first year serving as co-president for an organization that I have been a part of since my freshman year. I’ve watched it go through immense changes and become a name around campus. Winning this award means so much to our club and I have to commend my amazing e-board, they are the most hardworking and dedicated group of women I've ever had the pleasure to work with. They really allowed me to become comfortable in my role as co-president, and for that I am grateful. My co-president, Mary, is graduating and will truly be missed. I'll be taking over in the Fall with some old and new faces, and can't wait to see what's next for SWE!”

Anne-Laure Fayard

Winner of the Faculty Advisor of the Year Award

"Since DFA NYU's start in 2012,  I have enjoyed working with students from all disciplines, nationalities, and ages (the club is open to undergraduate and graduate students from all schools across the university). Diversity and multidisciplinarity are essential to the development of creative and meaningful solutions, and all the projects we have worked on (education, food waste, homelessness, women empowerment to name a few) prove it. I can't wait to see what are the issues DFA teams will decide to tackle in the fall!"

Shreya Gossain

Winner of the Student of the Year Award 

“My campaign slogan was: engage, enhance, empower. I believe that approach has been the key to my success so far and I’m grateful to have been recognized by OSARC as a leader for my peers”

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

Winners of the Outstanding Programming: Diversity And Cultural Competency Award

spokesperson Tiffany Brito:

"We are honored to have received this award. This year we wanted to focus on bringing awareness to the Hispanic community at Tandon. During Latinx Heritage Month we made strong efforts to display our pride by creating a board with tons of information about Hispanics in STEM and our diverse cultures. We also hosted our annual Latin STEM Fest with 100+ attendees which highlighted scientists, inventors, and innovators from various Latin countries. We pride ourselves on hosting these events which call attention to our school's rich and diverse community! It truly motivates us to continue our work and grow our SHPE Familia."

Shreyas Kumar

Winner of the Distinguished Engagement Award

“I am elated that OSARC deemed me fit to receive this award, especially as I step out of college and into the job market. I am glad to have some good news in these difficult times. 

I believe OSARC awarded me because of my involvement with Tandon and OSARC as I helped with two New Graduate Student Orientations and was on the executive board of two clubs. I am glad that I got those opportunities because I am all about being connected and learning from people. Organizing events for other students, who I am now privileged to call my friends, has given me some amazing memories and I will cherish them forever. I can't share enough gratitude for Mike and OSARC. As the only Bisexual Indian on-campus I often felt out of place, and this organization made me feel at home. A special shout out to John Jimenez and Sahaara-Jade Bryant and the rest of the GAs who had their pearly whites ready every time I stopped by. I am going to miss NYU, I am going to miss all my friends and the homes I made on campus. I wish my Tandon family all the luck on the new journeys to come.”

Design For America

Winners of the Outstanding Programming: Innovation and Creative Thinking Award

Spokesperson Brittney Atkinson-Macfarlane:

"As DFA President for the 2019-2020 academic year, I'm so excited that we've won this award. It wouldn't have been possible without the incredible work of our club members and executive board! A unique challenge for us was making the adjustment to design techniques that could accommodate remote work, due to COVID-19 and social distancing recommendations. At DFA, we believe in designing with and not for others. Not having access to the target audiences for our design projects was difficult because collaboration, physical prototyping, and in-person user testing is a large part of our workflow. Nevertheless, I'm amazed at our club's commitment to their projects and flexibility. They found ways to adapt to the current situation in manners I couldn't have imagined myself!"

Additional Winners

Outstanding Programming: Community Engagement and Civic Responsibility
Muslim Student Association

Outstanding Programming: Interpersonal Leadership Development
Women in Business and Entrepreneurship

Outstanding Programming: Connection to the Global Network University
oSTEM

Outstanding Organizational Growth
BioMedical Engineering Society

Outstanding Financial Management (Fall 2019 only)
Navigators

Outstanding Event Management (Fall 2019 only)
National Society of Black Engineers

Outstanding Student Engagement (Fall 2019 only)
Graduate Indian Student Association

Outstanding Organizational Management (Fall 2019 only)
Poly Anime Society

Emerging Leader
Anysa Fernandez

Distinguished Engagement
Jonathan Lin