ALD recognizes senior members
Members of the Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) Honor Society, which are Liberty University honors program students, gathered in the DeMoss Hall Grand Lobby Wednesday, March 26 for an evening of whimsical music, fine dining and celebration of academic accomplishments.
In anticipation of Commencement in May, ALD recognized more than 150 students for their academic achievement and generosity to their community.
“Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society was founded in the spring of 1934 at the University of Illinois,” the ALD website says. “It was established to encourage superior academic achievement among students in their first year in institutions of higher education while promoting intelligent living, a continued high standard of learning and assistance to men and women in recognizing and developing meaningful goals for their roles in society.”
As the evening progressed, members of the Liberty University ALD Honor Society and keynote speaker Barbara Sherman, director and associate professor of individualized programs of study at Liberty, offered congratulations and words of wisdom to the seniors.
“All work is worship – a gift to the Lord,” Sherman said. “What a person carries out into the world is emblematic of all that they have learned in life.”
According to Sherman, it is what these seniors remind themselves of in scripture and prayer each day that will ensure their success, as well as the fulfillment of the late Dr. Jerry
Falwell, Sr.’s vision.
As the attendees sat attentive to Sherman’s message, students, their families and Liberty faculty absorbed all she said with silence, laughter and applause.
“Professor Sherman spoke extreme wisdom into the students,” sophomore and ALD Historian Lauren Creekmore said. “Her words were unforgettable and definitely something that the seniors could carry out into the world for the rest of their lives.”
After Sherman’s address, Dr. Marilyn Gadomski, faculty advisor to the Liberty chapter, and the ALD officers presented students with honors cords, senior certificates and other academic awards.
“These cords are a symbol of all the hard work that these students accomplished in their first few years at Liberty University,” Gadomski said.
One of the students to receive the awards was Maria Vitullo, a graduating senior in the nursing program.
“The event was a beautiful reflection of all that we have accomplished over the last four years,” Vitullo said. “Receiving my cord was very humbling and just a great representation of all my hard work.”
However, the cords were not the only awards presented, as former ALD President Brian Mauldin received the Maria Leonard Senior Book Award, an award presented to the student with the highest GPA.
After receiving their awards, seniors in the honors program now only have to wait until May 10 to accomplish the final step of their undergraduate careers.