The 29th annual Sammys
On April 12, 2023, at 6 PM many members of the Sam Houston student body and faculty gathered to celebrate the prestigious 29th annual Sammys were held in the James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center.
By Calyn Dugat
On April 12, 2023, at 6 PM in the James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center the time-honored tradition of the Sammys was held. This year is the 29th year that the Sammys have been held at Sam Houston State University. The Sammys honor those students and faculty and organizations that show outstanding character and showcase what Sam Houston State University stands for.
The award ceremony has an amazing display by the University jazz band that leaves audience scores in awe of their skill and precision with their instruments.
When asked what her favorite part of the Sammys were, Megan Herzog; the winner of the outstanding Junior student leader award stated, “My favorite part of the Sammy’s is definitely the Jazz Ensemble!” The performances by the jazz ensemble truly make the Sammys an interactive experience, even for those students and faculty not nominated for an award that night. Herzog goes on to state that the university jazz ensemble “keep the energy up from beginning to end and I love listening to their music!”
The jazz ensemble, however, was not the only performance of the night though. The Sam Houston State University department of theater and musical theater came out and performed a song from the hit musical thriller Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The performance was enthralling and kept the audience on their toes.
The atmosphere of the Sammys was exciting with the restless energy of all the nominees waiting to hear the winners. With many audience members being nominees for the plethora of awards that are presented throughout the Sammys, there was some nervous energy floating around. But overall, everyone was incredibly excited about the awards.
Nominee Sandy Schoeneberg after being asked how she felt about being a nominee stated that she was “excited to be in the atmosphere of the Sammys, especially with all the other nominees and especially to be nominated for an award tonight. It’s going to be a great night”.
Being able to watch each of the award winners of the night go up on stage while their accomplishments were listed, was an incredible experience to see and the awards truly highlighted some amazing organizations and students not only by award winners, but also by nominees for each category. Each student, organization, and faculty member nominated left. A great imprint on the university has a whole and truly deserves to be nominated. The overwhelming tears from the crowd when people won their awards was truly inspiring and showcase. The togetherness of the University really stands for. Everybody who attended the Sammies was filled with excitement not only to be nominated, but to be attending. Not everyone there was a nominee, but everybody was having a great time with the energetic emcees of the night who displayed a passion for what they were doing.
Everyone in attendance was dressed incredibly. The way everybody dressed and carried themselves gave the Sammys the feel of a true award show. No matter what the audience scores were, therefore, they had an incredible time with all the entertainment provided, as well as the general joy and the room for the nominees and the winners.
The Sammy’s provide fun for everybody and are truly an incredible way to embrace the true spirit of Sam Houston State University’s motto, “A Measure of a life is it’s service”.
