The Hope College Student Activities Committee (SAC) has been named a Programming Organization of the Year for the Mid America Region of the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA).
The award was presented during the region’s annual conference, held on Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, in Grand Rapids.
The Programming Organization of the Year award recognizes overall excellence across the preceding school year. SAC was honored in the category of programs with an annual budget of at least $75,000, selected from a cohort that included large universities. There were also awards for medium programs with budgets of $35,000-$74,999 and small programs with budgets of $34,999 or less.
SAC schedules student engagement events open to the entire student body. Examples each year range from a robust concert series, weekly coffeehouse open-mic nights, a regular film series, weekly programming of trips to regional points of interest and athletic contests, slam poetry evenings, and traditional events such as Homecoming and Winter Fantasia.
The student directors of SAC this year are seniors Claire Leitzen of Naperville, Illinois, Caroline Toren of Chicago Heights, Illinois, and Randall Wade of Royal Oak, all of whom were active in the group during the award-winning 2014-15 school year. The group’s advisor is Chris Bohle, associate director of student life at Hope.
The NACA provides knowledge, ideas and resources for campus life, and organizes programs and events for its school and associate members focusing on student and professional leadership development, program planning, concert management, diversity and more. The Mid America Region includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. The conference included the presentation of several awards for individual programs organized by member institutions as well as multiple individual awards.