Who knew there were over 500 clubs here at UCI? Well I sure did not, at least not until I attended this year’s Anteater Awards! The ceremony took place on Wednesday, May 23 at the Crystal Cove Auditorium at 7 PM.
As we filed into Crystal Cove and took our seats, Sherwynn Umali, the Director of Campus Organizations, Dr. Rameen Talesh, the Assistant Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students, and Dr. Thomas Parham, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs began the evening with opening remarks. They all spoke wholeheartedly spoke of the organizations on campus and their development throughout the years. Afterwards, each CORE consultant came onstage and was awarded for their hard work during the year. There was a special thanks to the volunteers as well for their dedication.
Afterward, the show officially started! Performances included those from Jodaiko, MCIA (Modern Completely Insane Anteaters), and Swing Dance at UCI. Each performance was absolutely amazing and unique. UCI has is saturated with talented performers with such endless energy that inspires the whole audience. Even when MCIA’s music experienced some technical difficulties, the show was unaffected. The team continued on dancing while singing the lyrics and beats. The audience even joined in whenever they could!
Apart from the performers, the award ceremony was especially interesting. There were awards such as Most Original Publicity/Marketing, Most Outstanding Annual Program, Most Promising New Group, and Most Traditional Cultural Program. TEDxUCIrvinewon multiple awards. Some other awards included Most Promising New Group, and Most Outstanding New Program. Excellence in Fundraising went to Project RISHI while Most Outstanding Educational Program to Right to Know Peer Educators. Most Outstanding Community Service Program was awarded to SAGE Scholars and Social Justice Award to Public Health Association.
It was enjoyable to see clubs get awarded for all the hard work they put in during the academic year. Appreciation is one of the kindest notions one can give and get for hard work, as it takes great effort and time to maintain a campus organization. I cannot wait to attend next year’s award ceremony and see more new and returning clubs with their individual projects.