Honors Giving Back Awards
Through the Honors Giving Back Awards, the Honors College encourages students to reflect on and share their experiences working in their communities.
Awards*:
- $1,500 Grand Prize
- $750 Second Place Prize
- $250 Third Place Prize
Criteria for Applying:
- Demonstrated significant and sustained involvement in a local, national, or international community project or organization.
- Indication and explanation of connection to academic work (e.g., course, project, research, internship, study abroad).
Instructions:
Submit a 2-3 minute video/slide or other visual submission that tells the story of your community engagement. Submissions will be accepted by sending a file or link (YouTube, Vimeo, other) to honors@msu.edu. Submission dates will be set soon for the 2025 Giving Back Awards.
Submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Impact – who is helped by the work, magnitude and duration of service
- Connection of service to academic work and goals
- Demonstration of working outside one’s comfort zone
- Reflection on personal growth
- Quality of the presentation/video
Awards will be given at a colloquium and ceremony for finalists.
*Prizes are deposited to winners’ Financial Aid accounts and, as such, are subject to Office of Financial Aid rules
Made possible by:
In partnership with:
2022 Finalists:
Nupur Huria
Grand Prize Recipient
Seohee Kim
2nd Prize
Aya Abu-Zama
3rd Prize
Ellie Friedman
Honorable Mention
Saif Juma
Honorable Mention
“My volunteer story: from refugee to volunteer”
2021 Finalists:
Eliot Haddad
“COVID-19 Service”
“Covid-19 service; pre-med perspective podcast”
Amy Montalbano
“Literacy KC Adventure App”
Avery Tillery
“Fisheries and Wildlife | Molecular Genetics and Genomics”
(Video no longer available)
2019 Finalists:
Joy Chepkorir
Grand Prize Recipient
“Breast and Cervical Cancer Awareness in Kenyan Women”
Eric Locker
2nd Prize
“Jailhouse Rock”
Sierra Richards
3rd Prize
“Media Sandbox Street Teams”
Evan Brook, Gabriel Moreau, Matt Ring, Aalayah Spencer and Dylan Smith
Honorable Mention
“Ghana Physics Education”
Nyimasata Danjo
Honorable Mention
“Community Engagement”
(Video no longer available)