MACON — Mercer University’s chapter of Phi Eta Sigma, the first-year honor society, will celebrate its 75th anniversary Saturday at 6 p.m. in the University Center Arena. Several honored guests will be on hand to mark the occasion, including Mercer President William D. Underwood and the head of Phi Eta Sigma’s national organization, Dr. John W. Sagabiel.
The celebration will include more than 350 guests, including 119 new inductees. The event, which includes a dinner, is the culmination of a year’s worth of events put on by the chapter.
“It’s just an honor for us to be a part of the 75th anniversary of our chapter and to be hosting an event with the head of our Society and president of the University,” said Society President Yasmen Srour, a junior biology major. “We are very excited; we’ve never had a ceremony this special or this big before. We’ve also been doing a number of things throughout the semester to celebrate, including raising money for underfunded community schools, helping with a Kids Day Out and mentoring students at an elementary school. We’ve really tried to celebrate by serving.”
The Chapter set a goal of completing 75 community service hours this semester, and to date, the members have already put in well over 100 hours, Srour said.
Phi Eta Sigma invites students of good character, who have maintained a grade point average of at least 3.5 during one of the first two semesters of their first year to join the organization. Inductees receive a pin in the shape of a key with the letters Phi, Eta and Sigma to represent the motto “Knowledge is Power.” Lifetime membership is conferred upon induction.
“We are grateful to Dr. Sagabiel and President Underwood for agreeing to speak at this event,” said Chapter Advisor Tony Kemp, associate director of academic and advising services. “You don’t have very many important anniversaries in a lifetime and to have this event, and to recognize the scholarship of our students at the same time, is wonderful. Academic scholarship is not easy, particularly in a student’s first year, and to have this many of our students being inducted is very special.”
Mercer’s chapter was founded on March 26, 1932, as just the 32nd chapter in the Phi Eta Sigma. Today, the organization has 353 chapters at prestigious colleges and universities across the country. Since its founding in 1923, more than 900,000 students have been inducted into Phi Eta Sigma.
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has 7,300 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; four regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial Health University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
