The National Society of Collegiate Scholars’ UA chapter inducted almost 200 new members at their induction convocation at the SUMC’s Grand Ballroom Tuesday night.
The society’s officers found themselves searching for more chairs and ultimately having to open the north side of the ballroom due to an unexpected amount of guests for the ceremony.
The society, which promotes scholarship, leadership and service, inducted 80 percent more new members this year than that of the previous school year. The officers, most of them upperclassmen, introduced themselves to the new members and encouraged them to participate in community service events. Members are required to maintain a 3.4 grade point average and be in the top 20 percent of their class to join the society.
“I’m not really involved with anything else here on campus,” said Keara Tintle, a linguistics sophomore, new member and the UA chapter’s social chair. “Being involved in the community and helping others, it’s a great way to get in the loop.”
Preparation for Academic Collegiate Excellence, a program within the society, recently started a new volunteer tutoring program where UA students will go to Mansfeld Middle School to tutor seventh and eighth graders. Hannah Holman, executive vice president of the society’s UA chapter and a veterinary science junior, said the chapter has been working on the tutoring project for a long time.
The society’s UA chapter is one of the largest in the country, with about 2,000 members. They are one of nine chapters to have earned the Platinum STAR status and the only chapter that earned the Civic Spirit Award in the last school year, according to Scott Mobley, senior manager of member engagement. There are more than 300 chapters in the U.S.
“The U of A chapter definitely stands out,” Mobley said. “They are a group that’s very committed to making a difference in the Tucson community. They’re constantly looking for ways that they can get their members engaged.”
Mobley works in the national office in Washington D.C. and travels to colleges to attend some of the society’s events. Tuesday was Mobley’s first time visiting the UA and the induction was the biggest event he’d ever attended, he said.
Along with reaching out to the community to promote higher education, the society’s UA chapter also plans fundraising events throughout the community.
“The things that they do for the community just seem so awesome and I just wanted to be a part of that,” Tintle said.
In April of 2011 the UA chapter got involved with the B Foundation, which provides financial and emotional support to children fighting cancer. Through the foundation, the members met Landin Cody, a 5-year-old boy who had leukemia at the time, and began to spend time with him at the hospital and raise money to help his family with medical bills.
“They would always come to visit him. They would take him outside … just any kind of things to take his mind off of being in the hospital and being sick,” said Erika Cody, Landin’s mother. “It’s just a great society.”
Now seven years old, Landin stood in front of the nearly 500 attendees Tuesday night and said a few words about his experience with the members of the UA’s chapter, and said that with their help he made it through his struggle against cancer.
“Cancer has been really disappointing,” Landin said.
The new members walked across the stage as they were congratulated by their chapter president and other officers. They then pledged to maintain integrity and honesty and to represent scholarship, leadership and service.
“It feels a lot more official to see everyone getting their handshakes,” Tintle said. “Definitely feels more concrete now.”
