One of Alpha Chi’s primary missions is to make scholarship effective for good in our communities and the world around us. Our society’s dedication to this mission is an active pursuit, and every year our members are given unique opportunities to get involved in local, regional, national, and global service that contribute to the greater good.
For this year’s national service initiative, in an attempt to meet the needs of those affected by these tumultuous times, Alpha Chi chapters were called to collect and donate new socks—something that is desperately needed by adults and children who find themselves without a home—to their chosen organization. Chapters were encouraged to find an organization that works on a local, regional, national, or even global level, and several made sock and monetary donations during the convention itself.
In addition to local efforts, Alpha Chi ordered branded argyle dress socks and received a matching donation from Franklin Morrow so that 500 pairs of black dress socks were able to go to the Birmingham Urban League for use in their Workforce and Entrepreneurship and Community Outreach departments.
2024 National Service Leaders
Four Alpha Chi chapters competed in our Sock-It-To-Me Chapter Competition: Abilene Christian University, Mars Hill University, Roger Williams University, and Southeastern Oklahoma State University. In addition to donating their collected socks, these chapters were asked to compose a narrative discussing the rationale behind their chosen organization, how the project is indicative of the mission and values of Alpha Chi, and how it ties into themes of social justice and leadership.
The Texas Psi Chapter at Abilene Christian University donated socks to the Christian Service Center in Abilene, TX, a group that assists people meet basic needs such as food, rent, and clothing.
The North Carolina Epsilon Chapter at Mars Hill University chose to donate their collection of socks to Western Carolina Rescue Ministries, a local women’s shelter in Asheville, NC. Their chapter also hosted a bake sale to raise money for The Lotus House, the biggest homeless shelter for women and children in the United States.
The Rhode Island Alpha Chapter at Roger Williams University chose Providence Rescue Mission in Providence to send socks and additional proceeds that they collected. This organization offers physical, emotional, educational, and rehabilitative services to any community members in need.
And finally, the Oklahoma Theta Chapter at Southeastern Oklahoma State University donated their collected socks to the Ron Cross Senior Activity Center in Durant, OK. Their decision was influenced by the challenges facing many in the elderly community: financial instability, limited mobility, chronic illness, and lack of comfort, to name a few.
These four chapters were named Alpha Chi’s National Service Leaders for 2024, and each walked away with a one-of-a-kind prize—a giant Alpha Chi sock handmade by our very own Dr. Teddi Deka, Missouri Western State University chapter advisor and National Council Secretary.
Thank you to the other chapters and individuals who contributed to this year’s service initiative by donating socks and proceeds to this cause. We truly appreciate your participation and commitment to service!
While in Birmingham, we challenged our members and advisors to document their experiences through a variety of prompts for a chance to be featured on Alpha Chi’s social media platforms and win their very own pair of AX argyle socks. After carefully considering each submission, we were able to narrow it down to six photos that best represented their respective categories. The winning photographs were presented during the Awards Gala on Saturday evening.
Presenter or Poster Pics
Submitted by Katalina Inzunza Herrera, the winning photo shows the Fresno Pacific University collaborative research team presenting their work, titled “Derailed: Embedded Contradictions in California’s High Speed Rail,” to a large audience of faculty advisors and peers. Fresno Pacific placed second in the Collaborative Research Competition.
Group During Convention Events
Submitted by Ishika Agarwal, this photo of the West Liberty University student delegates was taken during the Meaningful Experiences portion of the convention, where attendees were encouraged to visit multiple historic sites around the city of Birmingham. These four students spent time exploring the Civil Rights Trail located in Kelly-Ingram Park.
Delegates at Historic Sites
Submitted by Megan Allemand, this picture captures the delegates from Abilene Christian University standing outside of the 16th Street Baptist Church, the site of a tragic terrorist bombing in 1963. The attack was in response to the growing movement for civil rights, and the tragedy garnered international attention as the world’s eyes turned to the struggle unfolding in Birmingham. Convention delegates were encouraged to attend the 16th Street Baptist Church to learn more about its history and lasting impact on today’s world.
Creative Chapter Dining
Submitted by Dr. Breanna Naegeli, the Arizona Alpha chapter creatively captured their convention dining experience using a Polaroid camera.
Chapter Duos
Submitted by Lauren Pribyl, this winning photograph captures not one, but TWO chapter duos! These four student reps represent four different Alpha Chi chapters: West Liberty University, Hastings College, Franklin Pierce University, and Angelo State University.
Creative Perspectives
Submitted by Rebecca Luckey, this photo features an exhibit in the Procession Gallery of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, where visitors are encouraged to walk among the replica statues and “join the movement.” Rebecca likened this exhibit to this year’s convention theme by captioning it, “Leaders for Tumultuous Times.” Her connection was creative and insightful; may we see it as a call to action to be leaders in today’s tumultuous times.
Congratulations to our 2024 Photo Competition winners, and thank you to all who participated!
In light of this year’s convention theme, Leaders for Tumultuous Times, the Dr. Trisha Yarbrough Student Collaborative Research Project Competition centered on innovative, multidisciplinary solutions to aid in this rapidly changing era. Nine teams competed for the prize with Missouri Western State University and Fresno Pacific University coming out on top. The judges evaluated the teams based on their written research report, printed poster, and live convention presentation with Q&A.
The Prevalence of AI and Opinions of the Public: Missouri Lambda Takes the Crown
Missouri Western State University’s winning team sought to understand the benefits, concerns, and impact of Artificial Intelligence in our daily lives by taking a look at the public’s attitudes toward the already prevalent technology. The multidisciplinary team was comprised of four undergraduate students: Jordon Anderson (nursing), Juniper Brown (political science), Mercedes Mareske (digital animation), and Tia Vernon (education).
Their paper, “Artificial Intelligence and Selective Exposure: Generating a Public Perception,” highlights both the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI in the students’ respective fields and explores the awareness and attitudes among university students. Informed by the mere exposure effect, the group hypothesized that selective exposure to the advantages of AI would result in a more positive public perception.
Their findings indicated that the majority of students surveyed were unaware of their AI usage and expressed a favorable perception when presented with the benefits of the technology. They concluded that public perception of AI can shift depending on how information is presented to them.
The team took home the grand prize of $5,000 for their research. Congratulations to the Missouri Lambda team!
Fresno Pacific University: Controversy in California
The $2,500 second place prize went to the California Zeta team from Fresno Pacific University for their project titled, “Derailed: Embedded Contradictions in California’s High-Speed Rail.” Students Brooke Barham, Jan Bialecki, Paola Gonzalez Mendez, Cailey Lessel, and Jasmine Sirvent explored the innovation behind the largest infrastructure project in the US and the failure to bring it to fruition.
While many may see this high-cost project as a lost cause due to its many obstacles, the team’s analysis insists that by approaching the issues of geography, environmental justice, economics, and public rhetoric with a problem-solving lens, the high-speed rail can persist and avoid derailment.
Their suggestion? Project organizers must commit to securing funding through federal and private investments, respecting the land of Indigenous tribes, adhering to the law, and properly educating the public on the tangible benefits of this ambitious project.
Collaborative Leadership During Tumult
Missouri Western State University and Fresno Pacific University presented alongside teams who also showed their dedication to collaborative innovation in the shadow of this tumultuous era, and we want to recognize and celebrate their scholarship:
Congratulations to all of the teams that participated in the 2024 Collaborative Research Competition!
The Alpha Chi chapter at Grand Canyon University celebrated big upon receiving the 2024 President’s Cup for Outstanding Chapter of the Year at the national convention’s Awards Gala. This distinguished award, given at every national convention since 1987, recognizes the excellent achievements of the winning chapter and its members. Grand Canyon University was nominated for this prestigious accolade along with the chapter at Lindenwood University.
According to the Awards and Honors Committee, the Arizona Alpha Chapter “has truly made a remarkable impact on both its campus and broader community, inspiring us all with their pursuit of excellence.” They were applauded for their extensive work on their campus, which included multiple professional development and networking opportunities, a week dedicated to service, and collaborations with other on-campus honor societies. The chapter also boasted a large number of scholarship applicants, student presenters, and convention attendees.
Arizona Alpha was awarded a $200 honorarium in addition to the President’s Cup trophy, marking a historic moment for its student members and advisors.
Congratulations to the members of Arizona Alpha at Grand Canyon University as they continue to make scholarship effective for good!
Over the dates of April 4-6, Alpha Chi members from around the country gathered in Birmingham, Alabama for the 2024 National Convention and celebrated the innovative scholarship of its student and alumni members. Around 100 presenters from 20+ disciplines shared their work with an audience of their peers and were judged based on the depth and complexity of their subject matter, originality in their field, engagement with the audience, and presentation skills.
Student presentations are a central component of Alpha Chi’s annual conventions, as they demonstrate the ingenuity and tenacity of our dedicated scholars. An atmosphere of excitement was evident as participants geared up for the culmination of months of research, practice, and preparation. In each presentation, members demonstrated the scholarly and professional qualities that have propelled them to the top ten percent of their classes at their respective collegiate institutions.
16 discipline-specific prizes were awarded to undergraduate winners while graduate and alumni members each competed for an overall prize.
The dedication of our presenters to their work does not go unnoticed, and Alpha Chi is so proud of each and every one of them! Delegates left Birmingham feeling inspired by the scholarship on display and confident that the future is in good hands with Alpha Chi members leading the way.
Alpha Chi believes that those who use their scholarship to learn the truth can better serve the community as leaders. We work to support, develop, facilitate, encourage, and celebrate our future leaders! We believe that those who use their scholarship to learn in their respective disciplines are best prepared to serve the community as leaders. Because these things are true, please join us for the 2024 Alpha Chi National Convention, Apr. 4-6, next spring in Birmingham, Alabama.
Birmingham, Alabama, known as The Magic City, has a history and a present that speak to truth and leadership in the area of social justice. As a municipality, it faced the tension between those who were unwilling to move beyond Jim Crow laws and those who courageously fought for justice and reform. Much of today’s public rhetoric is similar to the public dialogue in the Birmingham of the past and the present. There are lessons to be learned from the Birmingham community’s trajectory, and there are applications for today’s tumultuous times. There are lessons for us all, though we may describe them differently. The Birmingham experience represents a microcosm of the unique challenges and struggles that we continue to face as a nation built on the reality of a multicultural society. The Magic City reflects the variety of people, processes, institutions, and behaviors implemented that stand for the promise of equity and social justice.
Those attending the Alpha Chi convention will have an incredible opportunity to consider the role of scholarship in meeting challenges and what it means to sit with the inevitable discomfort that comes with awareness, so that we may act with courage in developing the leadership our world and our communities need us to find. As leaders, we are obligated to elevate the safety, value, mental health, and well-being of all people.
From a Birmingham jail, a man wrote his reflection on justice. If you have a chance, read Letter from Birmingham Jail by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Many courageous People of Color lived and died for the truth, forcing society to confront the realities of racial inequity. Unsung and determined White Allies asserted the truth at great personal costs. Leadership requires an honest and courageous exploration of the sociopolitical realities our society faces, which are its “truths.”
This Alpha Chi convention has the potential of being a life-changing, watershed moment for each member, advisor, and guest who attends. There will be sponsored events that challenge the understanding of history and its relationship to the present. Attendees will increase the depth of their understanding of the present social justice challenges both domestically and globally. We hope that everyone will consider questions like:
What makes a leader, and how do they know what to do?
Why should one become a leader? How does one become a leader?
How can we use the truths and facts that we learn about the world to better the world for all?
When does the “comfortable truth” serve to hide the actual truth and at what costs?
What are the costs of the denial of truth for society at large?
What is a convincing justification for social justice when a loss of privilege may be involved?
These questions will serve as the basis of the self-reflection for all attendees and are questions that should occur throughout the convention experience. These questions will provide a basis for many creative collaborative projects as well as a prism to challenge realities we thought we knew. To prepare for this place and this convention all participants are encouraged to read Behind the Magic Curtain: Secrets, Spies, and Unsung White Allies of Birmingham’s Civil Rights Days by T. K. Thorne who will be our keynote speaker in Birmingham.
On Friday afternoon when we break for lunch, convention delegates will be encouraged to spend a few hours visiting nearby historical sites such as the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the 16th Street Baptist Church, and the Kelly-Ingram Park & Civil Rights Trail. Afterward, we will gather for a discussion and “debriefing,” if you will, so that our student delegates especially may process their experiences together.
Convention participants will consider the potential and necessity of leadership in the wide variety of areas related to our diverse society in such areas as immigration, disparate health care, the disparate impact of the criminal justice system, and environmental disparities. The primary point of consideration for the convention and the theme for the convention is: How does one lead in times as tumultuous as these?
It is our hope and plan that Alpha Chi’s aspiring student leaders who attend the convention will be inspired and more capable of answering that question.
For complete information on the upcoming convention, click here!
It's that time of the year again when the academic world witnesses a special display of talent and intellect. Alpha Chi National College Honor Society recently announced the winners of several convention presentation prizes at the 2023 National Convention, an annual event that celebrates the remarkable achievements of its student and alumni members across various disciplines.
With a history dating back to 1922, Alpha Chi has consistently championed the cause of "making scholarship effective for good." Today, we're proud to celebrate the winners who have upheld the tenets of Truth and Character and have made a difference in their respective fields.
This year's Alpha Chi National Convention was extra special because it was originally intended for 2020. The long-awaited event finally brought together hundreds of students and alumni, providing them with the opportunity to present their scholarly and creative work to a multidisciplinary audience comprising peers and faculty advisors. In addition to 30 discipline-specific prizes, the convention also awarded an overall prize for graduate student presenters and one for alumni presenters, regardless of their academic field.
The excitement in the air was palpable as participants showcased their work, fostering an atmosphere of collaboration, innovation, and camaraderie. Each presentation was a testament to the dedication and perseverance of these exceptional individuals who have risen to the top ten percent of their classes at their respective institutions.
Each year, our outstanding convention presenters continue to inspire each other with their outstanding work and research. Each one of them has contributed immensely to their respective fields, demonstrating a commitment to excellence and scholarly pursuit. The following 20 Alpha Chi members were selected from roughly 100 student and alumni presentations that were awarded at the 2023 National Convention (in order by university name):
As the curtains close on yet another successful Alpha Chi convention, it's clear that the future is in good hands. The brilliance and creativity exhibited by these winners are a testament to the power of scholarship and its potential to transform lives.