Matt SchillWant to join Beta Beta Beta, Phi Alpha Theta and Phi Sigma Iota? No, Cabrini isn’t starting fraternities. These are the names of some of the many honor societies on campus available to students. Honor societies are usually specific to a certain area of study and require a certain grade point average in that area of study in order to be inducted.
There are, however, some honors societies that are not disciplinary specific. A student with a grade point average of 3.5 each semester qualifies for the Dean’s List, regardless of their field of study. Students of any major can apply to be a part of the Cabrini College Honor Society and Delta Epsilon Sigma.
“These societies cut across fields of studies, and we would like to eventually make Delta Epsilon Sigma the only honor society because it has a national connection,” Dr. Charlie McCormick, dean of academic affairs, said.
Some of the honors societies at Cabrini are the Alpha Theta chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta for sociology, the Epsilon Gamma chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda for students who want to go into higher education, Beta Beta Beta for biology, the Financial Management Association National Honor Society for students interested in finance and the Beta Sigma chapter of Lambda Iota Tau for students of literature.
Lindsey Bullick, a junior early childhood and elementary education major, is a member of the Sigma Rho chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education.
“We hold panels with educators to answer questions education majors might have. We just did a workshop on teaching blind and deaf children to read. We participated in Martin Luther King ‘Reading is Fun’ Day, and we host the end-of-the-year banquet for student teachers,” Bullick said.
There is also the Kappa Epsilon chapter of Phi Alpha for social work, Phi Alpha Theta for history, Phi Sigma Iota for foreign languages, Sigma Beta Delta for business management and administration, Sigma Zeta for science and math, the Pi Delta Epsilon chapter of Society for Collegiate Journalists for mass communications and the Alpha Pi chapter of Theta Alpha Kappa for religion.
“Involvement in these societies sends the message to employers that you are an involved, engaged student who has external verification of your academic capacity,” McCormick said.
Another honors society is Psi Chi, which is for students interested in psychology. Nora Marchetto-Ryan, a junior psychology major, was inducted into Psi Chi as the treasurer at last year’s induction ceremony.
“We had to fill out an application and have a GPA of at least a 3.2, and we have several meetings each semester and participate in community service activities as well as researching and presenting at conferences,” Marchetto-Ryan said.
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Posted to the web by Matt Schill
