Spartans of the Year

Award Eligibility & Criteria

Eligibility: Alumni are eligible if they have earned an associate, undergraduate, or graduate degree from York College of Pennsylvania, York Junior College, York Collegiate Institute, or York County Academy. To be considered, alumni cannot currently be employees of York College, voting members of the Board of Trustees, or current members of the Alumni Board. 

Criteria: York College’s Spartans of the Year awards program recognizes outstanding alumni who have demonstrated dedication, excellence, professional achievement, and most importantly, a commitment to staying engaged with York College after graduating. For more detailed descriptions, please see below:

• A nominee who has demonstrated dedication is someone who continuously gives their full attention to something they are passionate about, whether a cause, others, or their professional goals.
• A nominee who has demonstrated excellence is someone who rises above and beyond standard expectations, personally or professionally, and continuously strives for growth.
• A nominee who has demonstrated professional achievement is someone who has accomplished, or exceeded, their goals and has contributed to furthering their respective field.
• A nominee who has been committed to staying engaged with YCP post-graduation is someone who actively works to keep connected, whether in person and/or digitally, and contributes to the growth of the institution.

Nomination Example

Strong nominations will include robust answers with specific examples of why the nominee is deserving of this award. You can also provide any supporting materials such as a resume, newspaper article, LinkedIn account, etc. Please see below for an excerpt of a strong nomination example:

How has this nominee demonstrated dedication, excellence, and/or professional achievement?

NAME has been employed with COMPANY since graduation from York College in 2003.  Immediately upon his undergraduate degree, NAME also completed his Masters Degree, working part-time in the evenings, with high honors from Johns Hopkins University. He has demonstrated dedication and excellence through the following accomplishments:
        
1. Established and continues to mentor a team responsible for modeling and simulation of chillers. (Our family of four recently returned from a two and a half year assignment abroad in order for NAME to build this team.  He returned to his local colleagues with a fresh perspective as it relates to international business and management.  He will continue to serve as the lead for his immediate team; though challenging he is creating best practices to ensure that the growth of that team continues from abroad).    
2. Six issued patents including heat exchanger design and cooling systems.
3. Developed centrifugal chiller performance rating platform.
4. Created engineering analysis tools to automate and expedite test data analysis.

NAME is continually recognized for his excellent work and work ethic at COMPANY.

Meet the Selection Committee

• Barb Sleeger '71
• Greg Erb '06
• Sean Umbenhouer '91
• Nicole Halsey '00
• Jamie Kinsley '12

Media Promotion of Award Recipients

Following the release of the award winners, the Office of Alumni Relations will work to feature each recipient through social media and other multimedia channels. Additionally, the Office of Alumni Relations will work with each recipient to create individualized engagement opportunities where they will be honored and presented with their award whether at an on-campus event or at a regional event in their area. Some examples of how award recipients were recognized and honored from the previous year are below.

• Personalized engagement opportunities include: speaking in classrooms, meeting with students, special dinner events, serving on a professional panel, etc. See photos from some of these past events.
• Written profiles—See an example of Adrienne McNeil '98
• Video profiles—See an example of Kerrilyn Curtin '03
• Social media #FeatureFriday posts—Follow @YCPAlumni on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Past Award Recipients

2022—Spartans of the Year Award Recipients

View the 2022 Spartans of the Year award recipients and their bios here.

2021—Spartans of the Year Award Recipients

View the 2021 Spartans of the Year award recipients and their bios here.

2020—Spartans of the Year Award Recipients

View the 2020 Spartans of the Year award recipients and their bios here.

2019—The Year of 50 Spartans Award Recipients

The inaugural year of this awards program, named for the 50th anniversary of York College as a four-year institution. 50 alumni were selected. Renamed Spartans of the Year moving forward. 

View the 2019 Spartans of the Year award recipients and their bios here.