The Office of International Education first developed the International Community Awards in Spring 2022 as a way to highlight the international student community. These awards recognize outstanding service and leadership that improve the UVM experience.
The Awards
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Every March, the OIE sends communications inviting international students and key campus partners to submit online nominations for the awards. Students can submit multiple nominations and even self-nominate! The International Student Services team reviews nominations and announces winners in late April. Read more about each of our six awards below.
- Emerging Leader Award: This award is presented to an undergraduate or graduate international-identifying student who is in their first or second year at UVM and has shown early-but-impactful leadership on campus.
- Commitment to Belonging Award: This award is presented to an international-identifying student who has shown a commitment to issues of belonging at UVM through service to the University in student organizations, on-campus leadership activities, or student jobs.
- Community Builder Award: This award is given to an international community member who has made significant individual contributions to build a welcoming international community, whether in formal or informal leadership roles. This work could be through student organizations, volunteer service with the OIE, or in less visible but equally impactful ways.
- Student Organization of the Year Award: This award goes to a student-led organization (whether formally recognized by the SGA or GSS or not) that has contributed meaningfully to the international community in the past year.
- Positive Change-Maker Award: This award goes to a UVM community member who has helped improve the international community experience at UVM through thoughtful change-making at either an individual or a systems-level. This award can go to a student, faculty, or staff member and can, but does not need to be to someone who identifies as part of the international community.
- Legacy Award: This award is presented to an international-identifying student who is in their final year of study and recognizes sustained contributions to our school community.
Past Winners
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See below for a list of our previous award winners.
| YEAR | Emerging Leader Award | Commitment to Belonging Award | Community Builder Award | Student Organization of the Year Award | Positive Change-Maker Award | Legacy Award (new for 2026!) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Zen Gomez Merlo | Aya Cheaito | Areeb Ud-Din Ahmad | Indian Student Association | Sandra Nnadi | |
| 2023 | Joy Emmanuel & Miriam Mukurazita | Katie Marshall | Junaid Khan | Graduate Students of Color Association | Cynthia Forehand | |
| 2024 | Shakira Iyanda | Soham Mehta | Mazen Elsaadany | IGSAP | Tess Ritter | |
| 2025 | Katie Anderson & Reihane Abdollahi | Jayita Barua | Alireza Kashani | International Student Club | Jenna Batchelder |
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| 2026 | Rakib Chowdhury | Shakira Iyanda | Vansh Gandhi | Iranian Student Association | Sunshine Alvarez | Alisson Fernandez |
Submit a Nomination
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Nominations for 2026 are now closed. We will be soliciting nominations for 2027 in March 2027.