Kappa Delta Pi is an International Honor Society for Education. Geneseo’s very own chapter, Epsilon Tau, focuses on service opportunities that surround and incorporate the various fields of education. Members of this society have the opportunity to participate in service projects during the semester that may be specific to the field they are most interested in pursuing in their college career.
Early childhood and childhood education major junior Kelsey Hall is the honor society’s president. As one of the proudly serving board members, she takes pride in her position. She explained why honor societies on campus are important.
“I think that the main purpose in having an honor society is to recognize and bring together those who are excelling academically,” Hall said.
Students who fit into this category of achieving academic excellence are inducted each fall. Each student who is in this society has special qualifications and skills that enable them to participate.
“New members must be education majors who have completed at least one semester of credit hours at Geneseo [and] have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher for undergraduate students,” Hall said. “[A] 3.75 [grade point average is needed] for graduate students and [students should] exemplify worthy educational ideals and leadership abilities.”
The initiation process for members occurs during their first semester as members of the society, followed by the creation of service projects. These projects are initiated by the current board members. Members of this society then have the option to contribute to these projects, whether or not the service opportunities are specific to their education concentration.
“We hold an initiation first semester for new members. After initiation, we hold monthly meetings where we discuss the up and coming service projects that e-board members are organizing. All KDP members can participate in the service projects, which can be specific to the education field or not,” Hall said. “For example, one service project that is planned for this semester is making tie blankets, while other service projects that are in the works will involve tutoring at local schools. This year, we will be having six different service projects for members to participate in.”
Hall explains that some of the service opportunities that members engage in are making tie blankets, creating cards for Children’s Hospitals, tutoring and holding enrichment experiences for other students.
One of the organization’s unique qualities is that it is international. In this case, this means that students in the organization can connect academically and socially with other students around the world.
“Being an international organization gives members the opportunity to have something in common with people across the world,” Hall said.