.: Writing a Quality OTM

Now, those questions by all means are not the only questions that should be answered when looking for a nominee...but it’s been set in stone that anyone can be nominated. So how do you go about writing an OTM? What makes an OTM a great OTM? Take for instance this example:

What if NRHH had a category called “Toilet Paper Of The Month”? Consider two rolls of toilet paper are in the category, one being the “sandpaper” kind that can be bought in bulk and the other roll being Charmin ultra soft, double quilted, double roll, 2 ply toilet paper. Now, we could write an OTM on the “sandpaper” toilet paper and what would it say? Well, it’s toilet paper, it gets the job done, and it’s cheap. It does what any normal toilet paper is supposed to do...it does what it’s expected to do. Then, we could write an OTM about the Charmin roll and what would it say? Well, it too is toilet paper, but is was made with extra care for the user because it’s double quilted, twice the size of the original role, 2 ply, and squeezable soft not to mention it too gets the job done. It goes above and beyond the call of duty of what is expected out of the toilet paper. When you look at the two OTMs, which one is the better OTM? I think you can see that the Charmin one would definitely be the quality OTM because you could put in many things about how it does more then just being a roll of toilet paper.

Yes, the example is not something that would happen in real life, but if the concept behind the “Toilet Paper OTM” is thought about, you will understand what makes a great OTM. Later in the guide you will see a set of certain criteria that goes with each OTM category, but that is just a minimum. Explaining how the student, staff member, or program goes outside of what is normally done makes an OTM great. Show why the person deserves to be recognized as the student of the month. Express the creativity in the program being nominated and the impact it has on students. Paint a picture that is so vivid that those who read the OTM really wish they could have been at the program or met the person being talked about. If you do that in an OTM, the awards will take care of themselves. Be proud of what is written in the OTM.

.: Who Should Submit an OTM?

It’s evident now that there are these great things out there called “OTM’s” that can be used to recognized individuals and programs on campuses throughout the world, but who can submit an OTM? It’s really a very interesting question because the actual answer is anyone in the world. With the OTM Database, submitting an OTM can be done anywhere in the world. The only catch is that your school can only submit one winner from their campus to the regional level and same from the regional level to the national level. If OTMs are graded on individual campuses, every person can submit an OTM. NRHH opens the doors for anyone and everyone to do a little bit of recognition no matter how large or small it is.

Is there a best way to nominate OTMs? Of course not...some schools nominate winners and then write the nominations up, some allow as many submissions as possible on their campus and then grade them at their school, and some assign categories to people to write about. There’s no wrong way to submit an OTM unless you don’t submit one at all!

Selecting campus winners is up to individual schools as well. There can be a campus committee or a single submission in each category. Remember though, every NACURH affiliated schools is allowed to submit only one (1) nomination per category each month to the Regional Associate Director (RAD) of NRHH on the OTM database. The RAD for each region then grades the OTMs with their regional grading committee and selects one OTM in each category from all the campus submissions to send to the national level. That OTM represents the respective region. After the national office grades the OTMs, they select the national winners in each category.

To submit an OTM, simply go to the OTM database, create an account, and start typing. Check out the OTM database section in the OTM manual for further information to get each schools information on the database.

.: Creating a Quality Summary of an OTM

In addition to submitting the OTM, there is a section that asks for a 3-4 sentence summary of the OTM that was just submitted. The incorrect way to fill out this part of the form is:

    “Tom did well. He was at the program. I like Tom. He’s a great student.”

The correct way to submit a summary is:

    “Cindy was an excellent role model for her students and staff. Throughout the month, she presented a program on alcohol awareness and attended every hall governing board meeting. Her dedication showed in her academics as well by getting A’s on all of her tests during the month. She also was very active in the community by volunteering for 4 hours every week at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club.”

These summaries are important because the Regional Associate Director compiles a list of all the summary’s and creates a “blurb sheet”. This sheet with the OTM name and school has a list of all the OTMs submitted during a month and the summary about the OTM. This way, a person can read a summary and then go search the database for the OTM without searching every OTM. This program has been very successful across the nation!