The annual “Mom of the Year” award, given by the University Moms Association during Moms Weekend, provides students with the chance to show their appreciation for what their mothers do for them.

On Saturday, Maureen Carr, mother of Maura Carr, senior in Music, was presented the Amelia Alpiner Stern Mom of the Year award.

This award is meant to recognize the recipient’s support and encouragement for her child.

“My mom has been an Illini for forty years,” Carr said. “She started in 1975 and has since married my dad, who she met on campus and who was an Illini football player.”

Carr said that she is the youngest of five and that all four of her siblings also attended the University.

“I am number 30 out of 33 in my extended family to come to the University of Illinois,” Carr said. “Being an Illini is really a family (tradition), and for my mom to be recognized by the University was really special.”

The Moms Association put out an application in early March asking students to nominate their moms if they believed they fit the qualifications.

“I was raised in an Irish household where we were taught to love and respect the culture. I wear a Claddagh ring on my right hand every day, which symbolizes love, loyalty, and friendship. My mom embodies these three Irish ideals better than anyone I know,” Carr wrote on the application.

Since 1923, the Moms Association has provided services and communications that promote the well-being of University students.

“We knew my mom was in the top three, so when they announced the runner-ups, we realized she won, and we started crying because we were so proud of her,” Carr said.

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