Nominations for The Servant Leader Awards 2026

We are pleased to announce the Twenty-Second Annual Student Servant Leader Awards which will be presented on April 14, 2026. The deadline for nominations is Wednesday, February 11.

The purpose of the Student Servant Leader Awards is to honor students who exemplify the ideals of servant leadership, both on and off campus.

Seton Hall students are prepared to be leaders in their professional and community lives in a global society.

- University Mission Statement.

Criteria for Selection
Servant leaders are those whose leadership consists of serving the needs of others - not service to others in addition to leadership, but service that is part and parcel of leadership. Award recipients will be selected based upon the depth of their overall service career, as well as on the merit of their most profound service experience.

Key elements of the candidates' experiences that will be judged include, but are not limited to:

• Continuous commitment to service
• Call to service; inspiration to lead through service
• Significance of a selected service experience
• Application of intellectual skills during the experience and demonstrated learning from the service experience

Nomination and Selection Process
We invite you to nominate qualified students for this important award. Letters of nominations by faculty, staff, students and community members will be accepted. Nominated students will be invited to submit a short essay on their philosophy of service. Please complete the following form and upload your letter of recommendation at the bottom by February 11, 2026. Nomination letters should touch on the award purpose and criteria.

To fill out a nomination form, click here.

Please include the following in the nomination letter:

• How long and in what capacity you have known the student
• Your knowledge of the student's commitment to service
• Examples of specific service experiences where the student took a leadership role

Essay: Nominated students will be contacted by the Division of Volunteer Efforts, via email and will be requested to elaborate on their philosophy of service and provide a resume by February 18, 2026.

Interview: Selected students will be invited to interview with the Selection Committee during the week of March 9. During the interview, students will be asked to discuss their commitment to service, calling to serve, and growth from their various service experiences.

Selection: After the conclusion of the final interview round, award recipients will be notified.

Award Ceremony: To honor our Servant Leader Award recipients, our in-person ceremony will be on April 14, 2026.

Categories: Faith and Service