By Isaiah Rosario and Andrew Mannion, Staff Writers
Epsilon Sigma Pi, the highest scholastic honor society at Manhattan College, welcomed a record high number of 225 new inductees this past weekend, according to manhattan.edu.
Epsilon Sigma Pi is open to all undergraduates students of all programs. Induction into this honor society requires a cumulative grade point average of no less than a 3.5.
Executive Vice President and Provost William Clyde, Ph.D, explained that despite a record number of inductees, a factor that played a major role in the size of this inducted class was the size of the graduating class..
Clyde also emphasized the community’s resilience towards the challenges of the past two years for everybody leading up to the 2022 Epsilon Sigma Pi induction.
“People are working hard. The last two years have been very challenging for students, faculty and for the whole world,” Clyde said. “There have been some unusual grading pieces in there because of that, but all in all, people have been working hard, hopefully have been learning what they needed to and to be successful out in the world.”
Katie Rachman, one of this year’s inductees, felt the ceremony was enjoyable.
“It was really nicely put together,” Rachman said. “We walked in a procession and then got to watch everyone get their awards and they set up a nice little reception for us after, they did a really great job making us feel special and welcomed.”
Being inducted to the highest educational honor society means a lot to the students of the college.
Victoria Correia took this opportunity to look back on her hard work.
“It felt refreshing and it was just a good accomplishment because it felt like a lot of my work just paid off at that moment,” Correia said. “I reflected a lot on the past four years itself. I know that my senior year just started but it was a lot of thinking during the ceremony ‘Wow, I made it’. This was such an honor. It was a really, really good feeling.”
There was a sense of honor amongst students, knowing that all their hard work was able to be put on display in front of staff and family.
“I felt really honored,” Rachman said. “I’m only a third year student and I am in senior status. Being able to achieve this in three years was something I felt honored to be considered for because when I originally got the email, I did not believe I actually qualified so I went and double checked. I just felt grateful and honored from the school for thinking of me like that.”
Correia gave advice to the students that wish to be inducted into Epsilon Sigma Pi in the future.
“Don’t give up. I tried hard to maintain a good GPA. A lot of people will tell you that GPA doesn’t matter after college and I’ve heard that many different times. Although that may be true for some people … I think that it’s still important to make the most of it at the moment,” Correia said. “You may be thinking long term ‘My GPA doesn’t matter and I don’t want to try hard in my classes’, it still is college.”
Correia further shared the sentiment of hard work and dedication being an important factor in the long run for future students.
“You’re coming to class every day you’re here, take the time and do the work and focus. Don’t give up and keep pushing yourself because that’s what’s going to get you that award.”