Gabrielle Tellez
Managing Editor
Texas A&M University-San Antonio recognized 23 students and faculty members, as well as nine organizations, at its annual Jaguar Awards Ceremony June 4.
This was the first in-person ceremony since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event to go virtual in 2020.
Visitors received a grand red carpet welcome as they arrived, most dressed formally to fit the ceremony’s Academy Awards theme.
Decorated round tables lined the auditorium lobby, in addition to a DJ and 360 photo booth for added entertainment.
Richard Delgado, executive director of Military Affairs and Strategic Influences, sported a bright red sequined suit as he greeted guests entering the auditorium.
As the ceremony began, Delgado touched on the campus tradition of wearing red on Fridays — a popular color among guests that night — as a way of honoring “those who have sacrificed.”
He then introduced special guest Jordan Foster, a KENS 5 multimedia journalist, who hosted the remainder of the event.
Nominees in 20 categories were awarded over the next two hours.
Winners from the previous year made appearances to present a majority of the trophies.
Some standouts of the night included the Delta Chi Fraternity, whose large group of members arrived at the ceremony with eight nominations in total.
Jaguarettes head coach Courtney Bobb-Meilinger saw club members take home three awards, including Sports Club of the Year.
The awards served as a reminder of the team’s responsibility to maintain ‘Jaguar pride’ and school spirit.
“I think you’re kind of stunned,” Bobb-Meilinger said of the team’s reaction.
“You know you’re making a difference,” Bobb-Meilinger said. “But for somebody else to see and recognize it and take the time to nominate you, that just lets you know that there’s someone out there watching you…I think (the team) is really inspired to push even harder next semester.”
Cristina Dominguez, assistant director of Student Involvement, offered closing remarks, congratulating winners and promising larger Jaguar Awards ceremonies in the future.
“I’m really happy with the way it turned out,” Dominguez said of the event. “I think this is gonna set the bar — and we’re gonna raise that bar every year.”
Dominguez and other organization leaders made the in-person event possible by postponing the event’s original date from May 29 to June 4, in response to social distancing guidelines being lifted by the university.
“This is actually the first year that we’ve had the full ceremony in the auditorium,” Dominguez said in an interview June 4. “We really wanted to give the students something different, especially because they’ve been behind a computer screen for a year and a half now.”
Dominguez said much care and time went into creating the event’s ornate atmosphere, from the stage set pieces to the prerecorded voice-overs one might hear on an award show.
Dominguez said she hopes the Jaguar Awards Ceremony will continue to grow with the university.
This story will be updated with a list of winners from the night.
