The thirty-first Annual Leadership Awards Ceremony ran from 7 p.m to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, April 22. The ceremony was opened by Kaitlyn Timmins as last year’s Dean Linden Pioneer Achievement Award recipient. Tammy Evetovich gave a special welcome. The leadership awards exist to recognize the leadership in students, organizations, staff and faculty on campus. Every nominee was nominated for their contributions and hard work to the environment at UW-Platteville and the two branch campuses.

Emily Legate was invited back as an alumna to give a speech about her thoughts and opinions on UW-Platteville. Legate was chosen as the Dean Linden Pioneer Achievement Award recipient in 2012. Legate’s speech started by congratulating the nominees and highlighting their accomplishments until this point. Legate invited the crowd to be everyday leaders. She compared the ability to be a leader to Newton’s law of motion, and equated this law to people as well as how being on the right track can ensure your success. She reminded the audience that even when expected changes come up, they “have transferrable skills,” and can make anything work.

Legate invited nominees to think and reflect on people who have had a positive experience on their lives while at UW-Platteville thus far. She said that these people lead by example, and that we can learn from them how to help others and impact them in a positive way. Students have come so far by the time they graduate and will have learned through their experiences to become an everyday leader themselves.

Overall, the awards ceremony had eight categories, and gave out over two dozen awards to recognize these leaders on campus. Each award was represented by a plaque, which was presented to the winner when their name was called.

The ceremony was closed by Kaitlyn Timmins. She again congratulated the awards winners and thanked them for “making this a special night,” as well as how they encourage leadership and a positive environment on campus.