Kevin D. Knight Leadership Awards applications are due Feb. 14 for the awards ceremony on April 28.

The annual ceremony awards committed undergraduate and graduate leaders.

The awards, presented by Student Involvement and Leadership Development (SILD), honor those who exemplify leadership in all walks of life.

Alumnus Kevin D. Knight was a student leader at NIU. He was killed in an accident in 2004.

“He was a student leader here on campus, very well liked, very well respected,” said Dino Martinez, assistant director of SILD. “Then shortly after graduation, about a year or two, he was involved in an accident, which affected a lot of people here who knew him. To be able to say that a person of that particular caliber has that type of impact with people, especially as it relates to his legacy, his leadership legacy…here’s a way that we can illuminate and celebrate that legacy by naming the award ceremony after him.”

The awards will additionally honor an outstanding student organization and an outstanding adviser to an organization. Also to be awarded is the “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities” award, a national recognition, and one of the most highly regarded and longest-standing awards in the nation.

Finally, the Parents’ Association Endowed Scholarship and institutional tuition waivers will be awarded. Tuition waivers cover one semester or up to 12 credit hours of in-state tuition.

Student Association President Delonte LeFlore won a senior leadership award and the institutional tuition waiver. LeFlore commented on the award and the man they are named after.

“Winning the Kevin D. Knight Award meant a lot to me because if you understand who Kevin D. Knight was, he was a student here on campus who was very active…,” said LeFlore. “He’s someone I could see myself really relating to as the student body president.”

LeFlore also encouraged students and organizations to nominate leaders on campus who might not get the recognition they deserve.

“I would encourage a lot of students to really nominate themselves and others; these awards really mean a lot when you really break it down…you can be thrown into a pool of hundreds of people who are applying for the same thing and have a committee reviewing your application and they find that you as a student actual fit these qualifications,” LeFlore said.

Applications for these awards are available online and are due at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the SILD office in the Campus Life Building, Room 150. For those interested in applying, the application requires two copies of an unofficial student transcript (must be obtained from the department of Registration and Records), a leadership statement, a personal statement, two letters of recommendation (one of which must be from an NIU faculty member) and the completed application.

Stephanie Pleasant is the facility operations graduate assistant at the Student Recreation Center. She won the graduate leadership award in April.

“I think the award demonstrates that they’re able to balance work, their life and still be a part of the community,” Pleasant said.

Pleasant is originally from Compton, Calif., and she is currently pursuing a master’s degree in adult and higher education. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Davis.

“I think NIU promotes students to get involved…they want you to indulge in being involved on campus,” Pleasant said. “I really feel here at NIU that they feel that’s a big part of leadership, not just having the intellect, but here at NIU it’s more of the personable aspect that you can lead people on the social level as well.”

For more information or for an application, visit bit.ly/V7WNey.