Rebecca Kennedy, Legislative Secretary of the Student Government Association (Photo by Peter Currier)
by Peter Currier, Intern, WSU ’17
WESTFIELD – Westfield States’ Blue Key Award Committee began accepting nominations for the prestigious student award on Tuesday, and will continue to accept them until March 14.
The Blue Key Award recognizes students who work to actively better the campus and city communities. Students may be nominated by a member of the faculty, staff, or student population.
“It is the highest award the Student Government Association gives out to students on campus,” says Rebecca Kennedy, the Legislative Secretary of the SGA. “Previous award winners ran LGBT clubs on campus, participated in relay for life, or helped the Make a Wish Foundation.”
The selection committee consists of eight members of SGA, two from each class year, as well as two non-voting chair members Rebecca Kennedy and Barbara Hand.
The committee reads each application with the name of the nominee redacted to remove bias. “Typically between three to five students will be chosen each year, sometimes more, sometimes less,” says Kennedy.
The Blue Key Award has been a part of Westfield State since at least the 1960s. “The earliest mention of it is a Tekoa yearbook from the 60s,” says SGA advisor Barbara Hand, but there is no official record indicating when it began. “For all we know, it started in 1838,” says Hand.
