After an impressive school year of successful programming and new membership, the Alpha Beta Upsilon chapter of Lambda Pi Eta at Temple University was selected as Chapter of the Year by the National Communication Association (NCA). Lambda Pi Eta is the official student honors society of the NCA at four-year colleges and universities. Although Temple’s chapter has only been in existence since 2012, its ongoing initiatives have allowed it to stand out among the more than 500 other chapters around the country.
During the prior academic year, the chapter was led by communication studies students and co-presidents Max Eagle, KLN ‘20, and Thomas Hernandez, a current junior who was inducted into the organization in fall 2019. Scott Gratson, director of the Communication Studies program, guided the chapter in its activities as the chapter’s advisor. The fall 2019 and spring 2020 inductions also marked the first school year that the chapter’s induction ceremonies included communication studies students from both of Temple University’s international campuses in Tokyo and Rome, all who have various backgrounds and interests.
“I think that there's almost this mystique of what it is to be an academic and I think there's a stereotype about that. And I think the chapter really blows all of those stereotypes apart and we could really accentuate that even more,” Gratson says.
In addition to their diverse membership, the chapter ramped up its involvement both on and off campus. A robust mentorship program, now in its second year, has continued to connect communication studies students who are interested in being accepted into chapter membership with current member peers. For those students who do not meet the academic requirements of the mentorship program, the newly created communication studies club helps mirror the goals of the Communication Studies program. The communication studies transfer ambassador program was also established during the past academic year with the support of Lambda Pi Eta to help transfer students become acclimated to the program and other students. Additionally, he chapter holds community service events and philanthropic initiatives throughout the year to connect with the Greater Philadelphia community. Hernandez says that the achievements of the chapter are a collaborative effort with individuals even outside of the organization.
“Everybody's almost involved with Lambda Pi Eta and it's not even just like a student organization. It's bigger than just another affiliate chapter. And I think that's what I think that's really...the reason we won, because without that we really wouldn't be where we are, the mentorship program wouldn't be where it's at, the now college mentorship program would not be where it's at if it had not been for the involvement.”
While the chapter is no stranger to recognition as they won the Rookie Chapter of the Year Award from the NCA in 2015, no one expected that it would win the society’s biggest chapter award. Eagle remembers a conversation with Gratson, who told him that filling out the application would be good practice for when the chapter had more seniority and could make a viable case for Chapter of the Year. They ended up sending in a 30-page application full of the chapter’s accomplishments.
“This was an award that was always in our periphery, just knowing that this is a very prestigious recognition and then also knowing that the work that Tommy and I do as co-presidents — Tommy now as president, Dr. Gratson as chapter advisor — was a goal that we will often strive to achieve as co-presidents and as facilitators of the chapter. But it was something that we understood was very competitive and knew that it would take our best efforts to see through to actually be receiving the award,” Eagle says.
Moving forward, Hernandez is looking forward to engaging with the chapter’s members during the upcoming school year. Due to social distancing measures that limit in-person gatherings on Temple’s campus, he hopes to incorporate the chapter’s planned biweekly virtual meetings with regular check-ins to ensure that members do not lose a sense of connection. He has also started compiling “opportunity sheets” of professional opportunities for students to pursue in Philadelphia and beyond. And although he has already graduated, Eagle believes that if the chapter keeps centering members’ needs, it will continue to draw in a high caliber of communication studies students.
“It's always leading with [the] question, how can we support our students? Who are the students that are most represented in our major? How can we support them? Where are the endless opportunities that Temple University and the city of Philadelphia has to offer? And how can we...use our resources and our networks to build that bridge between those opportunities and our students in our major who are looking to get involved and looking to make the most out of their four year degree?”
In addition to the prestige the award holds, the Chapter of the Year Award includes a $200 cash prize and an award plaque. The awards ceremony will be held during the virtual NCA Annual Convention in November.