Emerging Leader Award

To be eligible for this award, a student must:

• Be an undergraduate or graduate student in any University of Manitoba faculty, school, or degree program
• Have a minimum 2.5 GPA after winter semester grades have been updated in the year of application
• Have not previously won the Emerging Leader Award

Students must also:

• Complete an Emerging Leader Award application form no later than April 16 at 11:59pm
• Submit the names and contact information for two references who have direct knowledge and can speak to their leadership experience

The Emerging Leader Award selection committee will be evaluating all completed applications and selecting recipients based on the following criteria:

• Articulation of a personal leadership philosophy
• Ability to identify and describe knowledge, skills, or values that were gained through experiences
• Ability to identify and describe how experiences have contributed to the development, sustainability, or wellbeing of a group or community beyond the individual

Applications will be evaluated on the quantity and/or quality of leadership described in their submissions. The decisions of the selection committee are final.

In addition to demographic and personal information, the following are questions asked in the application. Each question has a word limit, so it is suggested that answers are pre-written before starting the online application form.

• Give a brief description of the experiences/roles through which you have demonstrated leadership.
• In no more than 200 words, describe your personal philosophy on leadership.
• In 200-500 words, describe the knowledge, skills, or values that you gained through your experiences and how these have impacted you as a leader.
• In 250-500 words, describe how, through your involvement, you have had an impact on the development, sustainability, or wellbeing of a group or community.

Applications will not be evaluated closely on spelling and grammar, but the clarity of responses will impact the meaning the selection committee is able to garner. It is recommended that applicants review their answers before submitting to ensure that the intended message is articulated clearly.

Applicants looking for support can consider seeing a writing tutor at the Academic Learning Centre. Applicants can look for an available appointment in the Undergraduate Student Writing schedule. Students should know that:

• Applicants can only book one appointment for the purposes of the Emerging Leader Award
• Tutors will not be permitted to edit, add ideas, or assess how 'successful' responses are, but could help with tips for getting started on writing and general clarity on answers

In order to gain a comprehensive view of your leadership experience, we require that your application has the support of two referees.

The referees may be of your choice, but must meet the following requirements:

• Have directly witnessed your demonstrated leadership
• Fulfill one of the following roles in relation to you
  • Volunteer or work supervisor
  • Program coordinator
  • Professor
  • Colleague
  • Teammate
  • Other
• Not be of familial relation

Note that the Student Life Office will distribute the reference form, but applicants are responsible for contacting referees and ensuring submission of the form by the deadline. Only submissions from references listed by the applicant in their application will be considered. 

Failure to ensure reference support will result in your application being incomplete and ineligible for review. 

The referees must complete the form no later than 11:59pm on April 16, 2023. Questions can be directed to emerging.leaders@umanitoba.ca. 

Any additional questions about the Emerging Leaders Award can be directed to emerging.leaders@umanitoba.ca.