The UNL NRHH OTM Guide

AGuidetoWritingandSubmittingOftheMonthAwards
BroughttoyoubytheScarletandCreamChapteroftheUNL
NationalResidenceHallHonorary
WhatareOTMs?
An Of The Month award (OTM for short) is one way for the residence life community to
recognize outstanding individuals and programs on the campus of Colleges and Universities
across the nation. OTMs are the primary source of recognition for the Residence Hall
Honorary (NRHH) as their members read through submissions and determine the campus
winners. OTMs are written by students at individual schools, such as UNL, evaluated on the
campus level by the Scarlett and Cream NRHH chapter, and then sent on to the regional
and national levels by students from schools across the United States.
OTMs embody the very idea of recognition! Making people feel appreciated and supported
will encourage them to continue going above-and-beyond, and will inspire them to continue
excelling in the future. Lack of recognition can lead to negative leadership in the future my
making people feel unappreciated and unsupported. OTMs are a relatively easy and
effective way to help the quality of leadership within residence life to grow.

WhatAretheCategories?

Advisor
Community
CommunityServiceProgram
DiversityProgram
EducationalProgram
ExecutiveBoardMember
ResidenceLifeandInstitution
Faculty/Staff

Organization
PassiveProgram
ResidentAssistant
SocialProgram
Spotlight
Student


HowDoYouDetermineaGoodNominee?

ScarletandCreamNRHHChapter
http://www.unl.edu/unlnrhh/
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HowShouldIWriteanOTM?

Firstandforemost,chooseyourcandidateTobeginwritinganOTM,youmustfirst
chooseyourcandidate,whetheritbeapersonorprogram.Thinkaboutthepastmonthand
thinkaboutwhatwentextraordinarilywellorwhowentaboveandbeyond!
ThendosomeresearchFirsthandexperienceisalwaysthebestwhendescribingaperson
orprogrambutifyouhavetroublerememberingwhathappened,askothersorinterview
thoseinchargeoftheprogramsoraroundthepeople.Otherpeoplearegreatresources
becausetheyaddtothescopeandqualityoftheOTM;theycangiveyoudetailsthatyou
mighthaveneverseen.
Next,logontowww.otms.nrhh.orgselecteitherGeneralCategoryorProgramCategory
(ontheleftsidemenu).IfyouarewritingaGeneralCategoryorProgramCategoryOTM,
youwillthenbeaskedtoselectyourschool.ItwillthentakeyoutotheOTMform.
Openupawordprocessingprogram,likeMicrosoftWordandStartWritingThereare
notmanylimitationsonOTMs.Letyourcreativityrunwild.Gotheextramilefortheperson
orgroupthatalreadywentthere.ForgeneralOTMs,itisrecommendedthatyouhavean
introduction,body,andconclusion,justlikeanEnglishpaper.Youwillnotbedockedfor
spelling,grammar,andformattingerrorsbutitwillhelpyourOTMlookmoreprofessional,
easiertoreadandfollow,andmorethoughtful.Defineallacronyms;noteverythingis
universal.MakesurethatyourOTMismonthspecificwriteabouteventsfromthe
monthnotbeyond.
Lastbutnotleast,clickSubmitOnceyousubmitbyyourschoolslocalduedatetheyare
reviewedbyeachcampus'NRHHandcampuswinnersarethensubmittedregionally.
SchoolsfromacrosstheregionsubmitOTMstotheAssociateDirectorofNRHH(RAD
NRHH)andhis/hercommittee.Regionalwinnersareawardedacertificate,usuallyat
conferences.Afterregionalwinnersareselected,theyareforwardedontothenationallevel.
The purpose of an OTM is not simply to win an award for someone involved
in Residence Life; it is to recognize an individual or an event for outstanding
contributions to on-campus living during the course of a certain month. This
can be as simple as submitting one about a student balancing academics
and their residence hall involvements or one about a resident assistant who
showed tremendous creativity in implementing a program within their
building. Recognition need not be secluded to a select few but remember

TheNSROthencomparesthebestfromeachoftheregionsofNACURHandchoosesthe
besttobetheNationalOTMforeachcategory.Remember,thishappensEVERYmonthin
EVERYcategory.

Source:www.nacurh.org/SWACURH/NRHH/html/Writing_an_OTM.htm

WhereCanIFindPastOTMWinners?

ThenationalOTMdatabase,locatedatwww.otms.nrhh.orghasanAdvanced
Searchfeature,locatedonthelefthandsideofthenavigationscreenandcan
beutilizedtofindanynumberofOTMwinnersoncampus,regional,and
nationallevels.

AreThereAnySpecificationsIShouldAdhereTo?

Remainwithinpostedwordlimits(600wordsformostcategoriesbutvarying
lengthsforprograms)
Makesureyourentryismonthspecific
SubmittheOTMbythemidnightofthe1stofeverymonth

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OTMs can be either

 Good...
Bad

or ...

Source:AppalachianStateUniversity,SAACURH

Your
Scarlet &
The Midwest Affiliate
The National
submitted while of College and
Submitted after
an extended
OTMs They are
Cream
Association
of College
details
are
still
fresh
in
period
of
time
after
the
submitted
Chapter picks
University Residence
and University
your mind
event/person
did
something
by
Campus
Halls (MACURH)
picks
Residence
Halls
worthwhile
midnight
winners
Regional winners
(NACURH) picks

Are
written
about
people
st
on the 1 .
National winners

and/or events that went

above and beyond what
was expected (are hereby
worthy of recognition)

Mention specific things

the nominee DID and how
they affected others
around them
Are submitted under the
right category
Are month specific only
talk about what has
occurred in the last
month, as opposed to any
other timeframe
Provide enough details so
that anyone who reads
them understands who
and what are being
recognized
Are thought out and well

Details are vague, and

ambiguous

Talk about ordinary and

mundane things
particularly those that are
already expected

Talk about occurrences that

cannot be narrowed down to
a specific month

Mention only information

about a persons character
or traits

They discuss only things

that people are required to
do/are part of their position
descriptions

Assume that the reader

already knows all
background information on
the nominee or the event
that took place

 HowDoISubmitOTMs?

ToSetupanAccount

ThereareseveralbenefitstosettingupandsubmittingOTMsthroughanaccountonthe
databaseincluding:
TheabilitytoeditOTMsrightupuntiltheduedate
TheabilitytoseealistofallOTMsyou'vesubmittedandanyawardstheywon
AllpersonalinformationwillbefilledinautomaticallyeverytimeyousubmitanOTM,
savingyousometimeandenergy
TheabilitytohaveinstantvisualconfirmationthatyourOTMhasbeensuccessfully
submittedtothedatabase
Ifyouwishtosetupanaccount:
1)Gotohttp://otms.nrhh.org/andclickon"CreateanAccount"
2)Select"UniversityofNebraskaLincoln"
3)Fillinallofyourinformationandselectausernameandpassword
4)Clicksubmitandyou'redone!
NOTE:Thedatabaserequiresthatallaccountsbe`verified'beforetheyaremadeactive.
Aftersettingupyouraccount,anemailwillbesenttothosewhohave`Campus
Administrator'privilegesforUNL.Assoonasyou'reaccountis`verified',youwillreceivean
emailsayingthatyouareactive.**Maximumturnaroundtimeforthisshouldbenomore
than24hours**

Remember:OTMsaredueatMIDNIGHTonthe1stofeverymonth.If
youraccountisawaitingvalidationandyouarepressedfortime,itmight
beeasiertojustsubmittheOTMwithoutcreatingtheaccount

Source:UniversityofNorthDakota,MACURH

ToSubmitanIndividualorGroupOTM

1)Gotohttp://otms.nrhh.org/andclickon"SubmitGeneralOTM"
2)Select"UniversityofNebraskaLincoln"fromthedropdownmenu
3)Selecttheappropriatecategoryandfillinalloftheinformation
4)Copyandpasteyournominationfromawordprocessorandusethewordcounttoolatthe
bottomofthepagetobesureyouarewithinthespecifiedwordlimits.
5)Clicksubmitandyou'redone!

ToSubmitaProgramOTM

1)Gotohttp://otms.nrhh.org/andclickon"SubmitProgramOTM"
2)Select"UniversityofNebraskaLincoln"
3)Selecttheappropriatecategoryandfillinallofthebasicinformation.

a.programscanbeCommunityService,Diversity,Educational,orSocial

b.Evenifyourprogramisacombination,choosetheonethatbestdescribesit

4)Typeupyourdescriptionandresponsestoallofthequestionsandusethewordcount
featuretobesureyouarewithinthespecifiedwordlimits.
5)Clicksubmitandyou'redone!

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