Awards for me, Awards for you

By: Khefren Ramon

FARMINGDALE, N.Y, FEBRUARY 25TH 2025 - On the campus of Farmingdale State College there exists another world. Separate, distinct, and absolutely glowing. Glimpses of it shine through FSC’s websites, various social media pages, and on televisions screens throughout campus. For many FSC students they’re as familiar with it as they are distant from it. Awards create this world, and the eyes of award recipients bring it to life. 

Farmingdale State College offers numerous awards that all aim to recognize the various achievements of its students. A recent example would be the 2024 FSC DEI Awards (rumors say that it may be called the 2025 Merit Awards next year), in which FSC recognized “outstanding members of its campus community for their leadership in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) with two special award ceremonies.”. Through this initiative, thirteen students were honored through various DEI related awards and grants. When the average student sees this and the numerous other awards FSC gives out, do you think that they can see themselves on the front page of Farmingdale.edu, their hands around some certificate or plaque? Pondering that line of thought brings another question to mind, are they even aware of the awards that FSC offers?

So, let’s talk awareness. More specifically, how students can become familiar with the awards that FSC offers. There are many ways that Farmingdale notifies the student body of upcoming honors. One such being notifications through email. FSC will regularly send out emails to students that promote these opportunities and provide information on how one can apply for them. Another avenue in which students can familiarize themselves with any award opportunities, is by looking over the front page of MyFSC, the personalized online dashboard where students can access various school resources. If Farmingdale is offering any awards, one of the primary ways they will promote them will be through MyFSC, usually dedicating a portion of the page to a graphic detailing the premise of any upcoming award. A third way that students can find out about awards is through social media. FSC has many different social media pages, each usually dedicated to a specific facet of the institution. If a student follows the pages that relate to them and keep up to date with their posts, they'll be informed on any upcoming awards, because the school often makes posts promoting them. Despite common belief, these methods for finding out about awards are not secrets exchanged in whispers among a sect of students at FSC that aim to keep every award for themselves. In reality, they sit in plain sight, available to anyone who wants to take the initiative to pursue them.