National Hispanic Honor Society Sigma Delta Pi recognizes 18 students

The Sigma Delta Pi Honor Society recognizes students who excel in the study of the language, literature and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.

Eighteen students were inducted into Sigma Delta Pi Chapter Rho Eta Hispanic Honor Society during a ceremony held on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 5:30 p.m. in the Numen Lumen Pavilion’s McBride Gathering Space.

The ceremony is a team effort, planned and organized by Lecturer in Spanish Ricardo Mendoza, Program Assistant for World Languages and Cultures and Interdisciplinary Programs Ronnie LoCash, WLC student assistants, WLC professors and students, and members of the community Oscar Oviedo and Helen McLeod.

The Sigma Delta Pi Honor Society recognizes students who foster an understanding, appreciation and respect for the peoples, cultures and societies of the Spanish-speaking world, and honors those who have promoted and contributed to a better understanding of the Spanish-speaking world for all.

The honor society’s motto – Spanías Didagéi Proágomen – means to “continue under the inspiration of the Spanish language.”

The ceremony was led by Lecturer in Spanish and President of the Hispanic Honor Society Sigma Delta Pi Chapter Rho Eta Ricardo Mendoza and presided over by Elon students Julia Lapporte, Emily Alps and Eliana Olivier. The induction ceremony included words of encouragement from Elon Alumna Emma Burns ’21, who lived and worked in Argentina and is now located in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Burns shared how she is using Spanish to make a difference in the lives of others.

There was live music from Mr. Oscar Oviedo, who is from Colombia, and parents, relatives and friends of the new inductees were able to participate through Zoom. Finally, WLC faculty members Elena Schoonmaker-Gates, April Post, Mina García, Nina Namaste, Bethany Sudibyo, Pablo Celis-Castillo and Ricardo Mendoza participated during the ceremony and shared words of advice for the inductees.

Congratulations to the newest inductees of Sigma Delta Pi Fall 2023:

•       Camilla Jade Bondy

•       Aiden Bradshaw

•       Pheriby Margaret Bryan

•       Anne Merrit Edwards

•       Ellen Malinda Garrison

•       Camryn Judith Glendon

•       Isabel Maya Greenstein

•       Gabriella Alexandra Gutierrez

•       Samantha Faith Katz

•       Rebecca Kindt

•       Catherine Nicole Knierim

•       Veronica Montanez

•       Meghan Pavlick

•       Ranya Alexandra Russo

•       Maximillian Buchanan Taylor

•       Lorenzo Tibolla

•       Hailey Webb

•       Karsen Williams

To join Sigma Delta Pi, students must have completed three years of college-level Spanish (18 semester credit hours) or the equivalent thereof, including at least three semester hours of a course in Hispanic literature or Hispanic culture and civilization at the junior (third-year) level.