The Honor Society Chronicles: An Overview

By Professor Melissa Tortora

As 2010 comes to a close with what may one day be known as the storm of the century, so does the fall semester at Plaza College. And, as 2011 opens, the time comes to make those dreaded resolutions – “I’m going to lose ten pounds!” or “I’m going to quit smoking!” or “I will never make a subject-verb agreement error ever again in Ms. Tortora's class!”

The resolution of Plaza’s honor societies, I think we can safely say, is to continue doing what they have done so successfully this past semester.

Plaza College’s two honor societies are Alpha Sigma Lambda and Sigma Kappa Delta. To qualify for Alpha Sigma Lambda, students must have a minimum G.P.A. of 3.2 and have earned 12 credit hours in Liberal Arts courses. To qualify for Sigma Kappa Delta, students must have a minimum G.P.A. of 3.3 and have earned a ‘B’ or higher in LL254.

Our first major event was the Plaza College Bake-Off for Breast Cancer. This event was held Thursday, October 14th, 2010, to raise money for breast cancer. Several of Plaza College’s students and staff have cause to support the efforts in favor of curing this disease, including Richard Melara, a BBA student and member of both Alpha Sigma Lambda and Sigma Kappa Delta, who lost his mother to breast cancer several years ago. This event brought out the good in Plaza to an extent we couldn’t have imagined. The Promenade might as well have been a bake shop – there was an abundance of cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, and more, all of various ethnicities and flavors. The most popular, chosen by voters, was Lorena Valenzuela’s flan cake. After all donations and sales were accounted for, the honor societies, on their own, raised $1500. This was graciously matched by Plaza College; in total, $3000 was given to the American Cancer Society. This was no small feat; all participants should be proud of themselves.

Shortly after the Bake-Off, the elections for new officers were held at the inductions ceremony for new members on October 28th, 2010. The event was held at Dante’s Catering Hall. Members of the Administration and the English department also took part in the ceremony. On this evening, 92 students were inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda. One hundred and seven students were inducted into both honor societies.

The ceremony began with words by Academic Dean Marie Dolla and Provost Charles Callahan III. Professor Howle, the emcee, reflected on the past year, Plaza’s inaugural year for the Honor Societies. Both honor societies raised nearly $5000 for the Haiti Relief Initiative (sending their funds to Doctors Without Borders), the Ronald McDonald House, and the American Cancer Society. In addition, the honor society sponsored its own “Biggest Loser” (campus-wide weight loss competition) and a school-wide writing competition, which was open to students and alumni. It was fitting that Professor Howle then presented gifts to the outgoing officers: Elizabeth Rodriguez (SKD President); Litishia Conley (SDK Secretary); Wanda Barrera (ASL President)

Next, Professor Howle announced that BBA student Richard Melara had been selected as the “Honor Society Member of the Year.” Melara was unanimously selected based on his unmatched participation in events and his unending generosity to the honor societies and the college.

The evening then featured some performances of written material. Students, Jennifer Addonisio and Janet Hill, recited their original poetry that they had performed at the Haiti Relief Initiative Poetry Slam in February 2010. Both women were inducted into both honor societies. Ms. Hill had written a poem in response to Hurricane Katrina, which moved the audience tremendously.

Professor Lynn McCann and Dr. Edward Dee also performed pieces they had performed at the Poetry Slam. Afterwards, Professor McCann was honored with the Sigma Kappa Delta Faculty Award, for her passion and commitment to the Poetry Slam, the online magazine, and the honor societies.

The students were then inducted into both honor societies. Dean Lin Loffert inducted students into Alpha Sigma Lambda. Director Kathleen D’Aprix and Professor Christopher Hartley, along with the English faculty, inducted the students into Sigma Kappa Delta.

For Alpha Sigma Lambda, the board includes Caridad Moya-Alazzam, Secretary; Yolanda Caro, Vice President; and Wanda Barrera, President. Sigma Kappa Delta’s executive board is now led by Jonathan Coello, Secretary; Janet Hill, Vice President; and Candace Nixon, President (we think that this Nixon in office will be a big improvement over the last one). To close the evening, Professor Jonathan Howle was presented with a special award (much to his surprise), honoring him for his dedication and hard work in helping the Plaza College chapters of both honor societies reopen and thrive.

The evening concluded with words by Director of Student Services, Dawn Vetrano. Director Vetrano then introduced SKD/ASL member Carol Branigan, who gave a rousing performance of Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise.”

This brand new team of officers came together seamlessly. Upon being elected, each and every one worked tirelessly toward their first project. Their efforts culminated in the holiday feast held on Thursday, December 9th, 2010.

The honor societies also joined forces with Plaza College’s chapter of DECA, the honor society for those students studying in the BBA Program. (See more on this society in another article in this issue of Seasons.)  This year, the organization is led by President Elizabeth Rodriguez, Vice-President Vikramjit Singh, Secretary Takoya L. Chestnut, and Treasurer Franchesca Guzman.

This event invited students to give to the less fortunate during the holiday season. Some students brought homemade dishes, both savory and sweet, that anyone could purchase to help the cause. Others gave new toys, canned and other non-perishable food, loose change, and cash. On December 9th, Plaza College was the epitome of Christmas spirit, thanks not only to our hardworking officers, but the whole community, including students, faculty and staff. Among the favorite dishes at this event were Mrs. Zweibel's brownies and cheesecake cups, Elizabeth Rodriguez's rice, Wanda Barrera's rice and meatballs, Alex Palma's arroz con pollo, and Mama Nixon's chicken. Proceeds of the sale, the new toys, and monetary donations (which, once matched by Plaza, totaled $1200) were gratefully accepted by the Salvation Army. The non-perishable food donations were picked up by City Harvest, an organization that delivers food to the needy throughout the five boroughs.

Though 2010 has ended, the legacy of Alpha Sigma Lambda and Sigma Kappa Delta is still going strong. We look forward to upholding this legacy in the year to come. Below is a list of all students in the honor societies.

Members of Alpha Sigma Lambda:

Abreu, Andrew Abreu, Ivette Acevedo, Claudia Adu-Peasah, Jechibea Akhter, Shalina Akinbajo, Titilope Alvarez, Natalia Anderson-Moore, Tiffany Argudo, Yvonne Balzora Jr, Sandro Bazan, Magalli Betancur, Jessica Bivens, Lakeria Blake, Syasia Brown, Alfredia Caro, Yolanda Chambers, Michele Chappel, Shamika Cruz, Jajaira Cutrera, Dolly Cutright, Charrise Dabis, Nidal De la Cruz, Johany

Diaz, Alexa Diaz, Elizabeth Diaz, Jessica Douglas, Siobhan Encarnacion, Danilsa Fabian, Daritza Fox, Mary Garcia, Carlos Gilford, Betty Gomez, Edward Grant, Marcia Hong, Helen Hussein, Emad Jeffrey, Lou Ann Jenkins, Gerard Jennings, Raena Johnson, Okanlawon Joniaux, Xavier Kendall, Christine Khandaker, Momtaz Konrad, Jozefa LaSalle, Matthew Lee, Shannon

Lopez, Catherine Majid, Znobia Marrero, Melissa Marte, Marina Matos, Dominicana Mejia, Charlotte Merced, Lisa Mikan, Nancy Miller, Tamesha Molina Jovel, Maria Montoro, Claudia Murillo, Patricia Negron, Melinda Oliphant-Hines, Adrienne Pacheco, Kelvin Padmore, Georgia Pagan, Jr, Pedro Pema, Thupten Pendley, Kathleen Persaud, Padmini Poyer, Shayna Prandy, Johanna Proverbs, Tina

Quayyum, Pilu Rebbouh, Imane Rodriguez, Celia Rodriguez, Hillary Roman, Gilberto Sanchez, Eunice Sarceno, Bessy Scott, Shevonne Shankar, Yeshodha Sierra, Santo Small, Jennifer Smith, Shannon Springs, Melissa Sultana, Micheline Tabares, Eileen Taveras, Emily Thimote, Barbara Thompson, Ruth Toloa, Siham Toribio, Paola Treadwell, Yvonne Watson, Francine Williams-Hurge, Tamara

 

Members of Alpha Sigma Lambda and Sigma Kappa Delta

Acaiturri-Lopez, Venus Addonisio, Jennifer Almanzar, Heidy Arza, Mary  Bailey, Traci Barrera, Wanda Barros, Karina Batista, Mirtha Bermudez, Jessenia Black Coppin, Karen Branigan, Carol Cabrera, Evelyn Cabrera, Tinamarie Cardenas, Blanca Carranza, Mariela Chan, Katie Coello, Jonathan Conley, Litishia Daif, Ghizlane Daniels, Felicia Davila, Christina Diaz, Jesenia Diaz, Joseline Dolma, Lobsang Drummond, Joi Duncan, Letrisha El Kassar, Susan

Fortyz, Brandie Gonzalez, Jacqueline Graham, Tiffany Gray, Lashawn Green, Rebecca Guzman, Vanessa Hackle, Jalise Hernandez, Daisy Hidalgo, Sophia Hill, Janet Hodge, Alijami Hoi, Tyng Holland, Tiffany Hotaky, Hussenia Howell, Kizzy Hunter-Montilla, Marlen Hussein, Zahira Ingram, Michelle Jackson, Karen Jahan, Israt James, Dolores Jemmouj, Kawtar Jimenez-Martinez, Marta Jobity, Pamela John, Aldona Enriquez, Michelle Kebeck, Tina

Lajara, Irene LaSalle, Andres Layne Jr, Colin Lee, Johnny Lochan, Anand Lopez, Luz Lopez, Tasheema Madrigal, Maureen Mahajan, Ferdousi Marino, Leslie Martinez, Maria Melara, Richard Melvin, Shawntai Mighty, Amanda-Louisa Miller, Tereasa Miranda, Christy Moya Alazzam, Caridad Nixon, Candace Noria, Christopher Olivari, Nicole Oporta, Juana Palma, Alexandra Percival, Vanessa Perdomo, Viviana Rahman, Md R. Ramirez, Jennifer Ramjas, Anita

Rammelkamp, Wendy Razark, Razia Rmaida, Yanick Rodriguez, Angela Rodriguez, Crystal Rodriguez, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Icelsa Rodriguez, Yolenny Rosal, Ana Sanchez, Jacqueline Sanchez, Macheleen Suancha, Jorge Suarez, Natalia Sumi, Sharajahan Sumido Jr, Segundo Trent, Keisha Valenzuela, Lorena Valle Mojica, Roberto Vasquez, Crystal  Vlase, Iulia West, Angie Williams, Casselton Williams, Tamika Wufka, Talea  Yaralian, Rosario Zouain, Stephani

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