ORGANIZATION HONORS seljO . -R~HIP WITH keep from spilh Hall floor Oct. 2 One by one th~e"y"'"'a'-~""''a''c'ross the auditorium's stage, as 50 students were recognized for their academic achievements. In a ceremony conducted every semester, students received certificates, official pins and recited the organization's pledge as they were inducted into the Alpha au National College Honor Society. Alpha Chi, a national organization that honored juniors and seniors in the academic top 10 percent of their class, inducted more than 11,000 new members annually. Dr. Dennis Matlock, assistant professor of biochemistry and Alpha Chi sponsor, said the club was similar to the Honors College in that it unified students from different fields of study. "One focus of Alpha Chi is to bring people from a number of disciplines together under one academic scholarship honorsociety," Matlock said. Dr. Ken Cameron, professor of psychology and Alpha Chi sponsor, said the induction ceremony paid tribute to students for their achievements. tian scholarship," Cameron said. "It's kind oflike a graduation ceremony and has a lot of the same purpose." This fall 77 students were added to the Harding chapter, which brought its active membership to 266. As membership into the club was only by invitation, senior Neal Helf said he was surprised when the organization invited him to join in the fall. "I didn't realize I was doing that well, but I knew my grades were decent," Helf said. "1 thought it was an honor to receive an invitation." Although Harding's chapter membership was and had traditionally been larger than any social club on campus, activities for club involvement were few. Matlock said students already participated in service activities with social and service clubs that would typically be an Alpha Chi chapter's main function. "When we've looked at Alpha Chi chapters on other campuses, what we find is that there are many facets that are Alpha Chi related that Harding addresses," Matlock said. "What we see on other campuses is that they don't have the same mission as Harding." Hell said becoming a member had practical value for life after graduation. SENIORS BRAD MCCORMICK, Day of Service director, and Nicole Wli liamson, director of public relations for the Day of Service, sin through supplies feb. 23 that participants used in the annual service event. McCormick and Wllliam\On were two of 266 members of the Harding chapter of Alpha Chi, anational honor SOCiety. ,C ROBERSON "[ thought it would be great to put on a resume for later on, as far as grad school or a job, to kind of set myself apart academically," Helf said. "It's really for honor, recognition and to highlight Chris- -AARON MILLER (r;t~ real!! L t;;WI/ rectJt!ltditJiu~ t~t;.{l!dft ctistitvus£tv--si;, )) V v' ////!.LfJ1/////////////////////I/W/;;;;;;//DR. KEN CAMERON, ALPHA CHI SPONSOR ORGANIZATIONS - 236
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