Ol Spart, a green boulder covered in alumni signatures, sits in the center of campus.

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Spartans of the Year

Recognizing Alumni Achievements and Service

Spartans of the Year is an annual awards program that recognizes outstanding alumni who have demonstrated dedication, excellence, professional achievement, and a commitment to staying engaged with York College after graduating.

Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award

The Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award is presented annually to an alumna/us who has demonstrated noteworthy and distinctive professional achievements. Achievements may be specific to their chosen career, industry, or leadership experiences. Consideration is also given to a nominee’s contributions to their community and York College.

Distinguished Alumni Service Award

The Distinguished Alumni Service Award is presented annually to an alumnus who has demonstrated noteworthy and distinctive service to the greater community and/or York College of Pennsylvania throughout their life and career.

Distinguished Young Alumni Award

The Distinguished Young Alumni Award is aimed at honoring a York College graduate who, within ten years of graduation, has demonstrated noteworthy and distinctive professional achievements and/or outstanding service to the community.

Nomination and Recognition

Eligibility

Alumni are eligible if they have earned an associate, undergraduate, or graduate degree from York College of Pennsylvania, York Junior College, York Collegiate Institute, or York County Academy. To be considered, alumni cannot currently be employees of York College, voting members of the Board of Trustees, or current members of the Alumni Board. 

Criteria

York College’s Spartans of the Year awards program recognizes outstanding alumni who have demonstrated dedication, excellence, professional achievement, and most importantly, a commitment to staying engaged with York College after graduating. For more detailed descriptions, please see below:

  • A nominee who has demonstrated dedication is someone who continuously gives their full attention to something they are passionate about, whether a cause, others, or their professional goals.
  • A nominee who has demonstrated excellence is someone who rises above and beyond standard expectations, personally or professionally, and continuously strives for growth.
  • A nominee who has demonstrated professional achievement is someone who has accomplished, or exceeded, their goals and has contributed to furthering their respective field.
  • A nominee who has been committed to staying engaged with YCP post-graduation is someone who actively works to keep connected, whether in person and/or digitally, and contributes to the growth of the institution.

Strong nominations will include robust answers with specific examples of why the nominee is deserving of this award. You can also provide any supporting materials such as a resume, newspaper article, LinkedIn account, etc. Please see below for an excerpt of a strong nomination example:

How has this nominee demonstrated dedication, excellence, and/or professional achievement?

NAME has been employed with COMPANY since graduation from York College in 2003.  Immediately upon his undergraduate degree, NAME also completed his Masters Degree, working part-time in the evenings, with high honors from Johns Hopkins University. He has demonstrated dedication and excellence through the following accomplishments:

  1. Established and continues to mentor a team responsible for modeling and simulation of chillers. (Our family of four recently returned from a two and a half year assignment abroad in order for NAME to build this team.  He returned to his local colleagues with a fresh perspective as it relates to international business and management.  He will continue to serve as the lead for his immediate team; though challenging he is creating best practices to ensure that the growth of that team continues from abroad).
  2. Six issued patents including heat exchanger design and cooling systems.
  3. Developed centrifugal chiller performance rating platform. 
  4. Created engineering analysis tools to automate and expedite test data analysis.

NAME is continually recognized for his excellent work and work ethic at COMPANY.

Spartans of the Year Selection Committee

  • Hayley Althoff '19
  • Allison Dobstetter '17
  • Greg Erb '06 
  • Kate Gaudet '09
  • Thomas Gaudet '18
  • Julie Kulp '13
  • Barb Sleeger '71
  • Molly Thate '21
  • Sean Umbenhouer '91
  • Brooks Walter '12

Following the release of the award winners, the Office of Alumni Relations will work to feature each recipient through social media and other multimedia channels. Additionally, the Office of Alumni Relations will work with each recipient to create individualized engagement opportunities where they will be honored and presented with their award, whether at an on-campus event or at a regional event in their area. 

Alumni Relations Staff

View All Staff
Michelle Shellenberger
Michelle Shellenberger
Director, Alumni Relations
Alumni Relations
Christina Herman
Christina Herman
Assistant Director, Alumni Relations
Alumni Relations
Andrea Jackson
Andrea Jackson
Assistant Director of Development Events
Advancement
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