PLYMOUTH-Thursday, April 20th, 2006 the Plymouth State University (PSU) chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, Alpha Kappa Pi, held an induction ceremony for seven new members.
Doran Dal Pra, Jessica Dunn, Meagan Harris, Gina Hover, Meagan Plumpton and Nathaniel Lord. Sean Robinson who was unable to attend the ceremony was also inducted. The ceremony was held in the Bradford Room of PSU’s Center Lodge.
Sigma Tau Delta is an international English honors society. According to their website, “Sigma Tau Delta has over 600 active chapters, more than 900 faculty sponsors, and inducts approximately 7,000 members annually.”
The evening began with a welcoming speech from advisors Scott Coykendall and Angela Ricciardi. Coykendall laid out an outline of the evening and turned the floor over to Marianne Bradley, the current President of the PSU chapter.
Each individual inductee was called forward to read from a piece of literature that they enjoy. Ann Ryan’s “Atlas Shrugged”, William Blake’s “The Tiger” and Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” were just a few of the pieces that inductee’s chose to read from.
Once all the inductees officially became members, the group surprised Coykendall and Ricciardi with homemade aprons to show their appreciation for their advisors’ hard work and dedication to the group.
To take a break from the more formal aspects of the night, all of the members, advisors and their family and friends were invited to enjoy a homemade, potluck meal together.
Following the meal Abigail Ashey and Marianne Bradley gave a presentation on their four-day trip, from March 29 to April 1, to the International English Honor Society’s conference in Portland, Oregon.
Sponsorship and donations from various organizations, staff members, as well as the English department made it possible for Bradley and Ashey to be the first members from the Alpha Kappa Pi chapter to attend the conference. Coykendall expressed his hopes for sending more members in the coming years.
The conference gave an opportunity for honor society members to attend sessions on a variety of topics. Bradley submitted a paper and was accepted to present.
After the presentation, all of the members along with their advisors got together for a group photo and sat down to discuss business.
The members had to elect a new President, Vice President and Treasurer for the group to fill the places of current members who will be graduating this spring. Megan Plumpton was elected as President, Matt Stanton was elected as Vice President and Doran Dal Pra took on the position of treasurer.
In the coming year Sigma Tau Delta hopes to become more involved on campus and to help send more members to future conferences.