Photo caption: Student leaders with the Campbell University Campus Activities Board (CAB) who delivered a presentation before a panel of judges during NACA’s South Regional Conference that helped lead CAB to being recognized with the Board of Excellence Award. Pictured, left to right, are Alexandria Williams, Kena Hawkins, Brandon Hudson, Jasmine Erickson and Melissa Ahearn.
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BUIES CREEK — The Campbell University Campus Activities Board (CAB) was recognized during the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) South Regional Conference this past weekend in Chattanooga, Tenn., with two of the organization’s biggest awards. CAB received the Board of Excellence Award, which recognizes the best activities board in the South; and Karie Parkes, Campbell’s assistant director of student activities, was presented with the Shuronda H. Smith Outstanding New Professional Award.
“CAB has come a long way since it was started seven years ago at Campbell,” said Chris O’Connor, Campbell’s director of student activities. “To go from a newly created board to being recognized as the best programming board in the region in only seven years is a testament to the hard work and energy that our students have invested in making CAB the best organization possible.”
CAB organizes activities, programs and events for Campbell students that foster an environment that stimulates social, cultural, multicultural, intellectual, leadership and recreational skills. The many activities that CAB plans include concerts, formals, Street Fair, Party in the Park, movie nights, Homecoming, day trips and Spring Fling, among numerous others. The organization is comprised of an executive board and eight committees — all led by students.
To be considered for the Board of Excellence Award, staff and CAB’s student leaders prepared a written application and supporting materials for NACA. NACA then narrowed down the applications to about four finalists who presented a 30-minute oral presentation before a panel of judges. The student leaders who presented on behalf of CAB at the conference were Kena Hawkins, president of the executive board; Alexandria Williams, secretary of the executive board; Brandon Hudson, treasurer of the executive board; Jasmine Erickson, chair of the Homecoming and Spring Fling committee; and Melissa Ahearn, chair of the off-campus committee. Alexandra Dolsman, vice president of the executive board, helped prepare much of the presentation, though she was not able to attend the conference.
The Board of Excellence Award recognizes “the hard work of the students in CAB and gives them encouragement that they do really good work on and for their campus,” said Parkes, the assistant director of student activities.
The award also reflects the larger student body at Campbell, she added. “It shows that the students attending Campbell really care about their school and each other. It shows we have hard working, bright students that make up our student body, which helps to show future students that Campbell is a great place to attend.”
Parkes, too, was honored during NACA’s South Regional Conference with the Outstanding New Professional Award, which is presented annually to a professional staff member who has worked in campus activities at an NACA institution in the South for one to three years. Parkes, who earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry and her Master of Divinity from Campbell in 2005 and 2011, respectively, was nominated for the award by O’Connor and CAB’s student leaders.
“Karie’s attention to detail and willingness to go above and beyond to ensure our events are successful are a big part of why she has been so successful in the work with CAB,” O’Connor said.
Parkes began working with CAB in 2009 as a graduate assistant. After she completed her master’s in 2011, she accepted the full-time position as assistant director of student activities.
“The Outstanding New Professional Award for me shows that people I work for and with really care about all that I do. It tells me that I’m appreciated,” Parkes said. “Especially when things can get difficult, I know that I am supported by the people around me.”
She added: “What I enjoy most about my job is building relationships with the students. I get to know so many students on the campus through CAB, the Student Government Association and clubs. It’s so fun to see how excited the students get about the events on and off campus. I’ve learned we have very creative students who come up with great ideas for events for their fellow students.”