In a ceremony held last Thursday, 25 students were inducted into the Alpha Omega Lambda chapter of Sigma Tau Delta — the college’s first English honors society.
“The ceremony was lovely,” Colleen McNamara ’24, an inductee, said. “It was nice to see a lot of friendly faces of classmates and professors.”
To be inducted, students must complete at least two college courses in English or literature that go beyond the standard college writing requirements. They must also have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA both overall and in the English major, rank in the top 35 percent of their class and have completed a minimum of three semesters or five quarters of coursework for college.
“We have such brilliant English majors and minors here, and it was really wonderful to celebrate them with friends, family and faculty,” Enrico Bruno, an English professor and the chapter’s advisor, said.
The honors society is entering its 100th year of existence internationally. Currently, the honors society has over 770 active chapters in the United States and abroad. The society aims to recognize high achievement and proficiency in English language and literature in undergraduate, graduate and professional studies.
The Alpha Omega Lambda chapter stands as one of the society’s most recent additions, having just been established in July of 2023.
Bruno noted the numerous positives that he believes the new chapter will bring to Lafayette College.
“There are so many benefits to honor societies,” Bruno said. “They allow us to celebrate our students, build a sense of community for members and, with Sigma Tau Delta specifically, give students opportunities for professional development.”
Christopher Phillips, head of the English department, echoed Professor Bruno’s sentiment.
“Because it’s such a large honors society, there are a lot of opportunities for people to make connections with folks at other schools,” Phillips said.
With the addition of Sigma Tau Delta, Lafayette College now officially recognizes 13 honors societies.
“I’m super excited, because it’s not really something that’s been available to us,” Charlotte Marshall ’24 said. “I just feel really honored. I really appreciate that they consider me qualified to be inducted.”
Marshall is looking forward to what the society means for the department.
“I feel like a lot of other departments have spaces for discussion outside of classrooms, and I don’t necessarily know that the English department has that,” Marshall said. “I’m excited for this to create more of a sense of community between the members.”
While the list of Lafayette inductees consists only of juniors and seniors, members of the chapter plan to begin inducting sophomores in the near future. Additionally, the group also plans to hold elections soon to choose a president and vice president.