The Residence Hall Association received the Large School of the Year and Commitment to Diversity awards at the Great Lakes Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls Conference last weekend.

The conference was held at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wis. The RHA executive board attended the conference with its adviser, Excell Lewis, and 12 other student delegates.

The conference theme, Life in the Fast Lane, offered activities including leadership trainings, self-motivation programs and relaxation programs.

“The conference opened our eyes to how great our RHA is compared to other schools,” said Hayley Thrasher, RHA’s national and Illinois communications coordinator.

“We were able to network with other schools, and we brought back different ideas from different presentations that we can implement here on campus.”

RHA also received an award for raising the most children’s books for the surrounding shelters. The group raised 1,556 books from the residence halls’ book drive.

It also made the top 10 with its swing dancing program presented by Jon Dolieslager, RHA secretary, and Julie Heniff, RHA treasurer.

RHA will hold a version of an “American Idol” contest called RHA Idols from 7 to 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Douglas Smart Classroom. For more information, call Alanna Pautsch, RHA programming vice president, at 753-1090.