The Multicultural Student Affairs Office recognized some of its rising stars at a celebration ceremony Sunday, in a day of awards and appetizers.

“We are celebrating the achievements of students of color in this university,” said Charlwit Kulchaiyawat, member of the Multicultural Student Programming Advisory Council and graduate student in animal science.

Tom Hill, vice president for student affairs, was present to give the keynote address.

“As the school year closes, we can take this day to reflect on the highlight of the year,” he said.

Awards were given out to both students and faculty members from every college in the university.

“The awards for students are the Emerging Leader Awards, given to students who are rising leaders and have shown a commitment to excellence,” said Isela Guzman, member of the MSPAC and sophomore in political science.

The awards were presented by the multicultural liaison officers. After that, the Pillar Awards were distributed to various staff and faculty.

“The Pillar Awards are for staff who really contribute to the community and represent the six areas of student development MSA focuses on,” said Richard Barajas, coordinator of multicultural student development.

These six areas are: acclimation to college life, academic success, identity development, community development, leadership development and career development.

After all the awards were distributed, Mary Jo Gonzales, associate dean of students, began to wrap up the ceremony.

Gonzales had a surprise for the audience that nobody was expecting.

“In accordance with what MSA teaches, we are going to learn a new skill today,” she said. “So I have a few students from the Orchesis II dance group here to teach a Greek dance to us.”

After a trial run, most of the people in the room, Hill included, formed lines with the students in front and slowly shuffled to a sultry string solo.