How Do You Earn a Trophy or Award? Easy – B the Best.
I have been an associate professor of English for years. The community college’s learning center was my home ground. Here was where education in all disciplines took place. There were classes with computer-aided instructions, auxiliary and other classes. One special feature involved students who came from varied income groups (these could not afford an education); those who had ethnic origins; those who were gifted but too poor; or had learning disabilities. Such students were covered under a Government-funded program. These students received service and support in the form of good educators, as well as stipends and scholarships. There were some mentally challenged students too. Naturally, we had to work hard to prepare some events for every season, have celebrations and contests, award trophies and prizes.
Of course, we were an enthusiastic lot–fully interested in the success of the students. We also loved ceremonies that rewarded diligence, progress in academics and great attitudes of social service. We were allowed to decide who should receive the awards and order the trophies. Not only the students, but the sponsors and tutors were also rewarded for their services. There were three of us workers as well as friends who would order catalogues depicting trophies and awards. To us, these books were no less than the Enquirer or Cosmo! Though we always had an eye on the budget, we did not scrimp on the awards and trophies themselves. A lot of creative thought was spent in choosing unusual ones along with pragmatic ones.
Now, if the recipient is someone well known to you, it is easy to choose the trophy. His/Her personality, likes and dislikes, his/her style–will decide what must be ordered for him/her. To take a case in point, there was a quiet-natured gentleman who was retiring from service. This man was extremely devoted to his work and very organized. So we ordered a plaque made of wood and gold and had our appreciative words engraved on it.
The September 11 bombing brought a crunch time and many co-workers decided to retire from service. What they got were stipends for each year of service that they had put in. They were now unemployed, but those who got to stay in their places and needed the jobs were overjoyed. Even then, we were in charge of the awards ceremony. There were the usual retirement parties with the paraphernalia of speeches, food, itineraries, and so on. But the trophies we ordered were special. The learning center Trio program were known as STAARS (student academic and retention services). So we hunted around and finally got golden figures holding up giant stars. The recipients felt like Academy Award winners! This sure beat the time-honored way of recognizing people, and the recipients would have happy memories for years to come.
