The African Student Association won the award for Outstanding Student Club or Organization at the 2025 Impact and Excellence Awards ceremony on April 24.
Club President Rabiyatou Bah, a third-year environmental science student, accepted the award during the ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in downtown Annapolis.
“It feels exciting and a great honor to receive this award,” Bah said. “The club means a lot to me. I’ve put in a lot of effort and long hours to make it something that can be fun and educational to everyone.”
Bah founded the African Student Association in 2023 with the help of another student. She said her “main goal taking on the president job was making sure the club had a solid foundation for the coming years.”
She said last year’s Impact and Excellence winner, the Super Science Club, motivated her to get the ASA to a place where that [win] was possible.
“It was something I wanted but definitely wasn’t expecting this year,” Bah said.
The Impact and Excellence Awards are organized by multiple organizations, including the Student Government Association and the Office of Student Engagement.
Students and faculty submitted nominations for the awards. The winners were chosen by a subcommittee of professionals within Student Development, according to Leah Brisbane, the leader and involvement specialist at the office of student engagement.
Biology professor Kelly Livernoche and academic literature professor Antione Tomlin won the Teaching Excellence Award, presented to those demonstrating excellence in their classrooms. Each will speak at one of AACC’s two graduation ceremonies on May 22.
Ellie Jasen, a sixth-year mechatronics student and president of the Genders and Sexualities Alliance, won one of two Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Awards. Cybersecurity student Devon Keller, the student representative on AACC’s Board of Trustees, won the other one.
“Before I came out as trans, before I started transitioning, I really didn’t have that many friends or connections or any feeling of community here,” Jasen said. “I was afraid that coming back after coming out, that feeling of disconnect would persist even more. So having the GSA, having this community … I feel more welcome and a greater sense of community than I ever did before anywhere. … I’ve changed as a result of it.”
Jasen said having a safe space for queer students on campus to express themselves and enjoy each other’s company is something the world needs right now.
“I am proud of how the GSA has grown and how this community has grown during my time as the president of the club,” Jasen said.
Stephanie Goldenberg won Outstanding Club Adviser of the Year for her work with the Entrepreneurs Club.
“I feel like it’s a student-run club, but I’m there to support and make sure that things don’t fall apart so they have the chance to try new things,” Goldenberg said.
Goldenberg said she was nominated by a remote student for her efforts to make clubs more accessible to students who are online only.
“I took that as really kind of a call to action,” Goldenberg said. “Our club mission is that whenever we can offer a virtual experience [we do.]”
