Harding's Student Association recognized hard workers within the Harding community. H arding's Student Association (SA) chose the theme "Celebrate" for the 2019-20 school year. It was tradition for the SA to announce an annual theme as inspiration for their effort as a council. The SA's theme "Celebrate" was dedicated to the celebration of people, conversations and diversity around campus. Senior Carson Gentry, SA treasurer, said the SA chose "Celebrate" because it applied to everything -- from athletics and academics to people and places. One of the major outcomes of the theme was celebrating individuals in chapel who were of unique significance to Harding. Nearly every other Monday, the SA honored someone they thought was an unsung hero or hard worker around campus and highlighted their contributions. The first person celebrated was Marcus Barnett, facility services supervisor for physical resources. Barnett worked at Harding for over 35 years and was responsible for setting up and taking down on-campus events as well as managing waste. The SA also honored Jeff Cavitt, maintenance worker; Jane Cavitt, registration and class scheduling coordinator; Sharon Williams, administrative assistant to the president; and a handful of other respected individuals throughout the school year. When deciding whom to celebrate, the SA took recommendations from staff, students or even anonymous suggestions and then voted on them as a council. When considering nominees, Gentry said the SA looked for people who were not normally recognized. "Recognizing the people we don't really see pulls in the big picture," Gentry said. "These faculty or staff or students really make a difference on our campus, and we never get to focus on them, but that's something that the whole student body can do." Senior Michael Krupka, SA president, said the SA recognized heroes and hard workers within the Harding community and connected people through joy in a time filled with negativity. Krupka said people were often surrounded by influences who discouraged them and brought them down, so it was important to take time to be present amid all the distractions. "Taking our energy and focusing on celebrating doesn't mean that we are going to necessarily not notice the bad things in the world, but I think that we are going to be more effective workers and fixers for those downers if we go at it with essential happiness," Krupka said. Apart from honoring individuals in chapel, the SA celebrated diversity and conversation through various other activities like Testimonial Tuesdays, panels of people from different faiths, and chapels centered around celebrating different topics like authenticity and hope. Junior Morgan Proffitt, SA secretary, said it was beautiful to attend a university that had groups of people wanting to celebrate and groups of people worthy of being celebrated. The SA's goal in the celebration theme was to make people feel special and to take a moment to appreciate the joy they brought. "Any moment can be special; it doesn't have to have anything tied to it," Proffitt said. "Just a day in the life is beautiful because it's a day with the Lord." story by Hannah Read organizations 281
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