#UMSLproud students (from left) Madilynn Woodham, Jennie Lee and Rachel Simpson make an appearance in a new video that premiered Thursday at the university’s 26th annual Founders Dinner.

Over the last year, campus community members at the University of Missouri–St. Louis have been faced with quite a task. They’ve been asked to describe – in just one word – the kind of people who choose UMSL.

At first, it was a bit of a challenge. But once the answers started, they just kept coming.

Dedicated. Kind. Inspiring. Driven. In the end, well over 1,000 students, faculty and staff shared a word.

The effort, dubbed the “Choose Your Word” campaign, is all part of an internal branding effort launched by the university’s Marketing and Communications team. It’s mission? Get to the heart of what makes UMSL the vibrant institution that it is, and instill pride in the folks who call the university home.

To highlight the success of the campaign, 13 students recently gathered together to share their words and discuss why they chose UMSL.

Their answers, and the many others given, are the focus of a new video that premiered last night during the 2017 Founders Dinner and is now available to view on YouTube.

Though the video is just about two minutes in length, the answers these Tritons share in front of the camera offer so much depth and insight into what makes UMSL the remarkable institution that it is.

But don’t just take UMSL Daily’s word for it – hit play and see for yourself.

And like the students who volunteered their time to help create this video – including Sean Burkett, Jovan Colbert, Carli Hays, Sydni Jackson, Rouba Kaziz, Jennie Lee, Braxton Perry, Jonah Pfeiffer, Thomas Poon, Rachel Simpson, Parris Smith, Alaa Saffaf and Madilynn Woodham – share your own reasons for being #UMSLproud.