On Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Villanova Room, Villanova’s Black Student Union will be hosting the Black Excellence Awards for its Black History Month Showcase. These awards will recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions of Black students at Villanova.
As stated on the Black Student Union’s Instagram, “This prestigious event aims to spotlight the remarkable accomplishments of those who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, academic excellence and a commitment to making a positive impact on both campus and the broader community.”
Throughout the event, there will be music, entertainment and food, and it is definitely worth attending. Tickets cost 10 dollars for students and 15 dollars for faculty, staff and guests.
While the Saturday event will be filled with joyous festivities, the highlight of the night is the nominees for the Black Excellence Awards. The categories for the awards are Class, School, Academic, Service & Advocacy, Student Organization, Extracurricular and Style.
Senior Lydia McFarlane shared how she felt when she learned she was nominated.
“I was honored to see my name listed under the nominations for ‘Ms. Black and Involved,’” McFarlane said. “During my time at Villanova, I’ve tried to stay involved in extracurriculars that would help me meet other students with similar interests and build my resume, such as The Villanovan. I’ve used my roles in organizations to help uplift the Black community by writing stories covering BSU events and helping students with my scholarship come together as president of my scholarship board, St. Martin de Porres. It’s an honor to have my work recognized by others in the community, and I’m excited to see how the awards pan out.”
Junior Dean Millard felt “humbled” and “honored” to be nominated for four Black Excellence awards.
“It is truly gratifying to be viewed as a leader and positive role model in Villanova University’s Black community,” Millard said. “I strive to help create greater opportunities for future generations of Black students at Villanova. My service is rooted in the advancement of all Villanovans, specifically underrepresented groups. I am grateful for the way Villanova’s Black community has embraced, accepted and supported me throughout my experience. I am proud to be nominated with various other impactful Black students at Villanova that have worked diligently to help our university grow.”
Senior Lindsay Redditt reflected on when she found out about her nomination for the Miss Black Advocate Award.
“I was so excited,” Redditt said. “I had no idea that I was even nominated until I got an email from BSU informing me of my nomination. I really love the idea of highlighting Black students across campus because we don’t really have anything currently that shows off Black students from every college. I think, especially during Black history month, we don’t always include ourselves as students when making posts or having events, we usually highlight people from the past or staff members. So I love that we are doing that now and recognizing students that are doing important work on and off-campus. I was specifically excited to be nominated for this because I do lots of things on and off-campus and hope that I’m making an impact. So, I’m really grateful that someone noticed this and wanted to recognize me for this award. Regardless if I win or lose, I am happy that I was even nominated. And I know that whoever wins the award, truly earned it.”
“[The Black Excellence Awards] will be a time for the Black community to strengthen relationships, highlight the contributions of our leaders and inspire a new wave of black leaders at our university,” Millard said.
The ceremony is certainly an award show one won’t want to miss. This year’s nominees deserve all the support and honor to reflect their memorable accomplishments as Villanova students.
