At the Hartford Convention Center in Hartford, Conn., the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) awarded Director of Student Activities Shelby Harris with its Donald L. McCullough award, the highest honor of the association’s northeast region, during their regional conference awards on Nov. 19.

The previous winners of this award are people Harris said she looks up to. Winning the McCullough Award means that she has made a strong impact on student activities, it reflects well upon UMB and makes the school more visible in NACA.

Harris was never notified of her nomination. She said that, during the awards ceremony, they began reading the description of the McCullough Award winner and realized that they were items on her resume.

“I think I was nominated by someone who used to work with me, a colleague who works with me at this organization and a colleague who vends at the association,” Harris said. “Apparently, [Student Arts and Events Council adviser] Chuck Henriques knew before we went to the conference, so he was told and then the students were up front when I received the award.”

It was a welcome surprise, as she’s been working as a volunteer for NACA for more than 10 years. “It’s nice to be recognized for your work,” she said, “even if I don’t do it for the recognition.”

“I delivered a very short speech off the top of my head. It was about a minute, not even,” Harris said. “There were about 1,200 people at the banquet and it’s pretty impressive and nerve-wracking, even though I’ve spoken in front of that crowd before. It was different because I was receiving an award, and my mom, my dad and my sister were able to come and surprise me.”

NACA does education and leadership development for student arts and events councils nationally and regionally. Right now, Harris is in the middle of a three-year term as the international programs chair at the national level, which seeks to take the association global.