The Outstanding Student Awards “doubled in size” from previous years, according to Dean of Students and Student Affairs Keith Paylo.The event, which will be held at the Fairmont Pittsburgh from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., started out with at least 100 people in its first year and rose to over 200 guests last year. On Friday, about 350 guests will gather to celebrate and recognize the achievements of students.The registration list for the awards ceremony is already at capacity, according to the Director of Commuter Affairs Sarah George.“This is the first event in the beginning of a series of events that leads us right up to commencement,” said Paylo in his office on Monday. “This event starts the wonderful season of celebration, as I call it.”Students are nominated and selected for various awards based on their academic performances, University involvement and leadership on campus.Some of this year’s awards will comprise of Outstanding Graduating Senior, Student Leadership, Honors Program Recognition and more, according to Point Park’s website.The major departments involved in the occasion include the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of Alumni Relations, and Conference and Events Services. The Honors Program and each of the four academic schools also take part in the ceremony.According to George, she is “helping to coordinate the event” and “organizing the nominations and the awards that will be given.” She is also putting together a slide show for the ceremony with different events from Campus Life, the Athletics Department, and various student organizations around the University.Both Paylo and George were reluctant to share other details on entertainment for the ceremony in hopes of keeping it a surprise.“We try to pick some sort of timely, comical, kinds of topics that we think students will find funny,” George said in her office on Monday.According to Paylo, past entertainment pieces included skits mocking Saturday Night Live’s (SNL) Weekend Update, memes and recognizing Point Park Problems, a former Twitter page created by students.“We want it to be very classy because it is recognizing outstanding contributions that our students make,” said Paylo. “At the same time, we want it to be fun, and we want to have fun. We want laughter, and we want celebration.”As George spoke about the different features of the ceremony, she expressed her excitement about the “big turnout” of guests.“It’s a nice night to just honor everybody,” George said. “It is a mix of funny and serious. I think it’s just really a way to cap the end of the year for those who aren’t graduating as well.”The main goal of the event is to motivate students and celebrate not only the accomplishment of seniors, but of every student who has contributed to the University, according to Paylo. “It’s getting people energized for next year when it starts, to stay involved and aspire to be one of those students who walk up on that stage and receive one of these Outstanding Student Awards,” Paylo said.