Sigma Tau Delta Honors Society Holds Annual Induction Ceremony

Zeta Tau, Liberty University’s chapter of international English honor society Sigma Tau Delta, held its annual induction ceremony in the DeMoss Hall Grand Lobby Jan. 21 where 28 new members were inducted into the association.
The ceremony began with Paige Sturek, president of Zeta Tau, welcoming the inductees and their supporters to the event. Sturek then invited Mark Harris, professor of English, to pray over the event and bless the food. Both old and new members crowded around the array of food prepared by the honor society’s officers.
Carolyn Towles, the faculty advisor of Zeta Tau, described how being a member of the honor society is beneficial to students’ future careers.
“Through our meetings that we have each semester, we try to gear them to things that they can use as skills or value,” Towles said. “We also provide a community for English majors because English majors like to read, and that may be all they like to do.”
Later, Madison O’Leary, the social media manager for Zeta Tau, took the stage to introduce the key note speaker, Towles. O’Leary touched on the impact that Towles has had on her students’ lives at Liberty.
Because this is Towles’ final semester as the faculty advisor of Zeta Tau, she chose to focus her speech on how the honor society has grown over the years. She held up pictures of Zeta Tau members from previous years, many of whom students recognized as current English department faculty members.
Students laughed as Towles told stories of when Zeta Tau had only one member. As time went on and the group expanded, Towles said there were times when the members had to squeeze into a single car or van to journey to historical sites and conventions together. She fondly recalled a time when she was tasked with driving a van of students through a “thunder snowstorm.” Towles also admitted her amazement at Zeta Tau’s increased membership in recent years, especially since 2020.
Following the conclusion of Towles’ speech, Sturek took the stage to highlight the standards and ideals of Zeta Tau. The new members stood as they pledged to abide by the stated standards, and then were individually invited up to the front to receive their certificates.
Sean Sanford, a senior and one of the new members, said he aspired to join Zeta Tau before he came to Liberty. Sanford said he thinks becoming a member will sharpen his academic skillset.
“I think it’ll provide opportunities for me to just get involved and expand on my writing skills,” Sanford said.
After a group picture was taken of all the new members, Ryan Pulaski, treasurer of Zeta Tau, introduced the officers and explained the significance of the cords members will wear during graduation.
Emma Heagney, the media design coordinator, informed the audience of the upcoming events during the spring semester and also described the event attendance requirements for being a member.
To conclude the event, Jonah Petri, secretary of Zeta Tau, invited Nicholas Olson, associate professor of English, to close the ceremony in prayer.
For more information about Zeta Tau and its upcoming events, visit its Instagram profile @lu_sigmatau.
Sturek is the campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.