The annual CUSOM End of the Year Picnic was hosted Friday with homemade BBQ, a kickball tournament, tug-of-war, sack races, and awards.
The annual end of the year celebration is an afternoon when students, faculty, and staff come together to celebrate the successful end of the academic year and have some family-style fun. The afternoon begins with homemade eastern Carolina BBQ courtesy of the CUSOM head of security, Mr. Eddie Holder, as the feature of the picnic buffet luncheon. Faculty, staff, and students are quickly identified by their team t-shirts or color coordinated team uniforms while they eat, and soon the spirit of friendly competition takes over and the games begin.
Eight teams competed in the kickball tournament with Team Ultimate winning the championship title. There were also tug-of-war competitions, sack races, inflatable slide races, and beatings in the inflattable battle arena. “The end of the year picnic was a great way to celebrate this past year!” said MS-I Kaite Haga. “A year in medical school really brings everyone together in ways you can’t anticipate, so it made it all the more fun to get together one last time before we parted ways for the summer.”
Aside from the Kickball Champtionship title, the following awards were given:
MVP: Nathan Craig
Honorable Mention: Scott Harrington
Grillmaster: Eddie Holder
Best Team Name: Neurodegenerators
Honorable Mention Team Name: Kick Acidosis
Best Sportsmanship: Team Main Street
Most Dedicated: Dr. Adnan Siddiqui
As the fun and games came to an end, the moment everyone at CUSOM was looking forward to the most, SGA’s presentation of the Edward H. Holder Service Award, arrived. The Holder Award was created in honor of Edward H. Holder (aka Eddie), the head of security and grillmaster at CUSOM, by the inaugural class to annually recognize a member of the CUSOM faculty and the CUSOM staff for consistently demonstrating excellence in service to the school. The 2014-2015 Holder Award recipients are: Dr. Adnan Siddiqui, Clinical Chair and Assistant Professor of Pathology, for faculty and Ms. Joy Henderson, Director of Admissions, for the staff.
“Ms. Joy is the first common denominator for the students at CUSOM,” shared Scott Bland, President of the Class of 2018. “She sets the tone for the welcoming family atmosphere that leads many of us to choose Campbell and all of us to be glad we matriculated. Furthermore, her enthusiam for us doesn’t end after admission. You can’t pass her without getting that signature smile and an encouraging word. She’s one of the staff I will make sure to chase down for a hug at graduation.”
“Dr. Siddiqui captures our attention with interactive lectures and a clear explanation of difficult material,” continued Bland. “He goes the extra mile to be a part of our lives by helping with research and even hitting the soccer field with us. He is exceedingly good at his job and that is why we’re happy to see him on our schedule.”
“We have so many incredible faculty and staff members that really make CUSOM special – we are like a family,” explained Katie Haga. “All of the students are very appreciative for the hard work, time and energy that’s invested in our education. The Holder Awards are one small gesture to recognize two outstanding individuals who, among many, go far above and beyond every day. It has been an amazing year!”
Annual End of the Year Picnic