Texas Longhorn Chapter of National Residence Hall Honorary

OTM stands for Of The Month

Each month, the Texas Longhorn National Residence Hall Honorary (TLNRHH) chapter recognizes the best programs, RAs, students, communities, and staff in our residence halls. Anyone can nominate any group, iindividual, or program for an OTM.

All OTMs which win at the campus level will be submitted to the regional level to compete with OTMs from other colleges and universities in the SWACURH region, which can then go on to possibly garner a national award.

Show pride in your residence hall and take a moment to nominate an outstanding individual, group, or program. An award is typically given to the individual who fills out the most OTM nominations or the most successful OTM nominations each semester.

Why should I nominate?

We should all work hard to recognize our exceptional leaders and the programs that they put on. Many people are natural born leaders, and they will continue to serve the residents diligently with or without recognition. However, these people need to be recognized by all of us.

The fact that writing OTM nominations is voluntary makes this recognition all the more special for the people who receive it, knowing that someone noticed all their hard work and that person took time out of their life to write a nomination. One way that leadership is rewarding is when you realize that people notice everything that you're doing and appreciate it.

How do I write an effective OTM nomination?

Here are a few tips:

  • Make sure you pick the right category. If a person or program does not qualify for the award that person or program was nominated for, then it's no possible for them to win. From a legal perspective, nobody can take your nomination and change the category without violating a lot of nasty copyright laws.
  • Remember that these are Of The Months. The information you base your nomination on has to be from that month. Make sure you use only month-specific examples in your nomination.
  • While most nomination are short, remember that you have a word limit. Give as much information as you can so you don't leave anything out. Remember that your nomination is the only thing that the competition is based on, so you can't expect the selection committee to know anything else about the person or event.
  • Include what the person or program is expected to do normally. This is especially important if you are saying that they went "above and beyond the call of duty". Remember that not everyone knows everybody else's responsibilities, so if you want to say they did more than expected, list what was expected as well.
  • Proofread your nomination before you submit it. Nothing is more distracting for someone reading your nomination than having a bunch of typos, spelling mistakes, or grammatical errors.