HU’s Alpha Chi members awarded National Convention scholarships

Huntington University’s Indiana Beta Chapter of the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society garnered several awards at the Alpha Chi National Convention held in Alexandria, Va. on April 7-9.

The chapter received recognition at the convention as a Star Chapter of Alpha Chi for 2014-2015, being one of only four out of the more than 300 Alpha Chi chapters to have received this award every year since the honor was launched in 1996. The chapter also received a trophy as a permanent commemoration of having won the President’s Cup for the Outstanding Chapter of the Year in 2015. In addition to HU, only one other college has won the President’s Cup twice since the national award was inaugurated.

Six student members of the Huntington University chapter attended the convention, five of whom presented papers. The following HU students presented papers:

Bronwen Fetters, a senior English literature and writing major from Huntington, Ind.; “Patriarchal Pink: Gender Signification in Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Little Governess’”
Isaiah Gerber, a junior psychology and English writing major from Ossian, Ind.; “Faith and Love: How Religiosity Among University Students Impacts Empathy Felt toward Alternative Belief Systems”
Sarah Gruenewald, a junior English writing and public relations major from Millstadt, Ill.; “Don Quixote: Antihero”
Nicole Manges, a junior English literature and writing major from Greenville, Ohio; “The Shepherd in the Sierra Morena: Imitation and Satire of Pastoral Romance in Don Quijote”
Katie Stetzel, a senior nursing major from Roanoke, Ind.; “Birth Attendants and Mortality: An Educational Opportunity in Birth Practices, Safety and Choice in Musac, Haiti”

Of these presenters, Fetters won a $2,500 Benedict Fellowship for her paper on “Patriarchal Pink: Gender Signification in Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Little Governess.’” She also garnered a British literature presentation prize and a regional fellowship of $1,000 for her work. Isaiah Gerber was selected as an alternate recipient for a regional scholarship for his paper “Faith and Love: How Religiosity Among University Students Impacts Empathy Felt toward Alternative Belief Systems.” Of those who did not present at the Convention, Tyler Herber, a senior history major from Fremont, Ind., was selected as an alternate recipient for a national fellowship for his paper on Britain and the partition of India in 1947. 

“At convention this year, I was pleased to win a national fellowship, a regional fellowship and the British literature presentation prize for a paper that I wrote last semester for Dr. Todd Martin’s Critical Theory course,” Fetters said. “This was my third Alpha Chi National Convention, and each year I am impressed by the academic excellence of my Huntington University peers as well as encouraged by the opportunity to present alongside top-notch students from across the nation. Alpha Chi, as an organization, has meant a lot to me during my college experience. It has helped me to find my voice as an undergraduate scholar and has provided opportunities for my academic work to be recognized.” 

The group was accompanied at the convention by faculty sponsors Dr. Ruth Nalliah, professor of chemistry and Dr. Tanner Babb, associate professor of psychology.

“Presentation of original works of scholarship at a national convention is always a rewarding experience for our students, especially when their work earns recognition at the national level,” Nalliah said. “It is encouraging that so many Huntington University faculty actively challenge our students to expand their horizons so that this type of growth and achievement can happen.”

For more information about Huntington University’s chapter of Alpha Chi, go to https://www.huntington.edu/alpha-chi.