By Nicole Acevedo, Assistant Editor
On Sunday, September 19, 2021, at 11:00 a.m., Western New England University held their annual Skookum Awards ceremony. Award recipients, along with their families and friends, were in attendance beside University faculty and staff.
Senior Associate Director of Alumni Relations, Kristina Oleksak, led the ceremony and opened with a warm welcome. President Robert Johnson was also in attendance, as he greeted and addressed the prestigious group of students. Golden Bear alumni of the Class of 2012, Danielle Cowan, was the keynote speaker for the event. As a former Skookum winner herself, Cowan’s speech was about following your journey without regrets, and never regretting what led you to your final destination.
For those who are unaware of what the Skookum Award is, it is the recognition of 15 students in the senior class who have excelled in academics, leadership roles, and volunteerism. In order to be considered for the award, you must have strong academic standing and participate in a rigorous application and interview process.
Last spring, qualifying students received an invitation to apply for the award. There were over 100 applicants. Each year, the interview team uses a point system to score and rank the candidates, to which they then narrow down the 100 students to just 30. Of the 30 interviews, the final 15 students were chosen.
Much like the interview process, there are ranks to the awards. Second and third place recipients receive the “Royal Skookum” title with a monetary award of $250. The Royal Skookums for this year were Samantha McClenahan (second) and Taylor Pedley (third) The first place award, or “Grand Skookum,” was awarded to Hailey MacDonald along with $500. This year also deemed Darnella Nyirinkwaya the first international student ever to receive a Skookum Award.
Congratulations to all the recipients on their four years of hard work and dedication!
