Coy is one of the 2009-2010 Graduate Student Scholarship Recipients

Christopher Coy has spent the year as a first-year graduate student at Syracuse University in New York. Coy is a Gamma Sigma Alpha initiate from Case Western Reserve University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Math and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He was a leader within the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, serving his brothers as President, Recruitment Chair, Treasurer, Philanthropy chair and other roles during his undergraduate years.

Coy also served the larger Greek community, working in the Office of Greek Life and holding leadership positions in Gamma Sigma Alpha and Order of Omega. The Director of Greek Life, Wes Schaub, shared these thoughts with the selection committee, “Chris has become a valued influence within his chapter and the entire Greek community. Chris is not afraid of a challenge and is willing to take on the tasks that no one wants. He is able to organize these tasks and make them work improving morale and camaraderie along the way.”

Coy hopes to pursue a career in government and Gamma Sigma Alpha was proud to support his graduate school dreams. We wish him all the best.

Any initiated Gamma Sigma Alpha member with plans to pursue graduate school in the fall is eligible to apply. The deadline is April 30, 2010.

During her time at USC, she impressed faculty, students and staff alike. She was noted as a true scholar and a student leader by the staff member who recommended her for the Gamma Sigma Alpha graduate student scholarship. A few of her memberships included Sigma Delta Tau Sorority, USC’s Peer Mediation Program, Mortar Board, Golden Key and of course, Gamma Sigma Alpha. She led the alpha chapter of Gamma Sigma Alpha and was an advocate for the organization on campus.

Community service is another area Goodrich focused on as a student. She volunteered, asssisting Katrina victims during an Alternative Spring Break. Philanthropically, she raised money for Darfur genocide victims and collected items for a women’s shelter in Los Angeles.

Goodrich said, “Gamma Sigma Alpha has opened my eyes to the Greek community beyond my individual sorority. I was able to form connections with Greek leaders from many fraternities and make an impact on the entire system.”

The Gamma Sigma Alpha Board of Directors congratulates Goodrich on an exemplary academic record. There is no doubt she will continue to do good things and we wish her all the success in the world.

Academic Spotlight at Missouri State

Deadline to apply for the annual Regional GPA awards is January 26 and you can apply here.

Southern Connecticut State University, located in New Haven, Connecticut, will charter the Theta Xi chapter of Gamma Sigma Alpha in early December.

Valparaiso University, located in Northern Indiana chartered the Theta Nu chapter of Gamma Sigma Alpha when they initiated 20 members in November.

Jacksonville State University became the seventh Gamma Sigma Alpha chapter in Alabama and recieved the chapter letters Theta Omicron.

We welcome all the new initiates of these chapters and the Board of Directors extends a warm thank-you to the students and staff who assisted in getting these new chapters off the ground. We wish you the very best as you begin this new tradition on your campus.

Then & Now….students at the University of Southern California pose with the previous Executive Director, Beth Saul during their Spring 2009 Initiation.

“The concept of a national academic honor society for Greek undergraduates is attributed to Beth K. Saul (Alpha Epsilon Phi), then Assistant Director of Greek Life at the University of Southern California. Seeing the need for such an organization, she began gathering interest and ideas from the members who comprised the Row Academic Success Committee. On November 9^th 1989 they succeeded in establishing Gamma Sigma Alpha as a local Greek academic honor society. With the Society established locally, the founding members were not content in merely having this society recognize outstanding undergraduate Greek scholars at the University of Southern California.  Therefore, they decided to expand the Society to other Greek communities. ” (Gamma Sigma Alpha Ritual, 2009)

Brenau University's new initiates from Spring 2009

Many of our chapters are working on recruitment for their fall initiations now and we wanted to share some cool ideas we’ve heard chapters are doing to recruit the best and the brightest students. Here are a few of our favorites:

• “Nomination” e-mails sent from academic grade reports. Students feel honored to qualify for membership and you can reach a lot of people without spending a lot of time.
• Choose chapter ambassadors to help spread the word to their individual chapters. You can target scholarship chairs, a student who is a previous initiate of GSA or simply a leader in the chapter. Ask these students to encourage membership, even consider hosting a small competition to see which chapter can bring in the most new members. This brings a diverse group of students into the organization and hopefully all of your chapters are represented!
• Charge initiates a small “local dues” on top of the $25 national dues. Use this additional money to sponsor book scholarships for new members. A possible monetary incentive for students will increase interest.
• Run names of qualifying students in an ad in the student newspaper, congratulating them on their academic achievement and outlining steps to get involved in Gamma Sigma Alpha. The public recognition is great for students and gives visibility to the organization.
• Ask the Deans office to promote membership when sending out congratulatory letters to students who qualify for the Dean’s list. This allows campus administration to support the cause and adds credibility to the organization.
• Set recruitment goals surpassing the number of initiates your group brought in last year. Set up a contest to see which previous GSA initiate can recruit the most number of new initiates, offer a small incentive to that student. This idea empowers the current membership to recruit and sometimes yields the best results.

Does your chapter have a unique recruitment idea? If so, leave a comment or contact us here. Good luck and let us know how we can help you achieve your recruitment goals!

Kristine Campbell is one of six scholarship winners for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Kristine Campbell graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham last May with a degree in Biology and high hopes to attend medical school this fall. Gamma Sigma Alpha helped her achieve her goal by awarding her one of the six scholarship designated this year. Campbell was initiated into Gamma Sigma Alpha in 2007 and served as Treasurer and President of the local chapter. In addition to Gamma Sigma Alpha, Campbell was involved in Alpha Omicron Pi, the Student Alumni Society, Catholic Student Ministries…the list could continue.

A recommendation letter was written to support Campbell’s scholarship application. Her reference said, “(Kristine has the) ability to formulate innovative solutions to problem. She was also known as a self starter, able to seize upon a problem, analyze its components and execute a solution with minimal supervision. There is no doubt she has the intellectual capacity and power to make her mark in medicine.”

Campbell felt honored to be a part of Gamma Sigma Alpha and felt it allowed her to work closely with leaders in her organization and around campus. She said, “Gamma Sigma Alpha has shown me that others value academic success of college students and this organization has helped to refine my leadership skills and become more involved on campus.”

Gamma Sigma Alpha wishes Kristine Campbell all the success she can ask for during her first year of medical school at the University of Alabama. She is just one example of the outstanding students the organization initiates every year and we are confident she will make a difference in the world.

The national fraternity/sorority headquarters recognize their members for this honor in a variety of different ways. Lambda Chi Alpha and Pi Kappa Alpha members initiated into Gamma Sigma Alpha were sent letters from their national organization and will be recognized in an upcoming issue of Cross & Crescent and Shield and Diamond (their internal publications) respectively. Alpha Gamma Delta and Phi Kappa Sigma also recognized their members with congratulatory letters.  Phi Kappa Tau honored their members by listing names and university affiliation on their website, click here to view.

Thank you to all the national organizations that encourage membership in honor societies, we value our relationship with you. Let’s see if your numbers from this past year can be surpassed in 2009-2010!

The Gamma Alpha chapter of Gamma Sigma Alpha was chartered at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995 and continues to be one of our largest chapters nationwide, initiating more than 150 students each year. Current membership is almost 400 members. How does the chapter recruit so many members? Tactics include:

• Current Gamma Sigma Alpha members visit chapter meetings to discuss the organization and encourage qualified members to apply
• Two new member scholarships are offered to Gamma Sigma Alpha initiates
• Membership selection is all completed online

In addition to recognizing academic achievement, the Gamma Sigma Alpha chapter at UNC at Chapel Hill also strives to complete 1-2 service projects each semester. For more information about UNC’s Fraternity/Sorority community, you can visit: www.greeks.unc.edu. Thanks for being a shining example for Gamma Sigma Alpha, keep up the great work!