The Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society awarded the recipients of the Golden Apple Award during the Faculty Appreciation Banquet on May 11, 2016 in the Great Hall.
One professor from each department received the award, and one outstanding professor received the Golden Apple Award to represent the whole faculty.
“Our professors do everything they can so they prepare us for the next level. This event, it’s usually a fundraiser for AGS. Regardless of how you feel about the internet here, regardless of how you feel about the bathrooms or the construction, when it comes to classroom setting, some of the best experiences that we have here on this campus have been the direct result of the people that in their classrooms and deliver their lesson plan,” Joe Hernandez, 28, an international development studies major, and president of Alpha Gamma Sigma honor society, said in his opening speech.
According to Hernandez, the appreciation day started as a fundraising event to raise scholarships for the AGS honor society wherein students will pay a dollar if they want to nominate for their favorite professor. However, for this year, they decided to it somewhat different. No dollars needed to show appreciation for the professors.
“This year, since the first time I’ve been here, instead of fundraiser, we tabled out there for a week. We gave students candy in exchange to come and vote because you never know when somebody’s going to drop a 20 for professors,” Hernandez said.
Lunches were served to the professors as they came in groups on different times from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., and every seven minutes, a Golden Apple recipient from each department was announced.
“This banquet is for them. We want to show them that we appreciate them and that we recognize them for all the hard work and putting more effort than just being a teacher, really focusing and inspiring students as they show us the passion that they have,” Carolina Guzman, 19, a business administration major, and secretary of the AGS honor society, said.
More 300 students participated by nominating their favorite professors and over 150 professors were nominated for the award. The Golden Apple Award recipient for the entire faculty is Dr. Kaycea Campbell, an assistant professor for Economics and faculty adviser for AGS. This is the second time that she won the Golden Apple.
“It’s good to be appreciated by them,” Campbell said.
According to Campbell, the impact of this year’s award on her is bigger.
“It is because of my professors that I aspire to be a professor,” Hernandez said.