Golden Owls shall be given annually to honor exceptional achievements in media and the arts, as well as to honor other achievements as provided for in these rules and approved by the Golden Owls Committees.

Mission

Reward and acknowledge our students in their achievements in media and the arts, as well as promote and instill a deeper interest in the Humanities.

Committees

The Administration Committee shall administer the Golden Owls Awards, pursuant to the rules of governance established from time to time by the Humanities Department of Prince George’s Community College (PGCC).

The Golden Owls Administration Committee shall be a self-governing body comprised by the administration staff of the Humanities Department.

The Nominating Committees will be a selected group of individuals who are experts in their respected fields. It is this committee that will vote in the first round of voting (See Rule 2) to determine who amongst the candidates will go to be on the Official Nominee Ballots.

The Voting Committees will consist of a group of people from different backgrounds who are not necessarily experts in any given field. They are the ones who will cast final votes for the official winners. This committee will be comprised of five to seven (5-7) volunteers each spring. The committees will also not be comprised of members from the same Nominating Committees.(See Rule 2)

Dance/Theatre will have a special rule for their voting (See Rule 2).

Awards

Awards shall be bestowed at annual awards ceremonies, to be held at the conclusion of spring semester.

Awards of Merit

Awards of Merit shall be in the form of a gold-plated statuette trophy, annually for the following achievements:

Mass Communications: Best Picture | Best Podcast | Best PR Campaign

Dance: Best Choreography (student’s own work) | Best Dance Performance (performance in others work)

Music: Best Music Student

Theatre: Best Actor | Best Actress | Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actress

Certificate of Merits

Given out to non-nominees for recognition in areas not necessarily seen by the Voting Committees (i.e., Certificate to Best Actor Attendance; Excellence in Stage Management; ASM; Running Crew; Social Media Assistants, etc.). Area experts and selected individuals can give suggestions on who should receive certificates.

Award Process

Read through the list below to learn more about the entry rules, eligibility requirements, voting, deadlines, ceremony info and more.

Entry Rules and Forms

Self-Entry Form: A Self-Entry Form must be completed and submitted to The Golden Owls Administration Committee before entry deadline. (See Deadlines)

Automatic Entry: Upon participating in a PGCC theatrical/dance production, one will automatically be entered for consideration.

  • Limitations may be placed on the number of entries for any given category which will make entries a first come first serve. This will be on a semester-by-semester basis and determined by the amount of available Nominating Committee members.
  • All submissions must be entered with entry forms for consideration. (See Deadlines)
  • Nominees must be or had been a Prince George’s Community College student within the academic year of entry.

Entry Forms

Golden Owls Best Picture

Golden Owls Best Podcast

Golden Owls Best PR Campaign 1 of 2

Golden Owls Best PR Campaign 2 of 2

Golden Owls Best Music Student

Eligibility

To be considered an eligible nominee within a category, the following requirements must be met:

Mass Communications

Eligibility for Best Picture
  • Films must be 5-15 minutes.
  • No film of X-rated content.
  • Submissions must be a minimum of HD quality (1920x1080).
  • Entries must include a separate trailer not to exceed 30 seconds.
  • Films must have an opening title and closing credits.
  • Film must have been made within academic year.
  • All movie and trailer entries must be submitted via web submission (i.e., YouTube, Vimeo, Google, Dropbox, or Canvas). *Links must be accessible until completion of ceremony in May.
Eligibility for Best Podcast 
  • Podcast is to be between 15-30 minutes.
  • Podcast must have an opening and closing.
  • Podcast must have been made within academic year.
  • Audio must be clear.
  • Podcast cannot contain copyright music.
  • Entry must be uploaded to a platform capable of listening to a publicly available podcast with a publicly accessible RSS feed (i.e., Spotify, SoundCloud, or YouTube). *Links must be accessible until completion of ceremony in May.
 Eligibility for Best PR Campaign
  • Make video or audio commercial about PGCC or its majors/programs.
  • Campaign must be 30 seconds to one minute in length.        
  • Videos must be 1920 x 1080 (horizontally shot if on phone).
  • Campaign must have been made within the academic year.
  • Must be submitted via web submission (i.e., YouTube, Vimeo, Google, Dropbox, or Canvas). *Links must be accessible until completion of ceremony in May.

Dance 

  • If in a dance show, candidate is subject to approval by chorographers.
  • Candidate must be enrolled in at least one dance class or be a member of the Humanities Department, Dance Company.

Music

  • Must have a concentration in music.
  • Candidate must have a GPA academic standing of 2.0 or higher.

Theatre

  • Actor must be in a PGCC Theatre production within the academic year.
  • Candidates are subject to approval by production directors.

If you have any questions, please contact Bobby Strickland at strickrl@pgcc.edu or visit the office, Center for Performing Arts, Room 200Y.

Voting

First-Round Voting - Eligible Nominees

(Nominating Committee, (Area Experts))

  • Nominating Committee members from each category (Mass Communications, Music) will review the submissions from their respected categories every fall and spring semester and rank them in order of preference from one to three (number one being their top choice). Votes for each semester are submitted to The Golden Owl Administration Committee. Number of Nominating Committee members can vary each semester. 
  • Theatre and Dance area experts will attend dress rehearsals to make their nominations each semester. These nominees are to be given to the theatre/dance voting committees per semester.
  • Best Music Student will have its voting done only in the spring semester. 
Sorting Process

(Administration Committee)

Once all first-round voting is submitted by Nominating Committees, candidate ballots are initially sorted and counted, per semester, until all official nominees are chosen for next round voting in spring.

Final Voting - Official Nominees

(Voting Committees)

The Official Nominee Ballots and those chosen nominee submissions are sent to the Voting Committees for each branch in the spring. The Voting Committees then review submissions and submit their votes to the Golden Owl Administration. 

Theatre and Dance - Special Rule

Voting Committees are chosen in the fall semester, and will comprise of 10-20 members. Students, staff, and/or faculty can be  committee members. These committees will attend the Theatre and/or Dance performances each semester and vote once in each category from the nominees provided to them by the Nominating Committees. Whichever nominee receives the most total votes, between both semesters, will be selected the Golden Owl award winner.

Committee members will be asked to fulfill this role for the academic year. Theatre/Dance shows must be watched be watched live and voting members may be replaced if they cannot attend a performance. 

Deadlines
  • Entry forms must be submitted on or before the individual award semester deadline, which will be determined on a semester-by-semester basis.
  • All submissions for nominee consideration for selected categories must be submitted with entry form.
  • The last day to withdraw from Golden Owl consideration will be the selected award’s, semester-by-semester entry form deadline.
  • No entry forms or submissions will be accepted past the given semester deadline dates.  
Restrictions
  • Candidates can submit only once in any given category, per semester.
  • Candidates cannot receive multiple nominations in the same category. (Ex. John is nominated for Best Actor or Choreography in fall and spring semesters.) (Ex. Jim’s fall and spring semester films are both nominated for Best Picture.)
  • Actors cannot receive nominations in multiple categories for the same performance. (Ex. Jane is nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for fall semester production.)
Nomination Announcements and Acceptance
  • Official nominees will be announced to the public during spring semester finals week after all nominees, from all programs (both fall and spring semesters) are confirmed.
  • Nominees will be contacted through the contact information provided on entry forms. 
  • Nominees must accept the nomination when they are contacted, to continue to be eligible. Failure to do so will result in instant disqualification.  
  • Nominees must confirm if they will be attending the awards ceremony when they are contacted.
Awards and Ceremony
  • The awards ceremony will be held in the Center for Performing Arts during the month of May. Dates will vary and can be anticpated for the week after finals.
  • Depending on the run of show, an estimated minimum time of one hour is expected.
  • The show will be similar to the Academy/Tony Awards with a host, presenters, and possible presentations (acting pieces, songs, musical numbers, poetry pieces, etc.) in between.
  • The winners' names will be sealed in envelopes for each category, with only select members of the Golden Owls Administration Committee aware of the winners in advance.
  • Awards shall be engraved with only the awards name, category name, and winning year.
  • Temporary placeholder awards will be given to winners while on stage, they do not arrive in time for ceremony,. 
  • Winners who do not receive their actual award on stage will be asked to return to campus to pick it up their award once it arrives. 
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